A heavyweight tilt at next month’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night event in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada between Stefan Struve and Junior dos Santos will not be happening. News broke that Struve went down with a shoulder injury. Not much else was known other than a replacement search for “Cigano” was underway.
The “Skyscraper” recently took to his Instagram account to reveal the details surrounding his pullout:
“Bad news folks. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to fight in Halifax (on) February 19. I’ll be undergoing surgery to fix a torn labrum in my left shoulder (Friday) afternoon.”
Struve’s planned Feb. 19 bout inside the Scotiabank Centre would’ve given him an opportunity to avenge a 2009 loss to the former UFC heavyweight champion. In their first encounter, dos Santos pounced on Struve for a 54-second TKO victory.
As far as a timetable on Struve’s return, “Skyscraper” shed light on what he was told.
“Doctor said I will be on the sideline about four months, and of course I’m gonna be doing my best to make it back asap.”
While injuries do occur and Struve isn’t known for pulling out of fights, the heavyweight was still apologetic to fans who were looking forward to the match-up.
“I apologize to the fans, especially the people who bought tix for the fight in Halifax, and of course the person I was scheduled to fight, Junior dos Santos. It’s the very first time I have to pull out of a fight because of an injury and it hurts my heart to do it.”
The UFC has yet to announce a replacement for “Cigano.” UFC Fight Night in Halifax will feature the former and inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza take on Randa Markos. Middleweights Elias Theodorou and Cezar Ferreira are also set to go toe-to-toe inside the Octagon.
