UFC on FUEL TV 8: March 2, 2013 Saitama, Japan UFC Heavyweight Contender Stefan Struve (-165) Profile: Stefan Struve (25-5) has one of the most impressive overall records in the heavyweight division, as he is also 9-3 in the UFC with all three losses coming against solid opponents. The 6-foot-11 Dutch fighter has won his last four bouts over Stipe Miocic (TKO), Lavar Johnson (armbar submission), Dave Herman (TKO) and Pat Barry (triangle armbar submission) since getting knocked out by Travis Browne at UFC 130 nearly one year ago. Struve has also suffered losses to Roy Nelson and Junior dos Santos in the UFC, both by TKO, and only one of his career fights has gone to the third round. In his last seven bouts, he is 6-1 with four of the wins coming by TKO/KO, including one that earned a Knockout of the Night bonus, and two others resulting in Submission of the Night honors. His most recent win over Miocic also won Fight of the Night. UFC Heavyweight Contender Mark Hunt (+135) Profile: One of the most feared strikers in all of combat sports, Mark Hunt (8-7) is legendary in K-1’s storied history. He was a former K-1 Grand Prix champ and had a final kickboxing record of 30-13, being knocked out once by Semmy Schilt. Hunt would move to Pride for his MMA career, starting out 5-1 with notable upsets of Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop. However, he would then lose six fights in a row to the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett and Alistair Overeem. Finally, he transitioned from Japan to the UFC in a debut fight against journeyman Sean McCorkle, losing quickly via a straight armbar. Hunt would then bounce back with three straight wins, including a Knockout of the Night performance against Chris Tuscherer, a tiring decision over Ben Rothwell and a brutal TKO of Cheick Kongo. Opening UFC on FUEL TV 8 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Struve a small -165 favorite (bet $165 to win $100) while Hunt opened as a +135 underdog (bet $100 to win $135) according to the MMA odds. Struve is slowly but surely climbing the ladder into the upper echelon of heavyweight contenders thanks to his continuous improvement that has enabled him to string together wins. He has finishes in each of his last six wins (four knockouts and two submissions), none of which made it as far as the fourth minute of the second round. Hunt has won three in a row and appears ready to take the next step as well against a much tougher opponent in Struve, who will have more than a foot height advantage in addition to being 14 years younger and owning a reach edge of over 10 inches. While his MMA career has been limited to just 15 fights so far, Hunt owns a 30-13 mark in kickboxing and enjoyed early success in Pride. Struve will present a difficult challenge for him, but his past experience makes this an intriguing matchup that Hunt could possibly win.
