Stefan Struve is a reliable veteran who holds victories over the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antonio Silva, Paul Buentello and former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king, Stipe Miocic. Currently ranked No. 15, he will aim to move up the ladder when he meets Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC Fight Night 145.
The heavyweight tussle will happen on Feb. 23 at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Let these numbers show you why Struve is still very much a presence that can overwhelm anyone in the division.
16: Years old when he entered his first and only amateur mixed martial arts bout, where he won via head kick knockout. The following year, Struve made his professional debut.
1: Round was all he needed to beat John de Wilde in his debut professional fight. It happened at Gentleman Fight Night on March 19, 2005, in the Netherlands. After that, he suffered his first loss, a TKO via corner stoppage at the hands of Romualds Garkulis.
10: Fight winning streak followed that defeat. It also happens to be the longest winning run of his career, which saw him competing in different parts of Europe.
18: Fights before getting signed by the UFC, with a record of 16-2. Apart from Garkulis, the only other fighter that defeated him was future Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M'Pumbu.
54: Seconds in his UFC debut. “Skyscraper” was rudely welcomed by future heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, who stopped him with a series of punches.
57: Significant strikes against Miocic’s 48. He engaged in a highly competitive scuffle with this future champion at UFC on Fuel TV 5. After more than a round of back-and-forth action, Struve TKO’d Miocic with the second round.
9: Losses in the UFC. These setbacks were dealt by quality opponents such as dos Santos, Roy Nelson, Travis Browne, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Jared Rosholt, Alexander Volkov, Andrei Arlovski and Marcin Tybura.
0: Significant strikes landed on Lavar Johnson in their UFC 146 encounter. Yet, Struve took the victory following a well-executed armbar that ended the fight at 1:05 in the first round.
342: Combined significant strikes landed in all his wins in the UFC. His highest output in a single fight was against Nogueira where he landed 93 to a winning cause.
7: Post-fight bonuses. Struve is an underrated veteran that always puts on exciting fights. After 21 Octagon appearances, he has tallied three Submission of the Night, one Knockout of the Night, one Performance of the Night and two Fight of the Night awards.
12: Countries in which he has competed in. Struve has competed all over the world. Apart from his home country of the Netherlands, he has also fought in Germany, Finland, Russia, England, Ukraine, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Australia and the United States.
31: Years of age. Struve was born in Beverwijk, Netherlands, on Feb. 18, 1988. He played football as a kid but eventually transitioned into MMA.