Could Roy Nelson have been a UFC champion at 205

[mkt]

no, he'd still be a one trick pony

Nelson actually has a strong BJJ background and is a decent wrestler for a fat guy in his 40s with no wrestling credentials. Hypothetically, Nelson could have a strong ground game and very heavy hands. I think he'd lose a bit of punching power at LHW (some comes from his mass), but he could probably walk in around 220-225 as a LHW and still pack a very strong punch.

I think Jones and Cormier would beat him, but a fantasy version of Nelson with excellent training/conditioning could do quite well.

 

[smiles mma]

95% or more of HW fighters could have fought at lhw but would have faced stiffer competition.

 

[orangecuse]

The most overrated by dumb UFC fans fighter of all time. Look at any Sherdog poll for Roy Nelson fights against great, proven fighters.

The people who believe this are the ones who picked him by a majority to own Werdum, beat Reem, destroy Frank Mir, beat Stipe. The same clueless people mesmerized by being fat like him or some other superficial reason they think he is so great. There were idiots who use to say he was a terrible match-up for Cain.

Of course, clueless people who believed he would destroy elite HW's despite him getting destroyed by them and that being obvious all along to anyone with a clue would think he could've become a LHW champ.

 

[DOMMA]

 

[Frankie Baby!]

JBJ would rape him

 

[VitorBelfoTRT]

DC, Hunt and Nelson are natural middleweights.

If you starve yourself in order to do so, it isnt natural. They may have been 185 in high school but thats about it. You grow into your adult weight lol.

 

[mma_genius]

Difficult to say because Lhw was so much better back then. Roy skillset actually suits hw better and his style (big fatty with a mullet that could ktfo other guys) was his brand. Remove that and he's just another guy.

Still curious what weight Roy woulbe around 10-12% body fat.

Before Cormier and Jones came along it wasn't all that. Lots of above average fighters, but no great dominating ones in the ufc. In the span of a few years we had Chuck, Rampage, Forrest, Rashad, Machida, Shogun and Jones as champ.

May of 2007 to September of 2011 we had 7 different champs at 205.

 

[justblaze717]

Has Roy ever put a combination together? He would get out struck by almost everyone on that list. He wasn't some power wrestler either.

 

[Franklin U.]

There's husky/a bit fat [ DC ]...
and then there's "f%$king" fat, there ain't no way I'm losing the weight I need to shave off [ Roy ]

......with that said, the answer to Op is a 1000% NO

 

[mkt]

Before Cormier and Jones came along it wasn't all that. Lots of above average fighters, but no great dominating ones in the ufc. In the span of a few years we had Chuck, Rampage, Forrest, Rashad, Machida, Shogun and Jones as champ.

Yeah, those could've been some challenging fights for him. He'd have a lot of trouble with prime Machida, and he'd have wars with Rampage and Hendo (all have great chins and a lot of power). It's hard to know how fast and technical Roy would be if he really trained and didn't have the excess fat. I heard he could dunk a basketball in his early UFC years, which is surprising for a fat guy who isn't very tall. That makes me think he's a good athlete.

 

[MartiniSIDe]

Before Cormier and Jones came along it wasn't all that. Lots of above average fighters, but no great dominating ones in the ufc. In the span of a few years we had Chuck, Rampage, Forrest, Rashad, Machida, Shogun and Jones as champ.

If he took his career seriously and cut to LHW, his prime would probably have been around 2009-12. At that point, he was already well in his 30's and after 35 he probably have been too slow.

2009-12 LHW was pretty good with all the names you just mentionned. +hendo, Bader, Thiago Silva

It was way better than now

 

[MMAProfessional]

Rogan brought this up in one of his podcasts. He said that Roy could have been a legit contender at 185 which he should be able to make. Was knocking out guy twice his size and has great ground game as well. He'd also probably be a lot faster with all that fat gone.

 

[Po]

Not disciplined enough to drop the body fat. And would he have been as effective if he did. One of his things is he takes people down and smothers them with his belly. And what would being smaller have done to his power?

This thread implies he kept muscle mass and lost fat.

That would help preserve much of his power.

 

[mma_genius]

If he took his career seriously and cut to LHW, his prime would probably have been around 2009-12. At that point, he was already well in his 30's and after 35 he probably have been too slow.

2009-12 LHW was pretty good with all the names you just mentionned. +hendo, Bader, Thiago Silva

It was way better than now

Hendo was gone from july of 2009 to november of 2011.

I'd take Roy over Thiago Silva every single time, and I know Thiago was a badass.

Bader was pretty one dimensional back then. I think it would be a standup fight and nobody was knocking Roy out back then.

 

[Skarsgard]

Honestly, I don't think he would even be light enough to make 205. If you look earlier in the career, before his gut became a sentient being, he just had a bit of a belly and the lightest I saw him was 240.

 

[JC ATOM]

ii think Bigfoot silva would've been champ at 125 but...that lazy prick never wanted to cut weight

 

[machidafan99]

DC, Hunt and Nelson are natural middleweights.

Maybe DC would be an unnatural middle weight. Liposuction

 

[Ghost in the Dark]

Nelson has a titanium chin and devastating power plus he's able to outgrapple just about anyone at 265. It's a strange situation but I think he's better off at 265 than 205. At LHW he would be slow and lose some power, he would be losing decisions.

 

[Ghost in the Dark]

Rogan brought this up in one of his podcasts. He said that Roy could have been a legit contender at 185 which he should be able to make. Was knocking out guy twice his size and has great ground game as well. He'd also probably be a lot faster with all that fat gone.

He was fast at HW but at 185 or 205 although he might have been faster himself he would have been slower than his opponents.

 

[Sapp]

At 185 maybe.