Mark Hunt is injured, Lavar Johnson to face Stefan Struve at UFC 146
Posted on May 17, 2012, 05:23 PM by Mike SearsonLavar Johnson (17-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will be replacing Mark Hunt (8-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a Heavyweight fight against Stefan "Skyskraper" Struve (23-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at UFC 146, which takes place May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Hunt was forced out due to a knee injury (PCL), during training.
Hunt tweeted earlier:
@GHETTO_FABOLOUS well its my first time i had to pull out of a fight
— mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) May 17, 2012
its a sore leg injury pcl lol
— mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) May 17, 2012
Johnson stepped up for the opportunity and is coming in fresh off of a first-round TKO over Pat Barry at UFC on FOX 3 on March 5, which won him "Knockout of the Night".
On UFC.com, Johnson was quoted as saying: "I heard last night there was a chance I could get this fight and I accepted right away. You don't get chances like this too much in life, so when you are lucky, you got to make the most of it. I took one week off after (my) last fight and then went back to the gym. I used to have some drinks, gets some BBQ in my belly, and get a little out of shape right after a fight. But I feel that I am now at a level where I need to be in shape all the time, so I stayed in shape and I can now seize this chance."
Commenting on his opponent, Johnson had this to say: “Struve is a great fighter. He’s a skilled guy with a lot of heart but I am not worried about his size. His reach is 83inches and mine is 82, and he doesn’t use his height. He always gets the crap beat out of him, he refuses to quit, then his opponent gasses or has to let up and Struve comes back to win. I am a fan of his actually, and I’ve cheered for him because of his heart. The only way to beat him is to put him out cold. That’s what I have to do next week and I will do it.”
Struve, coming off two recent victories, himself, had nothing but praise for Johnson: “Johnson has looked impressive in his first two fights in the Octagon since coming over from Strikeforce, but I’m gonna look even more impressive next week. I really want to thank him for stepping up on such short notice – I really wanted to fight on this all-heavyweight card - but he’s gonna face the best Stefan Struve you’ve ever seen. The change in opponent doesn’t bother me at all, Mark Hunt was a big puncher too and I have trained too hard for this to affect me.”
In a card studded with twists and turns, this may or may not be the last changeup to UFC 146. Stay tuned to Lowkick.com for more updates.
Comments
Lavar better knock out Struve quick--if it goes to the ground--he is toast.
Struve has looked overwhelmed against much lesser strikers. People tend to forget that, because he often weathers the early storm and comes back to win. Lavar Johnson just hits too hard for him to be able to do that. I'll be surprised if Struve lasts more than 3 minutes.
im a bigger fan of lavar than struve but struve technically has more ways to finish this fight. lavar only needs to land half a punch to finish a fight but he is very 1 dimensional, im guessing that struves gameplan for mark hunt wasnt to stand and trade so unless he has a brain fart i think hes going to try and get it to the ground asap. with those crazy long arms he could even pull off a standing gullotine if lavar tries to clinch him on the cage carelessly.
I realize that Struve is a more well-rounded martial artist, but there's a huge discrepancy in power and overall athleticism in this fight. Lavar Johnson doesn't really use the clinch. When he backs guys into the cage its just a barrage of hooks and uppercuts from distance, not the clinch. Struve is not a great wrestler, and his takedowns usually come from the clinch. He's going to have a lot of trouble getting there against Johnson, and I don't think he's going to do it.
@mousasi
Great analysis
The dude is like 10 feet tall, too!
this is the old man beating up a kid.
Its pretty much the same fight stylistically for Struve. I'm going to guess triangle or rnc win here for Struve. Keep it standing Lavar!
It's a shame I was really wanted to see Hunt in there again, especially since if he won it would propel him up in the division.
Lavar is basically the same style as Hunt except no kicks but Lavar is more aggressive. Struve is similar to Mir, they both have good stand up but they believe in it TOO much and usually is their falling.
If Struve can get him down it's 100% over but if its standing then I expect Johnson to get another vicious KO.
That's the third (4th if you count amateurs) ACL/PCL injury I've heard this month.
Good thing Hunt was not given the shot or else we would be again without a main event.
They give struve wrestlers when they want him to win and punchers when they want him to lose
I am not trying to bash on Struve here but what is this amazing BJJ game that people keep talking about? Of course I have never seen Lavar on the ground so he could be a fish out of water but it just seems to me that Struve ain't got much of a chance in this one. If Lavar wins this (which I think he will) I'd love to see Lavar vs Hunt.
Struve has greats subs but it's more Johnson's atrocious ground game that is the point being made. He was EASILY taken down, mounted and almost subbed by Pat Barry. PAT FREEKIN BARRY!
Joe Rogan was laughing and making jokes when Barry got on top of someone in a previous fight (maybe Beltran) but he still dominated Johnson on the ground and almost subbed him.
All I'm saying is if Barry can almost sub Johnson I gave Struve 1 min max until he wins if fight hits the floor.