Rich Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Some potential sad news about Stefan Struve: While he's been on the shelf after breaking his jaw against Mark Hunt back in March, Stefan Struve has received some more bad medical news, and it just might mean an end to his fighting career. Struve has been diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and an enlarged heart. His manager offered an official statement through MMA Fighting. "Stefan Struve has recently been diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and an enlarged heart and was hospitalized for a week to undergo testing to determine the best course of treatment. The doctors found that Stefan has a bicuspid aortic valve, wich means that his aortic valve only has two leaflets, instead of three. The aortic valve regulates blood flow from the heart into the aorta, the major blood vessel that brings blood to the body. In combination with the enlarged heart it causes his heart to only pump 70 percent of the blood into the aorta and then the rest of his body, and the remaining 30 percent ends up back in the heart chamber. After consulting experts in both Holland and the United States, it was decided to treat the condition with medication for the next two months and asses the effectiveness of that treatment protocol. After those 2 months, the doctors will have an answer on what the best treatment options are. At the direction of his doctors, Stefan has now been released from the hospital and has resumed light cardiovascular exercise. Stefan fully appreciates the significance of the condition he has been diagnosed with, however, he is optimistic about the eventual outcome and fully plans on living a long, healthy, active, happy life and eventually returning to competition in the octagon for his quest to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Stefan loves the UFC and plans on being involved with company as a fighter and ambassador for years to come. Stefan wants to thank all the fans who have supported him thus far in his career as well as the UFC, Dana White, Lorenzo Fertita, Joe Silva, Dr. Jeff Davidson, the entire staff of the UFC, and his fellow fighters for affording him the opportunity to compete on the biggest stage of the sport of MMA, as well as a tremendous degree of support during this trying time. In particular Stefan wants to thank Dana White, Lorenzo Fertita, & Joe Silva for immediately getting engaged with this issue and providing Stefan access to the best possible medical care. Stefan will be sharing his experiences as he deals with this medical condition in the hopes that he can serve as a role model by helping to create awareness and inspire others to fight through adversity." An enlarged heart is a real red flag diagnosis. Several athletes have died from the condition as the immense strain they put on their bodies offers them very little medical leeway. In 2007 NBC released data from a study that said that an undiagnosed enlarged heart was among the leading causes of death in young athletes. Partially this is because intense athletic activity may lead to a thickening of the heart muscle. However, even with the obvious danger, the condition does not necessarily mean he'll have to end his career. As stated Struve still has the desire to compete and doctors are waiting for a more thorough diagnosis before recommending treatment. Whatever his final decision is I hope he is able to do everything needed to stay healthy. We'll be sure to keep you updated as more news becomes available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Yeah that sucks. Especially considering he's only like, what, 25 and already had like 30 fights. He could definitely go on, improve and become World Champion. I hope he still can, big fan of The Skyscraper. In other news, they confirmed Robbie Lawler versus Rory MacDonald for UFC 167, though I'm not sure it's the co-main event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnar hendershow Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 That sucks. I always felt Struve had the potential to put everything together and become a champion. Hopefully, if this is true, he at least has been good with the money he's already gotten from UFC and will be able to rest comfortably on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Dana just announced a new Fight For The Troops, with Machida versus Kennedy. Yay, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazz Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 So it's official, Mark Hunt can punch so hard he can break hearts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanDMan Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Interesting to have Dana White defend a roid monster like A-Rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Having caught up with the UFC event from last weekend, I'm a little confused. Was Sonnen expected to win? He seemed to control Rua so easily - I assumed this was a fight that Rua would just roll through him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieG Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Rua was the bookies' favorite, I personally was pretty split on it, pretty sure nobody picked either man in that match on Pick 'Em .. it was a close call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazz Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 I thought it was a good stylistic match up for Sonnen, he's got one of the best takedowns in the sport and Rua stands straight on and is increasingly flat footed after all his knee surgeries. I never saw Sonnen submitting him though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 As I never saw that fight(just the last little bit of the co and the whole of the main event), how did Faber look in his win? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Really good. Iuri is a good fighter, but not on Faber's level. In fact, I'd be ready to see him fight Barao or Cruz now, he's definitely earned it. If not, the idea of him going up to 145 again and fighting Frankie sounds like an awesome one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Tyron Woodley versus Josh Koscheck at 167 as well. Card is really putting up some high profile welterweight fights, looks like it's going down the same route of the last GSP card. Dana has that pegged as their 20th Anniversary Show, so it'll be interesting to see what they do for it, as the Harley Davidsson card and the year end card looks way more entertaining. Oh, and Dana also said that Wanderlei would never accept a Chael fight, which Dana wants to put as the 167 co-main. Can bet you guys anything Wanderlei's gonna' come back and say that he was never offered the fight in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cymbols Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 Terrible call from the referee. Abel Trujillo should be DQ'ed for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieG Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 Don't know why, but that Andrews (T)KO got me really excited, jumped out of my seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieG Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 CM Punk is sitting ringcageside next to Dana White, awesome! EDIT: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazz Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Punk's signing for UFC! The ref was correct for the no contest, the second knee glances off Bowling's knee, which deflects it into his face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cymbols Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 Soa Palelei vs Nikita Krylov. Nobody gets over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieG Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Oh dude, thanks for waking me up.. did I miss anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cymbols Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Al Iaquinta squished Ryan Couture, the heavyweights were gassed after 2 minutes and I had to google the results to remember the first fight. So, you didn't miss much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieG Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 .. I was joking, referring to the snooze fest that was Soa vs the other dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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