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UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve has officially retired from the sport of mixed martial arts. Taking to social media, the towering heavyweight fighter released a statement on his retirement. Struve revealed he caught a viral infection that damaged his vestibular system.
Stefan Struve has been a part of the UFC for over a decade. The Dutch fighter made his debut for the promotion in 2009 at UFC 95 in a losing effort to Junior dos Santos in the first round.
In a post released on Twitter, Stefan Struve announced his retirement. Struve added that he was contacted by the UFC last week for a fight but had to decline the offer as he had decided to retire.
Here is the statement released by Stefan Struve on Twitter:
Stefan Struve ended his statement by thanking his manager and all his coaches and training partners for all the support. He also thanked the fans who supported him over the years.
“To 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," wrote Struve.
Stefan Struve was one of the most popular fighters in the UFC's heavyweight division
Despite not winning the UFC heavyweight title during his time with the organization, Stefan Struve was always a fan-favorite. 'Skyscraper' shared the Octagon with some of the best fighters the UFC had to provide, including the likes of Stipe Miocic, Andrei Arlovski, Alexander Volkov, and Alistair Overeem.
During his time with the UFC, Struve won the Fight of the Night award on two occasions, for his fights against Miocic and Volkov. Struve also has two Performance of the Night bonuses and three Fight of the Night performances to his name. Skyscraper's win over Christian Morecraft also saw him win the Knockout of the Night award.
Over the years, Stefan Struve has established himself as one of the best heavyweights and will definitely be missed in the MMA world.
