STRUVE VS. MORECRAFT
Stefan Struve has been known to be a very well rounded fighter in the heavyweight division, with excellent striking and grappling skills. But when he came up against Christian Morecraft, his skills seemed to be just a bit lacking. He clearly lost the first round to the UFC newcomer. “Dominated” would be an understatement. Morecraft quickly gets Struve on the ground and ground and pounds him for nearly 4 straight minutes. Struve has tremendous heart, though. He kept active the entire time by defending every chance he could and throwing submission attempts every once in a while. There were several times when referee Herb Dean seemed very close to stopping it, though, but Struve kept at it and survived until the end of the round.
The second round begins and Struve’s face is busted up. Morecraft quickly pressures him against the cage with a flurry of punches, but Struve gets one clean counter in and BAM! Knocks Morecraft down and after some ground and pound of his own, finishes the fight less than a minute into the second round. Astonishing comeback from “The Skyscraper”!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
UFC 117 was a truly amazing event. Chael Sonnen delivered on his insurmountable trash talking and gave Anderson Silva literally the fight of his life and losing only by a thread. Matt Hughes shows that he's just as tough as ever and has more than just a few more years in this sport, and Roy Nelson showed that he's got one of the toughest chins in the heavyweight division. A great night of fights, indeed. Now bring on UFC 118!
Check out the rest of my UFC 117 reviews and drop on over the official UFC website for more amazing photos of the event!
