Struve becomes 1st fighter to finish Omielanczuk

Stefan Struve had to resurrect his grappling savvy to defeat a durable opponent.

"The Skyscraper" dominated short-notice fill-in Daniel Omielanczuk on the ground to earn a second-round submission in their heavyweight clash at UFC 204 in Manchester, England on Saturday. The gargantuan Struve smothered Omielanczuk with his long limbs before locking in a D'Arce choke to hand the Pole his first career loss by stoppage just under two minutes into Round 2.

The pair engaged in a kickboxing match to open the bout, with Omielanczuk overcoming Struve's height and reach advantage to clip him on more than one occasion. The Dutchman's tree trunk-sized legs consistently blistered Omielanczuk's body, but he wouldn't seize control until the fight went to the ground, where he closed out the frame with a rear-naked choke attempt.

Omielanczuk oddly chose to play right into Struve's hand in the second, as he futilely pressed "The Skyscraper" against the cage in search of a takedown. Struve handily obliged him, landing in top position, where he wasted little time in sealing Omielanczuk's fate. The Dutchman slickly wrapped his long arms around the Pole's neck to cinch the choke and earn the 10th finish of his lengthy Octagon career.

Struve has now won two straight and three of his last four, while Omielanczuk - who stepped in for Ruslan Magomedov on 24 days' notice - sees his three-fight win streak snapped.