Jared Rosholt was released from the UFC earlier this year after a unanimous decision loss to Roy Nelson. One could make the case that he didn’t deserve to receive the dreaded pink slip though, as he was 6-2 in the UFC and never lost consecutive bouts. He also holds a few notable victories, including his last win — a decision over Stefan Struve at UFC 193 last year.
That said, Rosholt was criticized for his grinding style and lack of striking ability. Rosholt suspects that those two things led to a premature release from the promotion. The former Oklahoma State University wrestler and three-time All-American believes that he didn’t develop as a fighter during his UFC tenure.
“I came in there with good wrestling and good enough jiu-jitsu to stay out of stuff, but my striking wasn’t developing,” Rosholt told BloodyElbow.com’s The MMA Circus. “I was not taking much time off in between my training camps and fights. I never really took the time to learn a lot and try and find some different coaching as far as striking goes. I never really took the time to evolve.”
But Rosholt was still surprised he got released because, despite most of them coming by way of decision, he racked up several wins during his time with the promotion. At the end of the day, a win’s a win.
“I would have thought that I would have had to lose at least two in a row for them to even think about cutting me, especially because I was ranked 12th at the time,” he said. “I thought that the fight with Roy Nelson was somewhat close. Not entertaining, but it was close.”
Rosholt’s manager offered to call the UFC in attempt to get one more shot with the promotion, but “The Big Show” wasn’t interested. He accepted the unfortunate news and immediately moved on.
“I don’t want to be there if I’m not making them happy, and I’m not happy with the way I was performing for them, as well,” he said. “It is what it is. A lot of it is entertainment as well as a sport. If it’s not that entertaining, I get it. I’m an educated person; I understand it.
“The only thing that bothers me about it, is that it just kind of takes away from the legitimacy of it being an actual sport,” he said. “When I used to think of UFC, I used to think of one person’s style against another person’s style. It’s evolved into where it’s got a little bit of everything. Everybody’s good at every part of it, for the most part. I think a lot of entertainment is a big part of it right now, but I get it.”
Rosholt trained at Team Takedown in Arlington, Texas for years but recently moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma. At Team Takedown, he said, he wasn’t learning enough in the striking department to be able to hang with elite fighters in the UFC. The change has allowed him to train with new coaches — better coaches, in his opinion, for what he needs.
Since the move, Rosholt has heavily worked on his striking game. He tested his skills on the feet in his final UFC fight against Nelson, but that didn’t work out. In a relatively lackluster affair, Nelson landed slightly more strikes, which earned him the victory.
“I only tried to take Roy down one time. And it wasn’t all that great of a takedown attempt,” he said. “The rest of the time I was really trying to use some of the stuff that I [have learned recently]. My striking was fine; it just wasn’t enough. I didn’t do enough. I guess I went out there like it was my first fight ever and tried using brand new stuff that I had learned. I stood with Roy Nelson for three rounds.”
In hindsight, Rosholt regrets “rolling the dice” by standing with Nelson, because he knows he could have been way more successful in that fight had he utilized his wrestling game.
“I should have stuck a little bit more with my strengths, but, at the same time, I was willing to try standing on my feet and try to be a little more versatile,” he said. “When you get against good guys and veterans like that, I’m not sure that’s the best way to go about it, to go in there and try something brand new against somebody like that. I should’ve been doing that earlier on in my career when I was fighting guys a little bit less knowledgeable.”
Since being released by the UFC, Rosholt has signed an exclusive, multi-fight deal with WSOF. He is expected to debut in his new home later this year.