Seven months removed from a unanimous draw with Frenchman Cheick Kongo, UFC heavyweight Travis "Hapa" Browne (10-0-1 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) returns to action opposite Stefan Struve (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) later this month at UFC 130.Browne has an opportunity to put the disappointment of his most recent outing behind him and return to the form that saw him collect seven first-round-stoppage victories when he faces the towering Struve.
The heavyweight clash is a featured part of UFC 130's pay-per-view main card, and Browne said he expects to seize the opportunity and make a statement in the division – thanks to his motley crew of training partners.
"Coming off my last fight, it was fairly disappointing, and I'm definitely looking forward to coming out and showing what I have," Browne recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "Being on the main card is always exciting. One, you're on the main card. And two, when you're actually in the arena, that's when everyone actually shows up. Not everyone is there for the prelims and stuff like that, but when you're on the main card, it's like everybody is there and all eyes are on you.
"It's time to rock and roll, and I'm excited about that."
Before he fights in front of a jam-packed MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Browne will spend numerous grueling weeks preparing with his teammates at Alliance Training Center in California in hopes of defeating the 6-foot-11 Struve, which is something only four of Struve's 25 opponents have done successfully.
However, despite the problems his opponent presents, Browne feels that his team has done a quality job bringing in the appropriate training partners to effectively emulate Struve.
"We got some guys that are fairly close," Browne said. "It helps to have the taller, rangier type of fighter who fights not so much like a power striker or power fighter, but someone who uses their length and angles to set up their strikes and kicks. We have a couple guys that are lengthy as well that are good in jiu jitsu. So, it's definitely going to help having those guys on board for this camp."
Since entering the organization 27-months ago, Struve has competed seven times with a 5-2 record and two knockout victories to his credit. While the statistics aren't that noteworthy to the heavy-handed Browne, he admits being impressed by something else the Dutchman possesses.
"You can't take that guys heart away from him," Browne said. "No matter what you do to him, he's going to try to finish youm and that's something you have to admire about him. At the same time, I don't feel that he's fought a striker that's quite like me. He's fought big guys, as in Sean McCorkle and Christian Morecraft, but one of the great strikers he has fought is Junior Dos Santos, and we saw what happened in that fight. Those other big guys, they're not strikers.
"So going into this fight, I think I have heavier hands than both of his last opponents, and I think that's going to be where I shine is (in) the standup."
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