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By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist The fight has been rumored for a couple of weeks, but now its been confirmed. Mike Russow will make his UFC debut against an also debuting Todd Duffee at UFC 102. Sources close to the fight confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that bout agreements had been finalized.
Russow will enter the Octagon with an impressive 11-1 mark with his only loss coming nearly two and half years ago against Sergei Kharitonov at Pride 33. He'll bring with him a strong wrestling base and a good submission game as he's finished eight of his eleven victories by submission.
Duffee isn't as experienced at 4-0, but all of his fights have ended in TKO, including his last fight against Assuerio Silva. While there's not as much hype surrounding Duffee as there is Russow, when you're an undefeated heavyweight training with American Top Team people should take notice.
UFC 102 will take place August 29th in Portland, Oregon and will be headlined by a heavyweight bout between Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and Randy Couture.
Pelkey's Analysis: You gotta love the depth that's constantly being added to the UFC's heavyweight division. This is a match-up of two top heavyweight prospects, with the winner likely finding himself at least a notch or two farther up the ladder in their next fight. Along with Gonzaga/Tuchsherer, the UFC 102 undercard is really shaping up to be a nice showcase for up-and-coming heavyweights. Oh, and I've heard something about there being some heavyweights on the next season of TUF, too.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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