UFC on Fox 13 features Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve’s return to mixed martial arts when he takes on Alistair Overeem. Struve has been out of action since March 2013 after he was diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and enlarged heart.
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UFC on Fox 13 features Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve’s return to mixed martial arts when he takes on Alistair Overeem. Struve has been out of action since March 2013 after he was diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and enlarged heart.
In his return fight against Overeem, he faces one of the most dangerous strikers in the heavyweight division. And, despite chronic setbacks, Overeem still possesses the power and technical ability on his feet to put away anyone that stands in front of him.
This will be Struve’s 14th UFC fight, and the 26-year-old is accustomed to sharing the cage with world-class heavyweights. He made his Octagon debut against Junior dos Santos when he was just 21 years old.
Overeem comes into this fight with the all-too-familiar sting of a TKO loss—this time at the hands of Ben Rothwell in September.
Both men justifiably believe they have a lot to prove on the big stage, and here are the keys to victory for both fighters.
Alistair Overeem: Keep the Fight Standing and Don’t Get Caught
At this point in his career, Overeem needs to come out with guns blazing. It’s do or die for The Demolition Man. Being tentative has cost him dearly in past fights against Antonio Silva, Travis Browne and Rothwell.
Against Struve, he needs to have the type of start he did against Browne without slowing down and allowing his opponent to recover. He shouldn’t be entirely reckless, but he needs to fight with some serious finishing instincts. Struve is the tallest fighter in the UFC, so it shouldn’t be hard to land some mean kicks to the body to set up the knockout.
The road map is there, and Overeem has been on this trail before. He just needs to avoid making the wrong turns he’s taken in the past.
Stefan Struve: Avoid Power Shots and Look for Openings
We don’t know how a nearly two-year layoff is going to impact Struve. Here’s to hoping his issues are behind him and he’s prepared for battle.
Against Overeem, he needs to weather the early storm—or avoid it altogether. If past is prologue, Overeem will leave himself vulnerable at some point, and that is where Struve needs to capitalize.
He needs to try to tire Overeem out—or let Overeem do that to himself. He needs to avoid a clinch fight, as that is where Overeem can deal the most punishment. He needs to stay on his bicycle and try to counterstrike against Overeem. The longer the fight goes, the more it favors Struve and his ability to latch onto submissions. He needs to be patient and find his moment.
The TUF 20 Finale weigh-ins went down earlier today in Las Vegas, and headliners Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas hit their 115-pound strawweight limits on the button. But not everyone was so successful. Featherweight Charles Oliveira missed weight for the third time in his UFC career, hitting 147 pounds on his first attempt, and only shedding a half-pound after an hour. As a result, 10% of his purse will go to opponent Jeremy Stephens. The last time we saw Oliveira, he had missed weight by five pounds before UFC Fight Night 50, and was pulled off the card due to health concerns.
TUF 20 castmember Aisling Daly also screwed the pooch, coming in at a whopping 118 pounds for her strawweight matchup against Alex Chambers. Daly was given one hour to make weight, but decided not to make another attempt; she will surrender 20% of her purse to Chambers. Complete TUF 20 Finale weigh-in results are below…
The TUF 20 Finale weigh-ins went down earlier today in Las Vegas, and headliners Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas hit their 115-pound strawweight limits on the button. But not everyone was so successful. Featherweight Charles Oliveira missed weight for the third time in his UFC career, hitting 147 pounds on his first attempt, and only shedding a half-pound after an hour. As a result, 10% of his purse will go to opponent Jeremy Stephens. The last time we saw Oliveira, he had missed weight by five pounds before UFC Fight Night 50, and was pulled off the card due to health concerns.
TUF 20 castmember Aisling Daly also screwed the pooch, coming in at a whopping 118 pounds for her strawweight matchup against Alex Chambers. Daly was given one hour to make weight, but decided not to make another attempt; she will surrender 20% of her purse to Chambers. Complete TUF 20 Finale weigh-in results are below…
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT)
Carla Esparza (115) vs. Rose Namajunas (115)
Charles Oliveira (146.5) vs. Jeremy Stephens (146)
Daron Cruickshank (156) vs. K.J. Noons (156)
Yancy Medeiros (155.5) vs. Joe Proctor (156)
Randa Markos (116) vs. Jessica Penne (115.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Felice Herrig (115) vs. Lisa Ellis (115)
Heather Jo Clark (115.5) vs. Bec Rawlings (116)
Joanne Calderwood (116) vs. Seo Hee Ham (114.5)
Angela Magana (115.5) vs. Tecia Torres (115.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT)
Alex Chambers (114.5) vs. Aisling Daly (118)
Angela Hill (115.5) vs. Emily Kagan (116)
With the world starting to wind down for the various end-of-year holidays, there is not a ton of MMA prospecting to be had here in December.
But “not a ton” does not mean “none.” Ponder that. And in that spirit, we note that there are “some” fight…
With the world starting to wind down for the various end-of-year holidays, there is not a ton of MMA prospecting to be had here in December.
But “not a ton” does not mean “none.” Ponder that. And in that spirit, we note that there are “some” fights on the docket for the final page on the Gregorian calendar. Furthermore, we here at The Beaten Path—Bleacher Report’s awesome series highlighting the top prospects in MMA—have once again ferreted out the up-and-coming fighters with whom savvy fight fans should familiarize themselves.
And in so doing, we are making this a December, truly, to remember. Fighters are listed in no particular order, and no UFC fighters are eligible. Here we go.
UFC Heavyweight Bout: Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic Odds: ( -365 Dos Santos / +275 Miocic ) Betting Pick: JDS Bet on this fight at Bovada This Saturday night UFC on Fox 13 comes to us live from Phoenix, AZ. The main card features Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic whom are among the […]
UFC Heavyweight Bout: Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic
This Saturday night UFC on Fox 13 comes to us live from Phoenix, AZ. The main card features Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic whom are among the favorites to be fighting for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in the near future. Miicic is coming off a three-match win streak not having lost since 2012. His last fight back in May lasted a whole thirty-five seconds ending in a TKO (Punches). Dos Santos is stepping back into the octagon for the first time since his lose to Velasquez back in 2013. Dos Santos hasn’t looked like the same fighter ever since losing to Velasquez for the first time back in their second bout. I guess we’ll see if anything has changed. Both of these fighters are here to prove they should be the next to contend for the belt. Let’s break down each of the fights and pick a winner…
Junior Dos Santos 16-3 #2 Contender
Junior Dos Santos is a bad man. The amount of power that some behind the fastest hands in the heavyweight division are just scary. The amount of fights Dos Santos has won from the middle of the cage are second to none, and I don’t see him trying to take this fight anywhere differently. If you want to know how to beat him, ask Velasquez. Force him towards the cage and make him fight from his back. That’s another problem though, his 76% takedown avoidance makes it quite difficult to expose his weaknesses. Dos Santos will wear you down with his powerful jabs and combinations and won’t even let you breathe in-between. Another reason why you can force Dos Santos towards the cage, his feet. He’ll move you around before you can even think about moving him. He’ll move in-and-out, land significant blows then finish you off. My advice for Junior Dos Santos would be to not fix what isn’t broken. Miocic has a substantial wrestling background and will shoot a double when he sees you blink. If Dos Santos can keep this fight on his feet and make Miocic one-dimensional, this one will be over quickly.
Stipe Miocic 12-1 #4 Contender
Stipe Miocic has been fighting out of his mind lately. His last fight back on May 31st lasted only 35 seconds and ended by TKO. Miocic has a substantial wrestling background and has no problems against the cage or being on his back and keeping control of the fight. Both of these fights has very similar skill-sets when it comes to being in the center of the cage. Both has fast hands and like to move around to disrupt the others timing. the slight difference in how they move is that Miocic likes to circle rather than making lineral attacks. If Miocic can circle Dos Santos and disrupt his movement and throw off his timing, shoot a quick double, he can take control of this fight. This entire fight will not be fought on their feet and Miocic needs to take serious advantage of that. The more time Miocic can Dos Santos struggle trying to get up, the more tired Dos Santos will become making his combinations much less powerful. Also, don’t think that Miocic trying to take shots will wear him out either. With his wrestling back, his conditioning is topnotch. My advice for Miocic would be to take shots, a lot of them. Keep making Dos Santos work to get up, and let him. Your hands are nearly as powerful and you can last much longer. Stick to your fight-plan, circle, jab, shoot, and repeat.
This is going to be one hell of a fight. Both of these fights have very similar skill sets and tendencies inside of the octagon. Dos Santos will obviously want to keep this match on his feet for as long as possible, blocking shoots taken by Miocic trying not to waste too much energy. Miocic will be taking shots on Dos Santos, many of them. He’ll want to utilize his wrestling background to wear Dos Santos until possibly knocking him out. I guess the big question is whether the momentum by Miocic can subdue to drive for Dos Santos to have that one last shot at Velasquez. If you ask me, I think Dos Santos is just too much for Miocic to handle. Dos Santos will be refining his already phenomenal take-down defense and be preparing for the circular movement of Miocic. Dos Santos will get another shot as Velasquez, assuming Velasquez can get healthy.
Prediction:Junior Dos Santos by second round T/KO.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Nate Diaz’s recent 12-month hiatus wasn’t of his own choosing, if the Stockton native is to be believed. Diaz was presumed to have spent the better part of the year languishing on the sidelines in protest of his UFC contract, but when asked about his absence on Thursday, Diaz told MMAFighting.com that his lengthy time off was the UFC’s own doing, and that he never said he didn’t want to fight.
“It’s about time,” Diaz said of his co-main event slot against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 13. “I’ve been waiting all year to fight. I heard a lot of sh*t pushed around in the media that I was turning down fights. That was never the case. I was bashed in the media. [The UFC and I] never really had a conversation. Dana White called me personally and then we made a fight happen, but before it was all kind of hearsay, they were bashing me saying I’m turning down fights. That was never the case.
“I wish I would’ve been active. I don’t even wish, I was content with the time I had I off, but I don’t even really think of it as time off because I was always preparing to fight because I thought I was going to get the call and have to fight at any time, like I have for the last 10 years.”
A one-time TUF winner and veteran of the UFC for nearly a decade, Diaz said that he did indeed ask for his contract to be renegotiated following a Nov. 2013 win over Gray Maynard, but that the promotion responded only by publicly stating that Diaz had turned down a proposed fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I never said that,” Diaz said. “[This is] exactly what I said: ‘can I renegotiate my contract?’ They could’ve said no, but they didn’t even say no. So I was just like, okay, you’re going to bash me in the public like that for no reason, that’s cool.”
The acrimony between the two sides stretched well into the summer, with Diaz’s name being arbitrarily removed from the UFC’s official media-generated rankings due to ‘inactivity,’ and UFC President Dana White infamously defending the promotion’s stance against renegotiating Diaz’s contract by stating that Diaz wasn’t “a needle mover.”
“I love Nate Diaz,” White said in July. “Nate Diaz is actually one of my favorite kids. I always got along with Nate, Nate was always great. Lowest rated FOX show ever. Lowest rated FOX show ever. His numbers, he doesn’t pull the numbers in. Nick (Diaz) is a needle mover. Nick moves the needle. [Nate] doesn’t pull good numbers.
“He seems like he’s popular when you’re looking on f**king Twitter and some website,” White continued. “But the numbers, the real numbers, tell the truth. We know who moves needles and who doesn’t move needles. If Nate Diaz was a massive needle mover, we’d have called him. He’d be on the phone, we’d be figuring it out and we’d work it out. He doesn’t move the needle.”
Diaz and the UFC ultimately settled their differences, however the irony of returning from a one-year hiatus straight into a high-profile slot — his fifth main or co-main event over his last six fights — was not lost on Diaz when asked about White’s statements.
“I already knew,” Diaz said. “Come on. I’ll lose this fight and they’ll bring me back and put me on another main event, co-main event. And then they probably won’t because I just said that. But it don’t matter, you’re still going to sell the card with me or somebody who’s been around long enough, because everyone’s new.
“There’s great fighters, (Junior) dos Santos, Matt Mitrione, (Stefan) Struve, there’s stars on this card, this is a great card. But don’t give me that [line] that it’s not going to be me who’s a part of making any income for you guys. Know your role. Fighters need to know their position.”
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Nate Diaz’s recent 12-month hiatus wasn’t of his own choosing, if the Stockton native is to be believed. Diaz was presumed to have spent the better part of the year languishing on the sidelines in protest of his UFC contract, but when asked about his absence on Thursday, Diaz told MMAFighting.com that his lengthy time off was the UFC’s own doing, and that he never said he didn’t want to fight.
“It’s about time,” Diaz said of his co-main event slot against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 13. “I’ve been waiting all year to fight. I heard a lot of sh*t pushed around in the media that I was turning down fights. That was never the case. I was bashed in the media. [The UFC and I] never really had a conversation. Dana White called me personally and then we made a fight happen, but before it was all kind of hearsay, they were bashing me saying I’m turning down fights. That was never the case.
“I wish I would’ve been active. I don’t even wish, I was content with the time I had I off, but I don’t even really think of it as time off because I was always preparing to fight because I thought I was going to get the call and have to fight at any time, like I have for the last 10 years.”
A one-time TUF winner and veteran of the UFC for nearly a decade, Diaz said that he did indeed ask for his contract to be renegotiated following a Nov. 2013 win over Gray Maynard, but that the promotion responded only by publicly stating that Diaz had turned down a proposed fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I never said that,” Diaz said. “[This is] exactly what I said: ‘can I renegotiate my contract?’ They could’ve said no, but they didn’t even say no. So I was just like, okay, you’re going to bash me in the public like that for no reason, that’s cool.”
The acrimony between the two sides stretched well into the summer, with Diaz’s name being arbitrarily removed from the UFC’s official media-generated rankings due to ‘inactivity,’ and UFC President Dana White infamously defending the promotion’s stance against renegotiating Diaz’s contract by stating that Diaz wasn’t “a needle mover.”
“I love Nate Diaz,” White said in July. “Nate Diaz is actually one of my favorite kids. I always got along with Nate, Nate was always great. Lowest rated FOX show ever. Lowest rated FOX show ever. His numbers, he doesn’t pull the numbers in. Nick (Diaz) is a needle mover. Nick moves the needle. [Nate] doesn’t pull good numbers.
“He seems like he’s popular when you’re looking on f**king Twitter and some website,” White continued. “But the numbers, the real numbers, tell the truth. We know who moves needles and who doesn’t move needles. If Nate Diaz was a massive needle mover, we’d have called him. He’d be on the phone, we’d be figuring it out and we’d work it out. He doesn’t move the needle.”
Diaz and the UFC ultimately settled their differences, however the irony of returning from a one-year hiatus straight into a high-profile slot — his fifth main or co-main event over his last six fights — was not lost on Diaz when asked about White’s statements.
“I already knew,” Diaz said. “Come on. I’ll lose this fight and they’ll bring me back and put me on another main event, co-main event. And then they probably won’t because I just said that. But it don’t matter, you’re still going to sell the card with me or somebody who’s been around long enough, because everyone’s new.
“There’s great fighters, (Junior) dos Santos, Matt Mitrione, (Stefan) Struve, there’s stars on this card, this is a great card. But don’t give me that [line] that it’s not going to be me who’s a part of making any income for you guys. Know your role. Fighters need to know their position.”
Current UFC on FOX 13 Betting Lines – This Saturday night UFC on Fox 13 comes to us live from Phoenix, AZ. The main card features Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic whom are among the favorites to be fighting for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in the near future. Miicic is coming off a three-match […]
Current UFC on FOX 13 Betting Lines – This Saturday night UFC on Fox 13 comes to us live from Phoenix, AZ. The main card features Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic whom are among the favorites to be fighting for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in the near future. Miicic is coming off a three-match win streak not having lost since 2012. His last fight back in May lasted a whole thirty-five seconds ending in a TKO (Punches). Dos Santos is stepping back into the octagon for the first time since his lose to Velasquez back in 2013. Dos Santos hasn’t looked like the same fighter ever since losing to Velasquez for the first time back in their second bout. I guess we’ll see if anything has changed. Other matches this Saturday include Anjos vs. Diaz and Overeem vs. Struve. Be sure to tune in this Saturday night for UFC on FOX 13.
Make sure to Check back with us closer to fight night as I will have updated UFC on FOX 13 Odds plus Fight Predictions. To add a little excitement on fight night, you can bet on these fights at Bovada.Iv Odds
UFC on Fox 13 features Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve’s return to mixed martial arts when he takes on Alistair Overeem. Struve has been out of action since March 2013 after he was diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and enlarged heart.
