Stefan Struve looks to expand his winning streak to three as he takes on the hard-hitting Lavar Johnson.
The betting line is about even, but Struve can up his odds of coming out with a victory by concentrating on these three things:
Range
Struve has an 84.5-inch reach. That’s a massive benefit that he has yet to harness the benefits of. Johnson is no slough in that department, sporting an 81-inch reach advantage of his own. But with the edge in reach, in addition to a five-inch height advantage, Struve has some leverage if he can keep Johnson at the end of his jab.
He’ll need to do just that too. Johnson packs some vicious power in his punches. He loves to get his opponents against the cage and slam uppercuts into their chins. He’s finished his last two opponents via first-round knockout.
Stay off the Cage
As long as the fight remains standing, Struve needs to keep it at a distance. Johnson is a solid striker but really thrives in close range. Struve needs to set the pace early with jabs and front kicks.
He cannot afford to let Johnson bully him up against the cage and pepper him with overhand rights and uppercuts.
Should Struve find himself in that position, his best weapon will be the clinch, where he can use his height to fire knees at Johnson.
From there, he can change levels and put Johnson on the mat where Struve has a marked advantage.
Grappling
Johnson is susceptible to submissions, with four of his five losses coming via tap. He’ll be looking to avoid the ground with every fiber of his being.
Struve is a very solid grappler, sporting 15 submissions wins to his credit.
That means Struve’s best chance at victory is to get this fight to the floor. Facing a powerful striker like Johnson is no time to show off the old kickboxing skills. All it takes is one. Struve can probably hang on the feet, but why chance it.
The ground is his path to victory, and by keeping Johnson at a distance until he can find an opening to bring the fight there, is the key.
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