UFC 107 Preview: Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve

Paul Buentello will begin his second UFC stint this weekend against up and comer Stefan Struve.  Buentello comes into the fight with a career record of 24-10 with only two fights going to a decision.  They don't call him the 'Headhunter" for nothing, as he loves to stand and bang it out.  He's come out on top most of the time, but he usually falters against top competition.  For instance, he's 12-2 in his last fourteen fights, and those two losses came against Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem.   We last saw Buentello in action almost a year ago as he battered "Baby Fedor" Kirill Sidelnikov at the Affliction: Day Of Reckoning show.  He consistently pumped jabs and combinations in Sidelnikov's face until the doctor stopped the fight in the third round.  You can expect that to be his same gameplan against Stefan Stuve this weekend as well.

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Stefan Struve comes into the fight fresh off a submission win at UFC 104 against UFC newcomer Chase Gormley.  He's stepping in on short notice for the injured Todd Duffee His overall record stands at 18-3 and he's never gone to a decision.  Of his 18 wins, fourteen of them have come via submission which usually consists of either the triangle choke or rear naked choke.  Struve is a huge in that he stands at a whopping 6'11" tall, so he'll definitely have a reach advantage over the shorter Buentello.  However, I'm not sure that he'll want to entertain the thought of trading shots with Buentello after what happened against Junior dos Santos at UFC 95.

I think it's safe to say that this fight probably will not be going the distance as both guys like to finish their fights.  Buentello is going to go in there and try to knock Struve out.  That's it plain and simple.  Whereas, Struve can use the reach advantage he has to try and pick Buentello apart, or he can take Buentello down and try to submit him.  Buentello has been submitted a couple of times, but those losses came earlier in his career.  At 35, Buentello's best days are probably behind him and I'm sure the year off could affect him somewhat.  This is a fight that Struve should be able to win, but I wouldn't count out the hard hitting "headhunter" from Texas.