Stefan (Skyscraper) Struve showed early on in his UFC career that he should never be counted out. 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. Simon Mignolet Liverpool Jersey . The New York State Supreme Court only partially dismissed the lawsuit, meaning the case could be headed for trial. The tour announced a year ago that Singh would be suspended for saying in a Sports Illustrated story that he took deer antler spray, which was believed to contain the banned substance IGF-1. Divock Origi Liverpool Jersey . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. 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The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener.LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 87-79 to remain perfect at home this season and extend their dominance over the defending NBA champions on their own court to 33 straight regular-season games. Kawhi Leonard added 18 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio, who have won 44 straight at home in the regular season, tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history. Golden State have the longest regular-season home winning streak at 50 games and counting. The Spurs held Warriors superstar Stephen Curry to 14 points while limiting him to 1-for-12 shooting on three-pointers.Tonight we executed well on the defensive end, but offensively I didnt allow us to get comfortable offensively, Curry said. Ive got to play a lot better, manage the game a lot better, especially if certain shots that I normally make arent falling.San Antonio (59-10) moved within three games of Golden State (62-7) for the leagues top seed with two games remaining between the two teams. The Warriors can still set the single-season NBA record with 73 victories if they close the season 11-2.Theyre a great team, theyre the bar in the NBA and it just felt good to win tonight, Aldridge saiid.ddddddddddddTim Duncan played just eight minutes, scoring just one point while coming off the bench for the third time in 1,383 regular-season games.Elsewhere, Dwyane Wade scored 24 points to surpass 20,000 for his career and Josh Richardson added 19 as Miami never trailed in beating Cleveland 122-101.Goran Dragic had 18 points and 11 assists for the Heat, Joe Johnson also scored 18 and Hassan Whiteside finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.LeBron James had 26 points for the Cavaliers and sat out the final 15 minutes with the game out of reach.In Indianapolis, Russell Westbrook had his second triple-double in two nights and Kevin Durant had 33 points and 13 rebounds as Oklahoma City overcame Paul Georges 45 points to beat Indiana 115-111.Westbrook finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, his 14th triple-double of the season. He has more triple-doubles in one season than anyone since Magic Johnson had 17 in 1988-89.Zach Randolph also had a triple-double in Memphis 113-102 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the first in the veterans long NBA career.Randolph, returning from a seven-game absence due to a sore knee, finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Tony Allen added 22 points for the Grizzlies. ' ' '