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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Paul Buentello is set to make his return to the Octagon for the first time since February of 2006 this December, and while he was originally slated to face off with one new face in the heavyweight division, the UFC announced on Wednesday a different up and comer as his opponent on December 12th at UFC 107.
Todd Duffee was Buentello's originally scheduled opponent, but the holder of one of the UFC's fastest knockouts in history had to pull out due to injury. In steps Stefan Struve, fresh off his second straight victory at UFC 104.
The 21 year old 6'11" heavyweight was unsuccessful in his UFC debut, getting finished off by the heavy hands of Junior Dos Santos earlier this year, but he has rattled off consecutive victories against Dennis Stojnic and Chase Gormley.
Buentello has gone 5-1 since losing to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 55 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and in fact that sole loss came in a Title fight for Strikeforce against Alistair Overeem. He makes his Octagon return following consecutive victories of his own on the two Affliction pay-per-views.
UFC 107 is set to air live on pay-per-view on December 12th from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN, headlined by the UFC Lightweight Title bout between B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez.
Penick's Analysis: This is a really good fight, and a great challenge for both fighters to see where they are at in their respective careers. A win over a solid up and comer in Struve gives Buentello a good reintroduction to the UFC, and if Struve can continue to develop like he has over his last two UFC bouts he can continue to build himself up in the eyes of fans. He's only 21 and truly can become a very good heavyweight for many years to come, simply based on the skills he's shown thus far along with the fact that he's only just growing into his 6'11" frame and will continue to improve all facets of his game from fight to fight. He's going to be an exciting guy to watch develop in his career, and a win over Buentello would be a huge notch in his belt.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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