Duffee was recently forced to pull out of the contest due to an undisclosed illness, and Struve gladly accepted the opportunity to face a fighter of Buentello’s caliber, especially since it’s on the televised portion of the fight card.

Struve was last seen taking a first-round submission win over Chase Gormley at UFC 104 last month. It was his second straight solid victory, impressive enough that UFC brass felt it necessary to showcase the youngster on the main card…or there was nobody else available during the UFC’s hectic holiday schedule.

Buentello will be ending his four-year Octagon hiatus when he enters the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. His only losses have come at the hands of former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski and current Strikeforce title holder Alistair Overeem.