• UFC Nottingham

Struve en route to Dos Santos rematch

Stefan Struve heads into Saturday's UFC on Fuel 5 main event in Nottingham promising that he will one day avenge his defeat to Junior Dos Santos, insisting he will win UFC gold.

Struve headlines against Stipe Miocic in a potentially explosive headline fight this weekend, knowing victory lifts him towards the top contenders in the heavyweight division. Past defeats to the likes of Roy Nelson and Travis Browne have hindered his progress, but the 24-year-old claims lessons have been learned.

In his loss to Browne, Struve was knocked out after attempting a flying knee, and he also had his lights turned out when he met Nelson. Against Miocic, the story will be different says Struve.

"The fight with Travis, the knee was stupid," Struve told ESPN. "There was nothing going on in the fight, so I really wanted to get after it. Now I'm trying to keep my distance and relax.

"Same with Roy. I went into the Octagon with certain things that had happened that week. I didn't keep my cool and began to swing, and you can't do that with Roy.

"Stupid mistakes, I should have won both and I plan to learn from that. I just need to stay calm for longer and keep my reach, because they can't reach me but I can reach them."

Looking back on his clash with Dos Santos - his debut in the UFC - Struve knows he is a completely different fighter to that one that received a striking lesson off the current champion. He isn't yet calling for a rematch and title shot against Dos Santos, but Struve insists the pair will meet again.

"A fight with Junior would go a lot different second time round. I don't think I'll get a shot if I beat Miocic, but I'm happy to be patient and build towards the top.

"I'd say I'm in the top ten in the world, but with a win I'd like to think I'd be moving towards the top five.

"I'm learning to use my body the way I should do, I'm throwing guys around in training that used to throw me around, and one day I'll get that belt.

"If I become a champ, I want to be a champ that people said was in interesting fights. When I come to Nottingham, don't expect it to go five rounds. No matter what he throws at me, I'll keep coming."

Tickets for UFC: Nottingham are available now from www.capitalfmarena.com and www.ufc.com.

Follow Stefan on Twitter @stefanstruve, or check out his sponsors at Fearless-Fightwear and BoosterFightGear

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