Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
“My point is just how frustrated I am because I was doing great until the low blows.” — Stefan Struve
Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight striker, Stefan Struve, was looking better than ever in his most recent fight against fellow mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran, Ben Rothwell, until a pair of pill shots rendered him combat ineffective.
While some of the blame has been placed on referee Dan Miragliotta, who may or may not have pressured “Skyscraper” to resume fighting, Internet critics have little sympathy for Struve because he agreed to continue and therefore, should not complain.
“I don’t complain about the stoppage,” Struve wrote on Twitter. “I’m frustrated that two (unintentional) illegal blows take away my focus in a fight that I was clearly controlling and winning, and because of that I miss out on a big win bonus. Ben knows I don’t blame him because I told him, I believe he had no intention of landing them where they landed. Doesn’t change anything about the result of those kicks though, they still changed the entire course of the fight.”
Struve recovered from his low blow but was unable to stay in control of the fight, eventually losing by way of technical knockout in the second stanza. The 31 year-old “Skyscraper” has now dropped four of his last five dating back to late 2017.
Rothwell, meanwhile, snapped a three-fight losing streak with the win. I’m not sure if the finish was controversial enough to warrant an immediate rematch, but I have a feeling these two heavyweights haven’t seen the last of each other inside the Octagon.