Best and Worst from UFC Fight Night 145: Blachowicz vs. Santos

#2 Best: Struve goes out with a bang?

Stefan Struve appeared to retire after his win over Marcos Rogerio De Lima

Last week I published an article on UFC fighters who retired with a victory, and after last night it looks like towering Dutchman Stefan Struve has joined them, despite being just 31 years old. Struve wasn’t fully committal to the idea of retiring after his victory over Marcos Rogerio De Lima, but the fight was the final one on his UFC contract and he removed his gloves and definitely seemed open to it.

It wasn’t an easy win for Struve, either – dropped by an overhand right from ‘Pezao’ in the opening seconds of the fight, ‘Skyscraper’ was dominated for the entire first stanza. But the second round saw him come back to gain top position, and from there he took advantage of the Brazilian’s porous ground game to put him away with an arm triangle choke.

Assuming Struve does retire, you can understand why. Sure, 31 isn’t old, but he’s been around forever – a decade in the UFC alone with a professional career actually dating back to 2005. What’s more, he’s also taken 7 knockout losses over that career – probably a sign that enough is enough.

While he was never a true title contender, Struve was always a fun fighter to watch – win or lose – and his ilk will be missed in the Heavyweight division for sure. Hopefully, he can stay healthy in the upcoming years now his career is over.