UFC 193's Jared Rosholt: Stefan Struve is 'dangerous,' but has 'weaknesses'

In this day and age in mixed martial arts (MMA), you'll have to forgive some people for being on their toes.

Injuries continue to ransack multiple Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cards. And while it may be unfortunate, one man's misfortune can sometimes be another's gain.

Surging Heavyweight Jared Rosholt (13-2) sits on the outside looking in as far as rankings go in the 265-pound division. And even though a match up with dangerous Dutchman Stefan Struve (26-7) awaits him at the UFC 193 this Saturday night (Nov. 14, 2015), "The Big Show" at least pondered calling his employer about stepping in to face the opponent-less Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 76 last month.

"It sucks because he was trying to get anybody to step up and take that fight and it was one of those times where I don't know if he would've wanted it because I'm not ranked near as high as him, but if I wasn't matched up with a fight so soon I definitely would've offered to go over there and fill in no problem," Rosholt told MMAmania.com.

The three-time All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State University (OSU) is barreling toward a spot in UFC's rankings. Rosholt compiled back-to-back wins in 2015 after suffering a disappointing setback against Russian Sambo powerhouse Alexey Oliynyk in Nov. 2014.

With a 5-1 UFC record in his back pocket, he stands to gain much from a scuffle with "The Skyscraper."

"He's a pretty dangerous fighter. He's got a lot of length on him and he also has submissions on the ground. He's got finishes," Rosholt said. "If you look at Struve's resume, he's fought a ton of people. He's beaten some big name guys and he's been in good fights with big name guys."

The well-rounded Struve is just as dangerous on the feet as he is on the ground, sporting four knockout and submission victories to his credit. He recently got back in the win column, taking a unanimous decision from Brazilian legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

However, Struve has his deficiencies, which lie in striking. The 27-year-old has gotten tagged plenty of times throughout the course of his six-year UFC career, falling five times via strikes.

For a 7'0" fighter, with an 84-inch reach, he doesn't utilize his hands quite as well as he should, but it's the long legs of the Blackzilians representative that Rosholt sees as a target.

"I see quite a few [weaknesses] when I watch his fights. I don't see much of a takedown defense," Rosholt said, adding. "With his height, it's much easier to get underneath somebody like him and get to his legs or waist and get him down."

If you've ever caught a fight with Struve or Rosholt, one can accurately predict that this fight will end up in the clinch one way or another. Getting it there, though, will be an entirely different story.

Rosholt, a grinder at heart, has shown the ability to utilize dirty boxing and knees while in the clinch, but his loss versus Oliynyk, as well as a knockdown at the hands of Walt Harris in his ZUFFA debut, exposed some holes in the Team Takedown product's striking.

Before his bout against Struve, Rosholt made sure to get the best training possible, and that includes bringing in new blood to his Texas-based MMA camp.

"My main training partner -- he's a black belt and 6'5." He's not even close to being as long-limbed as Struve," Rosholt said. "We had a guy come in for this camp, who just went home this week, and he was 6'11." He was a much different feel than my 6'5" training partner."

Aside from their tussle inside Etihad Stadium, another high-profile Heavyweight bout promises an equal amount of fireworks when Mark Hunt meets Antonio Silva for the second time. Both men are ranked within the Top 15, and they're also future targets of Rosholt, should he turn back Struve.

"I've been thinking about Mark Hunt and Bigfoot, too, who are on the same card as us," Rosholt said. "We kind of have a four-man tournament going on here -- match up the winners and losers and match up something afterward."

For more on the complete UFC 193: "Rousey vs. Holm" fight card and live results, including play-by-play updates, click here and here.