Stefan Struve
| Stefan Struve | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 18, 1988 Beverwijk, Netherlands |
| Other names | Skyscraper |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Weight | 256 lb (116 kg; 18 st 4 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Reach | 84 in (213 cm) |
| Style | Kickboxing |
| Fighting out of | Beverwijk, Netherlands |
| Team | Beverwijk Top Team Team Schreiber |
| Trainer | Bob Schreiber |
| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2005 – present |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 4 |
| Wins | 4 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 26 |
| Wins | 21 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By submission | 15 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Stefan Struve (born February 18, 1988) is a Dutch mixed martial artist, who competes as a heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Struve is currently the tallest man fighting in the UFC, standing at 6 ft 11 in.
Early life
Growing up in the Netherlands, Stefan Struve played football until the age of 14. When his brother took him to the local martial arts gym owned by Bob Schreiber, he decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts instead. He had his first amateur MMA bout at the age of 16 and won via head kick knock out.[1]
Mixed martial arts career
Struve made his professional debut in the GFN organization when he was only 17, fighting against John De Wilde at Gentlemen Fight Night. By late 2008, he had racked up an impressive record of 16–2, losing once via injury against Romualds Garkulis in only his second fight and another time in the second round of a Star Of Peresvit tournament in Ukraine against Christian M'Pumbu.
In 2008, Struve entered talks with the Dream and Affliction promotions before signing a four-fight deal with the UFC.[2]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Struve lost his UFC debut bout at UFC 95, losing to Junior dos Santos in the first round after dos Santos stormed Struve with an aggressive flurry. Struve won his next fight at UFC 99 against Denis Stojnic in a bout that saw Struve bleeding profusely from a cut that later required stitches.[3] Struve was badly cut open with hammer fists from Stojnic while on his back in the first round and despite bleeding excessively, he persevered in the second round by gaining his opponent's back and eventually locking in a rear naked choke to win by submission at 2:37 of the second round.
Struve defeated UFC newcomer and previously undefeated Chase Gormley on October 24, 2009, at UFC 104 where he won the Submission of the Night award. The bout was composed mainly of grappling after Gormley took Struve down. There the Dutchman tried to work submissions until giving up top position to Gormley to secure a triangle choke.
Struve then signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC.[4] His first opponent with the newly signed deal was against returning veteran Paul Buentello at UFC 107, Struve filled in for an injured Todd Duffee. At UFC 107 Struve defeated Buentello by majority decision which was scored 29–28, 29–28 and 28–28. It was a back and forth fight, where both Buentello and Struve showed durable chins. After the fight, Struve stated "I don't feel like a winner right now" and was openly displeased with his own performance.[5]
Struve fought Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights winner Roy Nelson on March 31, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 21. Nelson ducked under several of Struve's punches and scored a solid right hook on the chin for the knockout. Nelson was gracious in victory stating "Give it up for Stefan, guys. Because, man, when he turns 25, he's going to be a stud," in his post fight interview.
Struve then faced UFC newcomer and undefeated Christian Morecraft at UFC 117.[6] Struve defeated Morecraft via TKO (punches) at 0:22 of round 2. Struve was dominated in round 1 with aggressive ground and pound by Morecraft, but Morecraft came out for round two over aggressive and was countered by Struve and was knocked out. The performance won Struve KO of the Night. Between round 1 and round 2 Struve told his corner: "I'm almost fainting right now guys", probably due to the heavy ground and pound damage done by Morecraft in round 1 and the fact that he was throwing up before the fight (as he stated after the fight).
On September 28, 2010, it was announced that Struve signed a new four fight deal with the UFC.[7] Struve defeated the undefeated Sean McCorkle via first round TKO on December 11, 2010, at UFC 124. After being taken down early, and escaping a kimura attempt, Struve swept his opponent and started to pound away for the victory.[8]
Struve faced the undefeated Travis Browne on May 28, 2011 at UFC 130.[9] He lost the fight via KO in the first round.
Struve defeated Pat Barry on October 1, 2011 at UFC on Versus 6. Struve earned Submission of the Night honors after finishing Barry in the second round with a triangle armbar.[10]
Struve is expected to face Dave Herman on February 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 1.[11]
Championships and accomplishments
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Knockout of the Night (One time)[12]
- Submission of the Night (Two times)[13]
- Cage Gladiators
- Cage Gladiators World Heavyweight Champion (2007–2008)
Mixed martial arts record
| 27 matches | 22 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 4 |
| By submission | 15 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Herman | UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger | February 15, 2012 | Omaha, Nebraska, United States | ||||||
| Win | 22-5 | Pat Barry | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson | October 1, 2011 | 2 | 3:22 | Washington D.C., United States | Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 21-5 | Travis Browne | KO (superman punch) | UFC 130 | May 28, 2011 | 1 | 4:11 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 21–4 | Sean McCorkle | TKO (punches) | UFC 124 | December 11, 2010 | 1 | 3:55 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 20–4 | Christian Morecraft | TKO (punches) | UFC 117 | August 7, 2010 | 2 | 0:22 | Oakland, California, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
| Loss | 19–4 | Roy Nelson | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi | March 31, 2010 | 1 | 0:39 | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 19–3 | Paul Buentello | Decision (majority) | UFC 107 | December 12, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | |
| Win | 18–3 | Chase Gormley | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 104 | October 24, 2009 | 1 | 4:04 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 17–3 | Denis Stojnić | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 99 | June 13, 2009 | 2 | 2:37 | Cologne, Germany | |
| Loss | 16–3 | Junior dos Santos | TKO (punches) | UFC 95 | February 21, 2009 | 1 | 0:54 | London, England | UFC Debut. |
| Win | 16–2 | Mario Neto | Submission (rear naked choke) | CG 10: Clash of the Titans | November 29, 2008 | 2 | 3:19 | Liverpool, England | |
| Win | 15–2 | Ralf Wonnink | Submission (armbar) | KOE: Tough Is Not Enough | October 5, 2008 | 1 | N/A | Rotterdam, Holland | |
| Win | 14–2 | Yuji Sakuragi | Submission (triangle choke) | M-1 Challenge 6: Korea | August 29, 2008 | 1 | 2:30 | South Korea | |
| Win | 13–2 | Colin Robinson | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Gladiators 8 | July 27, 2008 | 1 | N/A | England | |
| Win | 12–2 | Ralf Wonnink | Submission (rear naked choke) | Beast of the East | January 26, 2008 | 1 | N/A | Holland | |
| Loss | 11–2 | Christian M'Pumbu | Submission (brabo choke) | Star of Peresvit | December 7, 2007 | 1 | 2:05 | Kiev, Ukraine | Star of Peresvit openweight tournament semi-final. |
| Win | 11–1 | Sergey Danish | TKO (corner stoppage) | Star of Peresvit | December 7, 2007 | 2 | 2:20 | Kiev, Ukraine | Star of Peresvit openweight tournament quarter-final. |
| Win | 10–1 | Tomek Smykowski | Submission (choke) | TFS: Mixfight Gala VI | November 25, 2007 | 1 | N/A | Munich, Germany | |
| Win | 9–1 | Tom Blackledge | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Gladiators 5 | November 4, 2007 | 1 | 2:14 | Liverpool, England | |
| Win | 8–1 | Denis Komkin | Submission (rear naked choke) | Siberian Challenge 1 | October 14, 2007 | 1 | N/A | Bratsk, Russia | |
| Win | 7–1 | Marko Sintic | Submission (triangle choke) | CF: The Real Deal | May 5, 2007 | 1 | N/A | Emmen, Holland | |
| Win | 6–1 | Atte Backman | Submission (triangle choke) | Fight Festival 21 | March 17, 2007 | 1 | 3:54 | Helsinki, Finland | |
| Win | 5–1 | Florian Müller | TKO | Outsider Cup 6 | December 16, 2006 | 2 | 1:38 | Duisburg, Germany | |
| Win | 4–1 | Marcus Sursa | Submission (triangle choke) | WEF: Orleans Arena | June 10, 2006 | 1 | 3:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Murat Bourekba | DQ | Staredown City | February 5, 2006 | N/A | N/A | Oostzaan, Holland | |
| Win | 2–1 | Emir Smajlovic | KO | MMA: Event | September 17, 2005 | 1 | N/A | Holland | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Romualds Garkulis | TKO | Mixfight Gala | April 16, 2005 | 1 | N/A | Holland | |
| Win | 1–0 | John De Wilde | Submission (armbar) | Gentlemen Fight Night | March 19, 2005 | 1 | N/A | Holland |
See also
Notes and references
- ^ "Under Construction: Skyscraper in Progress".
- ^ UFC signs heavyweight Stefan Struve to a 4-fight deal - MMA Fighting
- ^ "Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic". Five Ounces of Pain. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ Fighters Only Magazine - The World's Greatest MMA Magazine - News - Stefan Struve signs new UFC deal
- ^ "Stefan Struve replaces Todd Duffee, meets Paul Buentello on UFC 107 main card". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
- ^ Stefan Struve will fight newly-signed heavyweight Christian Morecraft at UFC 117 : Pro MMA Now
- ^ "UFC inks heavyweight Stefan Struve to new four-fight deal". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
- ^ "Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle targeted for UFC 124 in Montreal". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ "Travis Browne vs. Stefan Struve targeted for UFC 130 in May". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ "UFC on Versus 6 Fight Card: Pat Barry and Stefan Struve Go Big". MMAWeekly.com. 2011-07-26.
- ^ "Dave Herman vs. Stefan Struve targeted for UFC on FUEL TV 1". mmajunkie.com. November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ UFC 117 bonuses: Struve, Silva, Sonnen and Hughes earn $60,000 fighter awards | MMAjunkie.com
- ^ UFC 104 fighter bonuses: Struve, Barry and Hardonk earn $60k awards; Johnson snubbed | MMAjunkie.com