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. Custom Chiefs Jerseys .com) - Delon Wright scored 17 points and No. Kansas City Chiefs Mecole Hardman Jersey .com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday. http://www.cheapchiefs.com/. Pearce had a career-high four hits and drove in two runs, and Wei-Yin Chen shut down Texas again as the Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night. Authentic Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . Hes had three top-10 results this season and feels ready to put it all together and finally hoist a trophy at the top level. Kansas City Chiefs Darwin Thompson Jersey . Meanwhile, the Jets extended their winning streak to four and remain perfect under Paul Maurice. Its the Jets second four-game winning streak of the season, the other coming in mid-November.MIAMI - Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven innings and the Miami Marlins scored nine runs off NL ERA leader Aaron Harang to beat the Atlanta Braves 9-3 Wednesday. Harang (3-2) gave up 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings, and his ERA rose from 0.85 to 2.97. The Marlins tied a season high with 15 hits, including seven for extra bases. Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer, and Christian Yelich added his first home run of the year. The homers were the first allowed by Harang this year. Miamis 9-0 lead after five innings was a rare luxury for Eovaldi (2-1), who has the lowest career run support among active major-league starters. The right-hander allowed three hits and one run to lower his ERA to 2.58. Casey McGehee had three hits and Adeiny Hechavarria legged out a double and a triple for the last-place Marlins, who have outscored the NL East leaders 18-3 in the first two games of their series. The Marlins will sweep a series from Atlanta for the first time since 2009 if they can beat Ervin Santana on Thursday. The Marlins are batting .307 in their spacious ballpark, where theyre 11-4 to lead the majors in home victories. Theyre batting .215 on the road, where theyre 2-10. The Braves totalled six hits, including Justin&nbssp;Uptons eighth homer.dddddddddddd Harang had allowed a total of three runs in his first five starts, but the Marlins scored four against him with four consecutive hits to start the second inning. Garrett Jones singled home the first run, and Ozuna followed with his fourth homer. Hechavarria tripled and Yelich hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 7-0. The nine runs allowed by Harang matched his career high. He fell to 5-5 in 15 starts against the Marlins with an ERA of 6.54. Eovaldi allowed a double by Jason Heyward to start the game, then held the Braves hitless until the sixth. Notes: Braves RHP Gavin Floyd is ready to come off the disabled list after recovering from elbow surgery a year ago, but manager Fredi Gonzalez was noncommittal regarding how he will be used. Floyd isnt scheduled to start this week. ... Marlins INF Rafael Furcal (hamstring) took grounders before the game is scheduled to resume his rehabilitation assignment this weekend with Triple-A New Orleans. ... Miami RHP Jose Fernandez estimated that in his victory Tuesday he threw 30 changeups, twice his previous high. ... Santana (3-0, 1.95 ERA) starts Thursday for the Braves against Miamis Henderson Alvarez (1-2, 2.73). 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