When a fighter has more professional fights on their record than years of age, it’s always considered a rare achievement. Stefan Struve is in that mold, although his career is more remarkable. At seven feet tall fighting as a heavyweight, Struve managed to constantly stay active in his career. At 26 years old, he’s already fought in 31 fights with an impressive record of 25-6.
His breaks in between fights weren’t very long and his style was more engaging than you’d expect it to be. With his height and reach advantage, everyone expected him to abuse his opponents based off his physical traits. Then you add in his slick ground game, it seemed that he could very well be unstoppable.
Unfortunately for him, a combination of poor fight IQ and health problems stunted his growth. Struve tends to make poor decisions in fights based off trying to be unpredictable. While anyone can appreciate a fighter for trying to be exciting, it has proved to be detrimental in a few of his losses.
In his fight against Travis Browne, he was getting tagged and had his back against the cage. For no particular reason, he leaps to attempt a straight left leaving himself completely open. Why should a fighter with his reach and size have to do any striking in regards to leaping? Browne catches him with a superman punch that becomes a highlight-reel knockout. Struve has been susceptible to leaving himself open, while throwing with his left hand. Roy Nelson knocked him out with an overhand right, when he tried working his jab.
The other notable moment that cost Struve was in his fight against Mark Hunt. We’ve seen improvements in Hunt’s defense on the ground, but that still remained to be his glaring weakness. It was expected that Struve should either pull guard like he did against Lavar Johnson or attempt a sweep to take him down. Struve managed to do that and actually sustained full mount position.
He was successfully landing good punches and looked to be in complete control. Hunt had no answer for it and the fight may have been stopped, if Struve kept the pace for another 20 seconds or so. Instead he goes for an arm-bar from full mount giving up his dominant positioning. Both fighters are sweating profusely in the last minute of the second round, which makes it even more difficult to lock in the arm bar. Then for him to lose top position was even more preposterous.
It was another example of Struve trying to be exciting rather than fighting a smart fight. That moment seemed to wear him down, as he couldn’t push the pace in the final round. Eventually he was on the receiving end of another highlight reel knockout. He sustained a broken jaw from that loss, along with even more severe health problems in the upcoming months. The health problems were from an enlarged heart. It was known as bicuspid aortic valve, which meant that Struve only has two leaflets instead of three.
He was diagnosed in August, although in October he received positive news. After many people speculated that his career was over, it was reported that he could potentially come back. Eventually, he was cleared to train in Holland by April and immediately booked his next fight.
Struve will be facing Matt Mitrione, which has the makings of an exciting fight. Both fighters love to stand-and-trade without any hesitation. They’re both deceptively athletic and utilize kicks better than most heavyweights. It will be a crowd-pleasing fight, although it has major implications for both fighters. Mitrione is already 35 years old and is still searching for that signature win on his resume. Many analysts aren’t quite sure if Struve can still possibly be a top ten heavyweight. This fight should give us an early indication of that.
After having an extended period of time off, we could hopefully expect to see a new and improved Struve. In various interviews, he’s opened up about evolving and what has hindered him in the past. During an appearance on the MMA Roasted podcast, he talked about how his heart condition affected him. He admitted, “there were times that he couldn’t even keep his hands up” against Hunt. It made him feel like he was only at 70 percent, which led him to starting off slower in the first round in past fights to avoid gassing out.
Could the lack of energy be his reasoning behind getting into these stand-up brawls? It may very well be, but will have to wait for Saturday to receive full verification. Along with many critics, I’ve always been critical of him for not utilizing his jab enough. His reach is at 84.5 inches, which exceeds any heavyweight yet he chooses to throw knees or wild hooks.
Even in his victories against the likes of Dave Herman and Stipe Miocic, he allows them to close the distance far too easily. He was getting tagged early on in both fights and kept backing up. He chose to cover up rather than move laterally to defend those punches. Does this go back to his condition once again? Eventually he found his groove in the second round from utilizing his reach, then finishing both opponents with a devastating uppercut.
Another interview that makes me hopeful in Struve evolving from being just a “talented fighter” was on Karyn Bryant’s podcast. He was adamant in not allowing himself to take unnecessary damage any longer in fights. His habit of taking one punch to throw one punch isn’t in his game plan anymore. When you have physical gifts like he has, why do you have a game plan similar to someone like Roy Nelson?
Struve’s time off seemed to be an enlightening experience. He seems to be focused on evolving and removing the stigma of having a poor fight IQ. His training with former UFC heavyweight and kick boxer Antoni Hardonk should help him clear up the deficiencies in his striking. We shouldn’t be seeing any more flying knees or punches from him.
His return fight against Mitrione will be a stern test on where he remains in his “young” career. While I’ve criticized him about his poor decisions in the past, he’s still had his moments of excellence that can play a factor in beating Mitrione. In his victories over Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson, he recognized their shortcomings on the ground. Struve finished them both without much resistance, besides Barry actually slamming him at one point.
Mitrione isn’t a complete liability like Barry and Johnson on the ground, but he still isn’t very good. Cheick Kongo controlled him on the ground through a good portion of the third round in their fight. Brendan Schaub submitted him with relative ease with a D’Arce choke. While Struve will certainly look to mix it up, it wouldn’t be a complete shock to see him either pull guard or attempt a leg sweep or trip to get the fight to the ground.
The heavyweight division is filled with fighters in their early to mid thirties. Struve is the only ranked heavyweight that is still in his twenties. His upside remains limitless, which is what makes him so intriguing besides his absurd size. The extended time off could actually prove to be the best thing that happened to his career. He was fighting on such a rigorous schedule that it made me wonder, if he would actually improve by a significant proportion. We’ve seen him publicly state his faults and make his vows on how to be successful. Now will see if these improvements can come to fruition for his second coming as a fighter.
Twitter: @Allen_Strk
