Stefan Struve wants to leave the sport of MMA off a win.
Stefan Struve may have fought for the last time on Saturday afternoon.
After a second-round submission of Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC Prague, the UFC heavyweight said he is contemplating retirement. “The Skyscraper” noted that now would be a good time to hang his gloves up because he is back in the winning column, while before Saturday he was riding a three-fight skid.
“I think everybody is aware that my heart is not 100 percent,” Struve said in his post-fight interview. “When I made my comeback, I told myself I would have about five years. I’ve been fighting a little longer since then. My heart is good, but there’s a very good (chance) that this is my last fight.”
Struve was diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and an enlarged heart in 2013. He was sidelined from March 2013 to December 2014. Struve was scheduled to return in July 2014 at UFC 175 against Matt Mitrione, but the bout was cancelled on fight night after Struve fainted in his locker room.
During the interview, Struve took his gloves off and left them in the Octagon.
However, his own retirement is not quite a done deal, he said.
“I’m not 100-percent sure yet. It’s not a decision I’ll make right now,” Struve said. “I lost my last two before this, and to get a win like this — a lot of people end their careers too late. I’m an over-thinker, so this is not 100 percent, but I feel this is a great moment.”
Struve, 31, has compiled a 29-11 record with quality wins over Stipe Miocic, Antonio Silva, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira among others.
Coincidentally, former UFC two-division champion Georges St-Pierre — a fighter known for stepping away on his own terms, at the right time, and on top — announced his official retirement last week. St-Pierre leaves the sport riding a 13-fight winning streak and off a middleweight title win in late 2017.