By Neil Davidson
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Bad news for UFC heavyweights. Dutch fighter Stefan (Skyscraper) Struve plans on getting bigger.
Not taller — Struve has hit the ceiling at six foot 11. But the 22-year-old mixed martial arts fighter from Beverwijk plans to add some muscle in the years to come.
"I’m getting bigger but I don’t want to rush it," said Struve, who takes on UFC debutante Christian Morecraft on Saturday at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif.
"I’m going to change my diet again after my fight. I think that’s going to give me another boost. Because I changed my diet after the (Junior) Dos Santos fight (at UFC 95) and I gained like 15 pounds. I’m still a little bit underweight again but it’s more muscular now.
"After I change my diet, I’m going to go up like 10-15 pounds again, I think. I’m going to keep doing that for the next four or five years. I want to go up to 290."
That would mean Struve would have to cut weight to make the 265-pound UFC heavyweight limit.
"That’s going to suck, but imagine my size at 290?" asked Struve, who weighed 248 pounds last time out in March when he was knocked out by six-foot, 263-pound Roy (Big Country) Nelson.
A musclebound Struve would be something to see. Struve entered the UFC looking like a stringbean, albeit a tough one.
At UFC 99, he leaked blood after being opened up by a Denis Stojnic elbow.
"We got to get this fight over before Struve bleeds to death," said commentator Joe Rogan as blood cascaded out of Struve’s forehead like a red waterfall.
"It’s like hot oil wrestling with blood," he added.
But Struve — his face a crimson mask — survived to win by second-round submission, rising to his feet like something out of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
"That’s one hell of a Band-Aid," said UFC president Dana White, referring to a plaster the size of a cigarette pack on Struve’s forehead at the post-fight news conference.
A 247-pound Struve showed toughness — as well as some questionable decision-making — at UFC 107 last December when he won a majority decision over Paul (The Headhunter) Buentello.
Struve, who took the fight on as a late injury replacement, opted to swing away with Buentello after failing to take advantage of a nasty body triangle in the first round.
While Struve connected, he sometimes got as good as he gave and Buentello punished him when he tried exotics like a flying knee.
"The Buentello fight was on short notice. So that was just go in there and do your thing," Struve said.
At one point, the referee stopped the fight so someone outside the cage could remove a dislodged piece of Struve’s tooth from his mouthpiece.
Struve didn’t last long against Nelson in what was like a replay of his UFC debut at UFC 95 in February 2009, when he was knocked out by Dos Santos.
Nelson caught Struve at the fence with a punch and he crumpled like a baby giraffe.
Struve acknowledged Nelson is a quality foe but added: "I should have given him a way better fight."
"Roy’s a nice guy, all the credit to him," he said. "He fought a good fight, he did his job, I didn’t. So good for him."
While not making excuses — "Everybody gets sick during preparation" — Struve’s training was hampered by a bout of bronchitis that required antibiotics.
"I was training again the way I’m supposed to train but the day of the fight, let’s just say it didn’t go as planned. You know, shit happens and I learn from it."
Despite the setback, Struve (23-4 including 3-2 in the UFC) exudes confidence.
"It sucks, but I’m 22. I’ve got all the time in the world," he said. "I’ll learn from this experience… . I’ve got a big future ahead of me. I’m not going to sit there and think over the fight too long."
Struve has plenty of reasons to be confident. His size and 83-inch reach are a wonderful natural advantage, which he has bolstered with an effective submission game.
Struve changed up his training this time, spending the first eight weeks in the Netherlands and then a month or so in California, where he worked with Antoni Hardonk, Vladimir (The Janitor) Matyushenko and Jared Hamman.
"I was looking for a boost in my training, just to make it a little more fun, to keep it that way for the last four to five weeks," he explained.
Whatever happens Saturday, Struve and the six-foot-six Morecraft will be hard to miss.
Said Struve: "I’ve seen a little bit of his footage. And I just think that I’m a better fighter … So it’s going to be a win."
Struve is not impressed by the fact that Morecraft has finished all his fights in the first round, needing a total of eight minutes 32 seconds to go 6-0.
"That doesn’t say much to me because the guys he fought are not really good guys. He seems like a tough guy and he’s young as well so he’s going to be hungry, but so am I. I’m going to get back up after that loss and get back on track again."
Struve is no stranger to fighting tall men. He recalls Atte Backman. whom he submitted in 2007 in Finland, as 6-10.
"Actually I think I like it, especially when we go to the ground. He’s going to give me a lot of space because he’s got long limbs. I like that, I like to throw submissions and stuff."
When Struve is not fighting or training around the world, home is his parents’ house in the Netherlands (his father is 6-2 and his mother 5-8ish, if you’re wondering, although his brother is 6-8).
And despite the abuse his long body takes, Struve loves his job.
"I’m very thankful for the way my life is going. I don’t want to say it’s a bad thing but I’m just happy I don’t have to go to the office or something like that every day. I can do the sport I like and get paid for it so that’s a really good thing."
