Stefan Struve vs. Fabricio Werdum: Head-to-Toe Breakdown

MMAweekly

Following his win over Stipe Miocic at UFC on Fuel in England, Stefan Struve wants Fabricio Werdum in his next bout. 

Struve is on a four-fight win streak, with victories over Miocic, Dave Herman, Lavar Johnson and Pat Barry. He is arguably a top-10 heavyweight and has looked impressive since his last loss to Travis Browne. 

Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of a potential showdown between Struve and Werdum.

Striking

MMAweekly

Stefan Struve comes from a kickboxing background, while Werdum is currently working on his striking.

Struve, who has a decent chin, has shown improved striking as of late. He owns seven career knockout wins, including over recent opponents Stipe Miocic, Dave Herman and Christian Morecraft.

His reach is always going to be a problem, as is his height.

Werdum has been working diligently on his striking to improve as a mixed martial artist. This was evident in his three-round drubbing of Roy Nelson and his first-round knockout of Mike Russow.

Werdum has more power while Struve is more technical and long. It is too close to call.

Edge: Push

Wrestling

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Neither man is a wrestler by trade, but in terms of takedowns and takedown defense, both men have some skill.

Struve does not possess great takedown ability, but he doesn't usually need it. His defense is good because he is so tall and long, and a lot of fighters simply struggle to get inside.

Werdum has some good offensive takedowns, but will also pull guard. His defense consists of fighters being too scared to take him down because of his amazing ground game.

I think I have to give the edge to Werdum.

Edge: Werdum

Grappling/Submissions

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Stefan Struve is a highly underrated grappler, but he will be up against one of the best grapplers in the world if he fights Fabricio Werdum.

To Struve's credit, he owns 16 submission wins in his career. These have come over the likes of Lavar Johnson (armbar), Pat Barry (triangle armbar), Chase Gormley (triangle choke) and Denis Stojnic (rear-naked choke).

Werdum is a multi-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club medalist, which proves his merit as a jiu-jitsu artist. Eight of his wins have come by submission, including over the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, his brother Aleksander Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem.

This edge is obvious.

Edge: Werdum

Prediction

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Should these two fight, we would have an interesting bout on our hands.

Although Fabricio Werdum's striking has improved, getting inside on Stefan Struve will not be the easiest task. However, he would likely try and succeed at getting Struve to the ground.

Struve is an excellent submission artist, but he has never grappled with a guy like Werdum in his MMA career. This would lead to a loss for the big Dutchman.

Prediction: Werdum def. Struve via decision