Stefan Struve had to dig deep in Prague tonight at UFC On ESPN+ 3 after being floored by Marcos Rogerio de Lima’s first punch of the fight, but he rallied in the second round to sink in a fight-ending choke and then caught everyone by surprise as he announced his retirement from the sport.
Round One:
Immediate overhand right from de Lima and it floors Struve! De Lima follows him to the mat and gets into half guard looking for heavy ground and pound.
Struve seems clear headed enough to defend himself appropriately though and he might not be too unhappy about having this fight on the mat given his BJJ expertise and lanky limbs.
De Lima is pressing him uncomfrortably up against the cage though. Struve tries for a kimura and gets halfway towards reversing his opponent, before de Lima adjusts position and remains on top.
Elbow strike from de Lima. Now he lands short hammerfists. Right hooks dropping down now. Struve closing his guard now and perhaps hoping for a stand-up.
he opens up his guard and tries for a reversal, but de Lima remains heavy on top and is back in half-guard now.
Final minute of the round. De Lima takes side control and then into full mount. however, he opts not to work for ground and pound and instead just stays tight to Struve’s chest and maintains the position until the horn sounds.
Round Two:
Light body kick from Struve. Clipping right hand from de Lima as he pressures the tall Dutchman and then goes into the clinch.
Struve reversing the position, but then de Lima turns him around again. However, Struve then is able to land a nice takedown and steps into half guard.
Struve much more comfortable from this position and applies lots of shoulder pressure as he attempts to pass guard. De Lima defending for now though and Struve readjusts, threatens with an arm triangle choke and then moves into full mount.
The triangle choke is still in tight and without even stepping off to the side he’s able to drive in his shoulder enough to force de Lima to tap out with 2.21mins of the second round gone!
During his post-fight interview the 31-year-old Struve then revealed that he had decided it was time to retire from the sport and then lay down his gloves in the center of the Octagon.
