Stefan Struve blacked out and fainted in the locker room prior to his UFC 175 fight with Matt Mitrione in Las Vegas, leading the UFC to cancel the bout.
“Stefan Struve blacked out in the locker room. He has elevated heart rate and is out of the fight. I’d never risk his health,” UFC boss Dana White said.
Struve apparently fainted while warming up. He is going in for treatment.
Dana came over to press table to talk Struve. "He was hyperventilating. They think it was a panic attack, but we're not going to risk it."
— Dave Doyle (@davedoylemma) July 6, 2014
Keep in mind that Struve was diagnosed last year with a leaking aortic valve and an enlarged heart, so this could be a serious concern for the 7-footer.
Struve vs. Mitrione was set to be one of the top fights on the UFC 175 card. Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida and Ronda Rousey vs. Alexis Davis were the headliners, and Struve vs. Mitrione was going to occur right before Rousey-Davis.
The immediate move leaves four fights on the pay-per-view portion of the card. Uriah Hall vs. Thiago Santos and Marcus Brimage vs. Russell Doane are the other fights.
Obviously at this point the main concern is Struve’s health and well-being, which is currently unknown.
