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Stefan (Skyscraper) Struve showed early on in his UFC career that he should never be counted out. Martellus Bennett Jersey . At UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany, in June 2009, the six-foot-11 Dutch heavyweight was gushing blood out of his forehead after taking a string of hammer blows from Denis Stojnic while on his back in the first round. Stojnics forearm looked as if it had been dipped in blood. But a bloody Struve rallied in the second round to take Stojnics back and choke him out. The German crowd roared as Struve, his face a crimson mask and long torso tinged red from blood, rose in victory. "Thats one hell of a Band-Aid," UFC president Dana White said dryly, referring to a plaster the size of a cigarette package on Struves forehead at the post-fight news conference. Struves size -- he is the tallest fighter in UFC history and is tied for longest reach with light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones -- combined with slick kickboxing and submission skills have helped him rise up the heavyweight ranks while compiling a 9-4 record in the UFC. But his career appeared over last year when he was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. Given the OK to resume fighting by his doctors in the Netherlands and the UFCs cardiologist, Struve (29-6) returns to the cage Saturday when he takes on Matt Mitrione at UFC 175 in Las Vegas. "It looks good," Struve, who divides his training between the Netherlands and Los Angeles. "I just need to do checkups two times a year with my doctors in Holland and two times a year with my doctors in LA. "Thats no problem for me. I actually like that I know for sure that my heart is healthy." Mitrione (7-3) is a former NFL defensive lineman who switched to MMA via Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show in 2009. Struve, ranked 12th among heavyweight contenders, last fought in March 2013 when he suffered a broken jaw in a knockout loss to hard-hitting Mark Hunt in Japan. Struve says he had been sick for six weeks before the bout and was still under the weather during the fight. "I felt horrible." And he just couldnt recover after. "I just couldnt get over the jet lag. I couldnt sleep at night," he said. "I just didnt feel good and I didnt have any energy." He returned to full training some three months after the loss. Then one day at his parents house, he got dizzy standing up after working at the computer. He sat down and blacked out briefly, "which scared me because I had never had that." He went to the hospital, which couldnt find anything but asked him to come back for a stress ultrasound test which uses high frequency sound waves to examine the hearts anatomy and function. "Thats where they found it," he said. Struve was diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve, as well an enlarged heart. It meant that his heart was only pumping 60 per cent of his blood into the aorta and then the rest of his body. The remaining 40 per cent was ending up back in the heart chamber. Doctors used medication to control his blood pressure and the demands on his heart. Struve says he will probably have to undergo surgery at some point but hopes to do it after his fighting career. "As it is right now, its getting better every day," he said. He kept training throughout, raising his regimen as his health improved. He also taught MMA, which he said he enjoyed immensely. "I just enjoy being healthy and living a good life," he said. "I love this sport." MMA takes a toll, however. While Struve puts on exciting fights, he has endured punishing knockouts losses at the hands of Junior Dos Santos, Roy (Big Country) Nelson, Travis Browne and Hunt. The big Dutchman says he feels a lot more energy these days. "And a lot more joy in life, if you want to say so, because if you feel tied all day long, youre just miserable." But Struve says he may have taken time off from fighting even if it hadnt had the heart scare. He had plenty on his mind. "This was by far the hardest year of my life," he added. "Not only because of this but my father passed away in October after being sick for a year and a half. And then there were some other things that happened close to me that really impacted me." Back training, his performance in the gym gives him confidence that ring rust wont be an issue Saturday night. While Struve says he has got on well with Mitrione in the past, he says its a "little strange" the American asked for the fight before he was cleared to compete again. Middleweight champion Chris Weidman defends his title against former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida -- ranked No. 3 among 185-pound contenders -- in the main event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Womens bantamweight title-holder (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey takes on No. 2 Alexis Davis, a native of Port Colborne, Ont., who fights out of San Jose, in the co-main event. Drew Bledsoe Womens Jersey . TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. Johny Hendricks vs. John Hannah Patriots Jersey .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. www.authenticpatriotsfanatic.com/c-4-patriots-andre-tippett-jersey.aspx . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies.The first trade on NHL Trade Deadline Day may well be the biggest, with the defending Art Ross Trophy winner getting moved. Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Martin St. Louis and Ryan Callahan swapping places. The Rangers Get: RW Martin St. Louis. St. Louis, 38, is the highest scoring player in the league since 2009-2010, tallying 388 points (131 G, 257 A) in 351 games and led the league in scoring last season, with 60 points in 48 games. Theres no reason, despite his age, to believe that St. Louis suddenly wont be able to keep producing offensively. While St. Louis has never been an exceptional possession player, hes thrived alongside Steven Stamkos, one of the premier finishers in the game, which has resulted in a consistently high high on-ice shooting percentage. There arent a lot of players that can maintain those percentages but St. Louis has been able to produce an on-ice shooting percentage above 10% every season, including the current season, during which hes spent most of his year skating with rookies Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat. So, if St. Louis gets re-united with former Lightning linemate Brad Richards, there is a fair chance for that line -- with Carl Hagelin on the left side -- to be productive, definitely more productive than they have been with Callahan in that spot. St. Louis is under contract for one more season, at a cap hit of $5.625-million, but there is an advantage built in for the Rangers when it comes to signing him to an extension. Since New York was St. Louis preferred destination, its reasonable enough to think that the Blueshirts will be able to keep him as long as he keeps scoring. The Lightning Get: RW Ryan Callahan, a second-round pick, a 2015 first-round pick and an additional conditional pick. While Callahan, 28, is universally praised for his heart, work ethic and determination, those are qualities that are awfully difficult to put a value on and, in the Rangers case they were more inclined to deal Callahan for St. Louis more tangible benefits. This isnt to say that Callahan doesnt provide his own tangible value -- he has 120 goals since 2008-2009, which ranks 50th -- but he tends towards middling puck possession numbers, including this year even tthough hes starting a career-high 60. Patrick Chung Patriots Jersey. 4% shifts in the offensive zone this year. With St. Louis moving on, there are some interesting opportunities available for Lightning forwards. While Callahan is one player who could benefit, anyone that ends up with Stamkos is obviously in a good situation. Teddy Purcell, Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov are other wingers that could get a turn on Stamkos wings. Indications, leading up to this trade, were that Callahan was looking at a six-year deal worth more than $6-million per season. Its entirely understandable that the Lightning wont be inclined to pay that price to keep Callahan long-term, which would effectively make him a rental and therefore make the draft picks a more important facet of the deal. The second-round pick this year could be a first-round pick if the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final, the Lightning also get the Rangers first-round pick in 2015. If Callahan re-signs in Tampa Bay, the Rangers would get Tampa Bays second-round pick while sending a seventh-round pick to New York. The accumulated value of a mid-first and a second-round pick yields, on average, about a 95% chance of landing an NHL player, so its reasonable to see that the Lightning should get some long-term benefit out of St. Louis departure, but thats trying to making the most out of a bad situation, a situation that reached a breaking point when stories started to take hold that St. Louis had asked to be moved out of Tampa Bay. St. Louis is a rare talent, an elite point producer, and no matter how much depth the Lightning are accumulating throughout their organization -- and they have a great crop of young forwards -- its tough to make up for losing a player of St. Louis calibre, particularly in the short-term. If the Lightning were committed to making a run in a relatively open Eastern Conference, perhaps riding a career season from goaltender Ben Bishop, it might have made more sense to wait until summer to make this deal, but maybe the situation behind the scenes just wasnt tenable. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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