Stefan Struve makes his long-awaited return to the UFC this summer, as the Dutch mixed martial artist has received clearance to return to the cage.
Struve meets fellow heavyweight Matt Mitrione at UFC 175 in Las Vegas in July. The card, headlined by two championship bouts between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida, as well as Ronda Rousey and Alexis Davis, now gets deeper with the addition of two high-profile, exciting heavyweights.
Struve returns to the Octagon for the first time since March 2013, when he was brutally knocked out by Mark Hunt in Japan. Struve suffered a jaw injury and some missing teeth for the beating he took from “The Super Samoan.”
After that fight, Struve was found to have an enlarged heart, which put his career in jeopardy. He has now been cleared by doctors to return to competition, which will undoubtedly lead Struve to one of the best comeback stories of all time.
Struve takes on Mitrione, a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter 10, where Mitrione transformed from a former NFL defensive lineman to a certified mixed martial artist.
Mitrione is 7-3 in his career, all of which have taken place in the UFC. He went through a tough streak recently that saw him go 1-3 against tougher competition, but he righted the ship in his last fight, downing Shawn Jordan with some nasty strikes.
Mitrione, who is considered a big heavyweight at 6’3″, 260 pounds, will be much smaller than the Dutchman, as Struve stands around 7’0″. Mitrione has immense knockout power, which he will look to use here, while Struve will use his size and reach to keep Mitrione at bay.
It is not confirmed whether this is a main or preliminary card fight, though one would think with the backstory of Struve that this would make a great main card bout.
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