Dave "Pee Wee" Herman vs. Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve
Dwight Wakabayashi: It's time for "The Skyscraper" Stefan Struve to step up his game and stop letting newcomers leap frog him to stardom. Whenever he gains momentum, a setback comes around the corner.
He is coming off a nice win over Pat Barry and he needs to use his striking and kicks to keep Herman off-balance all night.
Herman is in a nice position as the new kid in town with his impressive win over Jon Olav Einemo in June. He will be looking to use his hands and quickness to get in on Struve and muscle him to a victory. The winner of this match gets a big-name opponent in their next fight.
(Struve via second-round knockout)
John Heinis: “The Skyscraper” Stefan Struve has struggled against known names in the heavyweight division such as Travis Browne, Roy Nelson and Junior dos Santos, so this is a fight that will really determine where Dave “Pee Wee” Herman ranks in the heavyweight division.
Struve is coming off an impressive submission win over Pat Barry at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson, while Herman successfully made his UFC debut at UFC 133 by knocking out John-Olav Einemo.
Herman comes in boasting some serious power in his hands, with 15 of his 21 wins coming by way of knockout, although he is far from the most technical striker in the game.
Struve, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt with 15 submission victories on his resume, will likely give Herman his stiffest test ever on the ground if he can get the fight there.
I am expecting a tough, close fight here, but given that Herman has never been submitted, I think he will come out on top in the end here.
(Dave Herman via third-round TKO)
Dale De Souza: Dave Herman vs. Stefan Struve is a very interesting bout because of the differences between the two heavyweights.
Struve obviously holds an edge in reach, height and possibly age, though his hands and his submission game are obvious factors to fear in any fight. All the while, Herman is a heavy-handed fighter who occasionally is cool with a submission or two but hates decisions.
Struve's submission game might be key for him to prevail on Wednesday, but for all the submission wins and all the times he's come from behind to get the "W" in the cage, the glaring elephant in the room is not one, not two, but three losses by KO.
While there's no shame in getting knocked out by Roy Nelson, Travis Browne or Junior dos Santos, there's still a question of whether Struve can take Herman's shots to his chin without going "full lawn-chair."
Herman's only question might come on the ground, where Jon-Olav Einemo was unable to test him, but to test Herman on the ground, a fighter has no second options when it comes to taking him down.
If Struve cannot get it to the ground, he'll have to pick his shots and time them almost perfectly. Luckily for Struve, I have a good good feeling that this does go to the ground.
The bad news is that once it goes there, Struve's getting his wrists controlled by Herman, and like it or not, Herman's tapping "Skyscraper" out.
(Herman via second-round submission – Armbar)
Jordy McElroy: To this day, it’s nearly impossible to erase the image of Stefan Struve’s body folding like a lawn chair in response to a Travis Browne superman punch.
If he can find Struve’s chin early, things bode well for Dave “Pee-Wee” Herman, who is coming off a TKO stoppage over Jon-Olav Einemo at UFC 131.
Struve has a solid technical aptitude for striking, but his defensive deficiencies have done him in three times in his UFC career. Having only been stopped once in his professional career, Herman has the chin to walk through punches in search of an opening and return a haymaker of his own.
The ground may be an area best avoided by Herman. Struve is incredibly crafty from his back.
(Dave Herman by Round 2 TKO)