Stefan Struve has long been a fan favorite in heavyweight MMA. Now he has officially announced his retirement from the sport, due to lingering health issues that he has dealt with for some time.
Struve had been dealing with heart issues for some time, and they almost put an end to his UFC career back in 2013. Yet he managed to keep fighting, albeit only winning three of his ten fights since then.
That being said, the 7ft tall “Skyscraper” had some pretty good fights, and solid wins in his career. Most notably, was his victory over heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, beating him by TKO back in 2012.
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Stefan Struve Announces Retirement
Now it seems that the career of Stefan Struve has come to a close. In a lengthy statement to his Instagram, the heavyweight veteran announced that he would be hanging up the gloves due to some health issues.
“What’s up everyone, I hope you are all doing well in these crazy times. I wanted to make an announcement before the news came out a different way,” Struve wrote.
“I was contacted by the UFC last week for a fight. However, I’ve decided it’s time to retire from fighting. I was able to take my space and time the last couple of months to overthink this, so this time it really is for good.
“I’ve had an inner ear issue that I’ve been battling since may last year. I caught a viral infection that has damaged my vestibular system and the hearing nerve in my right ear.
“After new tests done recently we learned that the vestibular system is not working properly, the first conclusion in may was that it was most likely BPPV. Because of this I have been dealing with major vertigo issues and also loss of hearing and tinnitus, a ringing noise in my ear.
“After I caught it in may things got a lot better, after a couple rough weeks at first. I was doing good although still experiencing some vertigo and other minor issues but my idea was, especially with the doctors telling me the issues would go away after a while, to just keep going and ignore it until it really was gone completely.
“Unfortunately during the fight some of the issues came back after getting hit flush on the right ear, it was a punch that should not be an issue normally.”
“After that fight I was having more issues again and the doctors scheduled new tests. Those, unfortunately for me, took a long time to happen because of the lockdown over here in the Netherlands,” Struve continued.
“After these tests I was told the damage in the ear and the vestibular issues caused by the viral infection I’d been dealing with are most likely permanent. I have no big issues when I’m just doing my everyday things and or training on a normal level, to be
healthy and in shape.“The extreme intensity I have to put my body through in training camp to get ready for fights I can’t do anymore though. At this juncture, I realize that it’s time to hang up the gloves for good, and put my health and family first.
“I’ve had a long career and have battled through multiple injuries and health conditions, including a broken jaw and the heart condition. Pushing forward and training hard and fighting without listening to my body would be asking for real trouble in my opinion.
“I am truly appreciative of the career and treatment that I’ve had with the UFC. Everybody in the organization has always been amazing to me, so it is bittersweet to retire, but I also look forward to what the future holds for me and starting something new.
“I have to put my health first now, especially now that I’m a father to my 5 month old son Tobi, with whom his mom and I have been able to spend all the time in the world recently, which I’m very thankful for.
“I want to thank all my coaches, my manager, training partners and everybody else who has been part of my career throughout these years. To all the fight fans, even though sometimes I had to dig really deep I had a lot of fun over the years, it was a honor
to fight for you.”
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It is sad to see Stefan Struve hang up the gloves, but his reasons are beyond understandable. He had a pretty decent career, and will certainly be missed by fight fans around the world.
