Roy Nelson is one of the biggest wastes of potential in MMA history.

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Given that we're now in the twilight of his career, with nothing but toughness keeping him going, I think its worth asking the question of how much better Roy could have been.

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It's easy to forget just how talented the guy is.

He never bothered to elevate his striking beyond a big right hand, yet his power and timing allowed him to scrape by on it alone.

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However, at the elite level, the basic nature of his striking meant he was little more than a punching bag.

Roy is a high level black belt, yet prefers to stand and bang, and will do so to the detriment of his chances of winning.
roy_nelson_frank_mir_grappling_quest.jpg


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Shown here outgrappling Frank Mir in his prime. Yet, how often do we see Roy going for submissions?

His greatest talent, however, is the fact that he possesses arguably the best chin in the history of the sport. He's gone entire fights with his face being used as a heavy bag and ended the match still swinging. He's been kneed in the face, kicked in the head, caught by completely flush haymakers, and hammered over and over in the chin, yet he just keeps slogging forward.

He's absorbed more significant strikes than any fighter in UFC heavyweight history (most to the head), yet he just keeps on trucking, seeming to still be freakishly tough at age 41. Last night he ate frontkicks and knees to the chin from a huge HW like they were nothing.

Its patently obvious Roy never should have been a heavyweight. He's a natural middleweight who happens to be obese. Yet, lack of discipline meant he never made the cut. It's also clear he needed better gameplans, and should have tried to improve his striking technique.

I think he's an easily championship level talent who never got his act together. What say you?
 
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I have to agree with you on that one.
 
Roy Nelson has better boxing than people realize, he's more than just a big right hand. But I agree he could have been so much better. I'm guessing he just refuses to eat like a professional athlete
 
I actually don't agree. If he had dropped weight class like people suggest, he would have to:
1. Give up power, the very thing you credit to his success
2. Be at a huge speed disadvantage

I think he was just a bit of an anomaly.
 
Seems like a lot of fighters come to MMA and abandon the thing they are best at. Ronda abandoned the judo, Hendricks and Woodley prefer to strike than wrestle. Jon does PEDs and commits crimes instead of being a lean machine that stops crimes.
 
Perhaps we will see a resurgence yet now that he can take supplements.

Ditto for Mir.
 
He's one of the few cases where I agreed with gastric bypass surgery.
 
This topic again.. If roy nelson would have fought at LHW or even MW, like some people think he should have, he would have completely given up the speedadvantage he used to land those bombs on heavyweights and a lot of power while still facing opponents that probably would have been taller than him. He did a fine job at heavyweight using that belly. I dont think he would have looked better in a lower weightclass. Also we all would have missed out on the belly rubbing.
 
Roy is a great fighter but he is never a championship material...at least in the UFC..
 
We talk of 'complete' fighters but it's more overstatement than observation.

All have their holes, demons, or what have you and as is true for the lot, Roy's potential is tied to his. While inarguable that the dude has talent, he seems at peace with where he's at.


 
Given that we're now in the twilight of his career, with nothing but toughness keeping him going, I think its worth asking the question of how much better Roy could have been.

roy-nelson-ufc-on-fox-24.jpg


It's easy to forget just how talented the guy is.

He never bothered to elevate his striking beyond a big right hand, yet his power allowed him to scrape by on it alone.

a5a3008c7ac2a751bf0fa88c34302a59.jpg


However, at the elite level, the basic nature of his striking meant he was little more than a punching bag.

Roy is a high level black belt, yet prefers to stand and bang, and will do so to the detriment of his chances of winning.
roy_nelson_frank_mir_grappling_quest.jpg


7_medium.gif

Shown here outgrappling Frank Mir in his prime. Yet, how often do we see Roy going for submissions?

His greatest talent, however, is the fact that he possesses arguably the best chin in the history of the sport. He's gone entire fights with his face being used as a heavy bag and ended the match still swinging. He's been kneed in the face, kicked in the head, caught by completely flush haymakers, and hammered over and over in the chin, yet he just keeps slogging forward.

He's absorbed more significant strikes than any fighter in UFC heavyweight history (most to the head), yet he just keeps on trucking, seeming to still be freakishly tough at age 41. Last night he ate frontkicks and knees to the chin from a huge HW like they were nothing.

Its patently obvious Roy never should have been a heavyweight. He's a natural small middleweight who happens to be obese. Yet, lack of discipline meant he never made the cut. It's also clear he needed better gameplans, and should have tried to improve his striking technique.

I think he's an easily championship level talent who never got his act together. What say you?
I agree. I've never understood why he's ok with permanent brain damage and never utilized his world class jujitsu.
 
I'm inclined to agree, except we also need to understand that we don't know for certain.

There's a possibility that a smaller, lighter Roy just wouldn't have had the speed to compete at LHW or MW.

Also, a big belly has lots of disadvantages, but it comes with an advantage or two, as well. (Ever try to keep back mount on a guy shaped like Roy? It's damned hard.) That weight comes with some power advantages in striking, too.

In short, Roy would have needed to become an entirely different style of fighter to be what TS is suggesting... and there's no certainty that he would have been particularly good at that style of fighting.
 
I actually don't agree. If he had dropped weight class like people suggest, he would have to:
1. Give up power, the very thing you credit to his success
2. Be at a huge speed disadvantage

I think he was just a bit of an anomaly.

You don't automatically give up power if you drop weight. Why do people always say this? Ridiculous.
 
Seems like a lot of fighters come to MMA and abandon the thing they are best at. Ronda abandoned the judo, Hendricks and Woodley prefer to strike than wrestle. Jon does PEDs and commits crimes instead of being a lean machine that stops crimes.

In fairness, Roy couldn't get a take down to save his life. What choice did he have?
 
You don't automatically give up power if you drop weight. Why do people always say this? Ridiculous.

You do, though... unless you learn to strike with better technique, get stronger, get faster, et cetera... which you might... but if you don't, all other things remaining equal, with less mass you will lose power. It's a pretty simple physics problem.
 
In fairness, Roy couldn't get a take down to save his life. What choice did he have?
Did you watch his fight last night? He took down his opponent at will. He did a great job taking down Lewis as well. His issue is that he rarely shoots. Also, the fact that he's in a division where almost everyone has a bigger frame than him is a big problem.
 
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