Stefan Struve

[Next Big Thing]

What the hell do you do with the kid? He's only 22 or 23, but if you look at the heavyweight division, who is there for him to fight that could establish him as a legit contender? He's 6'11 and if he gets up to 290 and starts cutting down like he says he wants to, he could be physically imposing.

But... He's still young and has a lot he can improve on. It would only be fair to let him go the Jon Jones, Phil Davis route where he gradually steps up in competition, but the problem is the heavyweight division is kind of top heavy at the moment and he tends to take more of a beating than those guys when he fights.

Brendan Schaub is really the only fight I see for him that would be fair in terms of skill set and experience. Pat Barry is another one. Maybe Cheick Kongo. All the names outside of that are either former champions or people who have already fucked him up once and I don't think he's improved enough yet to put up a solid fight against those guys.

Do you guys see Struve as a potential star in the heavyweight division, or will he fizzle out and be a mediocre talent?