UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve put on an epic battle against Mark Hunt in Japan on Saturday but ultimately fell to the former K-1 champion’s power in the third and final round.
After a back-and-forth fight through the first 10 minutes, an exhausted Mark Hunt lunged forward with his signature power punches and eventually landed a huge left hook that sent the seven-foot Struve crashing to the mat.
Struve lay prone on the mat almost looking like he was waiting for Hunt to jump down and attack, but in reality he was in serious pain suffering from a broken jaw.
Struve fought a valiant battle but fell to Hunt’s power as the fight wore on, thus breaking his four-fight win streak (the longest in the UFC’s heavyweight division).
Following the fight, Struve actually continued to update fans via Twitter, letting everyone know that apparently the ambulance he was currently in awaiting transport to the hospital didn’t offer much in the way of pain relief and his broken jaw wasn’t getting any better.
UFC president Dana White didn’t end up handing Struve and Hunt the “Fight of the Night” bonus, but assured the Dutch fighter he would be taken care of after the night saying, “I will take care of you bro. I got you!”
Meanwhile, Hunt has now moved into the enviable position as the fighter with the longest winning streak in the UFC heavyweight division, marking his own four-fight win streak.
Hunt has never been much for long speeches or self-promotion before, during or after fights, but he did tell the UFC on Fuel post-show that he was hoping for a top-10 matchup next after his win over Struve.
It remains to be seen who Hunt will get next, but with a bevy of heavyweight fights on the dockets over the next few months, any number of opponents could pop up for the one-time K-1 champion.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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