Stefan
Struve announced his retirement on Monday after a 42-fight
professional career that began in 2005.
The 7-foot Dutchman revealed his decision on social media, citing
an ear condition that worsened when he was hit during a recent UFC
bout. Struve has dealt with vertigo, hearing loss and a ringing
noise in his ear as a result of the condition, which is permanent
but doesn’t affect his day-to-day life when he’s not training for a
fight. Struve said he elected to call it a career after the UFC
recently reached out to offer him a fight.
“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,” Struve said.
“I’ve had an inner ear issue 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
[Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo].
“Because of this I have also been dealing with 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 [my most recent] 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.
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 put my body
through in training camp to get ready for fights I can’t do
anymore. At this juncture, I realize that it’s time to hang up the
gloves for good, and my put my health and family first. I’ve had a
long career and battled through multiple injuries, including a
broken jaw and my heart condition. Pushing forward and training
hard without listening to my body would be asking for real trouble
in my opinion.”
Struve
previously considered retirement following a submission victory
over Marcos
Rogerio de Lima in February 2019 but ultimately returned for
two more bouts, suffering KO/TKO defeats against Ben Rothwell
and most recently, to Tai Tuivasa
this past October.
Struve, who turns 33 this week, exits the sport with a 29-13 career
mark that includes triumphs over the likes of Stipe
Miocic, Antonio
Silva, Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira, Pat Barry and
Paul
Buentello. The Team Schrijber representative went on hiatus in
2013 after
being diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and an enlarged
heart. He returned a little more than a year later at UFC on
Fox 13, where he suffered a first-round KO loss against Alistair
Overeem. Struve also
suffered a broken jaw in a knockout loss to Mark Hunt in
March 2013.
His greatest success came early in his UFC tenure, when he was
victorious in nine of his first 12 Octagon appearances from 2009 to
2012. Struve had fallen on hard times of late, though, and he
retires having lost five of his last six bouts within the Las
Vegas-based promotion.
“I am truly appreciative of the career and treatment that I’ve had
in the UFC,” Struve wrote. “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 an honor to
fight for you.”