Stefan Struve has shared the Octagon with both combatants for Saturday’s UFC 211 main event in heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former champion Junior dos Santos.
In fact, Struve was scheduled for a rematch with dos Santos before surgery sidelined him.
So, who does the 7-footer see coming out of Dallas with the belt around their waist? He recently told UFC.com that.
“This is still the heavyweight division, and with the power we have, predicting fights is always difficult,” he said. “But I think Stipe learned a lot from the fight they were in, he’s going to pressure him and he’s gonna be fighting smarter than he did the first time. I think he’s gonna win this fight. I don’t know how he’s gonna win it, but I’ve got a pretty good feeling that he’s gonna pull it out.”
Struve scored a second round TKO victory over Miocic back in 2012 on FUEL TV, while dos Santos handed him a 54-second loss in his UFC debut back in 2009. Struve had scored 16 wins in 18 career fights when he signed with the promotion, which has been his home for the past eight years now.
“Back then, it (the Dos Santos loss) left a big dent in my confidence,” Struve said. “But it also had me work really hard to get to where I want to be. I realized I had a long road to go before I was where I wanted to be in the UFC.”
Struve (28-8) has scored back-to-back wins since a decision loss two years ago to Jared Rosholt. He is 3-3, though, since that victory over Miocic.
“At that point, I knew I beat a really good fighter,” he said. “When we fought, we were both not amongst the bigger names, but I knew I beat one of the top guys of the future. I wasn’t thinking of him as the next champion. The only thing I had in my mind was I beat this guy, I’m on a four-fight win streak, I’m gonna beat Mark Hunt and I’m gonna fight for a world title. Then all hell broke loose. But we’re back on track.”
