UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve eyes Josh Barnett showdown in December

Stefan Struve kept rolling in the heavyweight division by defeating Daniel Omielańczuk in the second round via d’arce choke last weekend (Sat., Oct 8, 2016) at UFC 204 in Manchester, England (recap here).

Now, the towering brawler is eying a quick return to action, and he’s looking to face one of the most seasoned veterans in all of mixed martial arts (MMA) in Josh Barnett, according to his comments on Brian Stann’s “Toe-to-Toe” podcast (via MMA Junkie).

And he wants it to go down in a couple of months.

“December or January makes sense for me for sure, depending on the fight the UFC wants to give me. I looked at the rankings with my coaches and my manager, and one of the first names that comes up to me is Josh Barnett, who is also coming off a win. He’s ranked higher than me. I think a win over him would definitely bring me closer to my goal of fighting for the title. He came off a really interesting fight with Arlovski, and I’d love to have that fight.”

As it stands, Barnett — who was last seen choking out Andrei Arlovski in Germany — is sitting pretty at the No. 6 spot in the official UFC rankings, while Struve finds himself on the outside of the top 10 looking in, so don’t be surprised to see some resistance on the side of “The Warmaster.”

That’s because he’ll likely be eyeing a top five foe that will inch him closer to a shot at the title. That said, Barnett has never been one to back down from a challenge, so if they both want it, the job of UFC matchmaker may have gotten a bit easier.

Anyone oppose?

Stefan Struve kept rolling in the heavyweight division by defeating Daniel Omiela?czuk in the second round via d’arce choke last weekend (Sat., Oct 8, 2016) at UFC 204 in Manchester, England (recap here).

Now, the towering brawler is eying a quick return to action, and he’s looking to face one of the most seasoned veterans in all of mixed martial arts (MMA) in Josh Barnett, according to his comments on Brian Stann’s “Toe-to-Toe” podcast (via MMA Junkie).

And he wants it to go down in a couple of months.

“December or January makes sense for me for sure, depending on the fight the UFC wants to give me. I looked at the rankings with my coaches and my manager, and one of the first names that comes up to me is Josh Barnett, who is also coming off a win. He’s ranked higher than me. I think a win over him would definitely bring me closer to my goal of fighting for the title. He came off a really interesting fight with Arlovski, and I’d love to have that fight.”

As it stands, Barnett — who was last seen choking out Andrei Arlovski in Germany — is sitting pretty at the No. 6 spot in the official UFC rankings, while Struve finds himself on the outside of the top 10 looking in, so don’t be surprised to see some resistance on the side of “The Warmaster.”

That’s because he’ll likely be eyeing a top five foe that will inch him closer to a shot at the title. That said, Barnett has never been one to back down from a challenge, so if they both want it, the job of UFC matchmaker may have gotten a bit easier.

Anyone oppose?