Big Countrys short interview for Croatian martial arts portal Profightstore.hr (LINK) Everything that happened in year 2012 - stays in year 2012, but conclusions and lessons are transferred to 2013 so the following 12-month period could be even better, smarter and more productive. Popular member of UFC HW roster Roy Nelson can relate to that philosophy, and he emphasized that in this brief conversation with portal Profightstore.hr. "In 2012 there was a lot of learning lessons which I feel will lead me into 2013 with a better mind set which will make me a better fighter." "Big Country" then gave his comment on famous and unbelievable series of injuries that did not destroy biggest MMA promotion in the world, but certainly didn't help in their mission to continue this exponential growth. "I think fighters now are treating their bodies as a business. And as for myself, I am an old school guy that fights until the wheels fall off." TUF 10 champ and TUF 16 coach last year stepped into the octagon on three occasions, and that doesn't happen too often since enormous UFC roster and timing demands from fighters mainly two performances a year. The number three is nice, but more would be even nicer. "If I could fight 5 times a year I would." Roy was paying close attention to Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez battle, in which the "Terminator" took his belt back and gave JDS his first UFC defeat. "I think it was a great fight. I have always wanted to fight Cain, I think it would be a great measuring stick for myself. So my reactions are 'Give me Cain!'" In mid-December, Nelson knocked out The Ultimate Fighter colleague Matt Mitrione, so it is too early to speculate on who will be his next opponent. One thing is for sure - "Big Country" does not want easy challenges, and targets only the biggest names that organization has to offer. HW roster is richer than ever, and we have no doubt that we will soon be seeing this heavy-handed and steel-chinned American in an intriguing clash.
Sounds like he's positive coming in to the new year, but I'm disappointed he's still looking at heavyweight bouts. The wheels will fall off faster with all that extra weight. It seems that he feels the best fighters to challenge him are in heavyweight and he wants to take on the hardest challenges to fulfill his goals or sense of accomplishment. I disagree Mr. Nelson, please drop to light-heavy and see what you can do.
Roy came across as such a moron on the recent TUF, it will be hard for him to publicly recover from that. Still I kinda like the guy. Such a character. He can forget about Cain for a while though. No way he is in a title fight anytime soon.
I love Roy, but I fear the decisions he is making are going to lead to a shortened career and a lesser quality of life in retirement. He'd be so much better off losing the weight and fighting at LHW.
If he can keep it standing v Cain it might be interesting, just don't know if he can. Definitely won't doubt his power though as the dude hits like a truck.
The fact that he can take a punch at HW with the best of them and has as much power as anybody at HW, I see no real need for him to be in a rush to drop to LHW. He'd be so much slower than everybody he'd get circles run around him. Although there are some fun fights at LHW for him, would love to see if either he or Shogun could break the other's chin.
i like Roy at HW and I truly believe he can get really far with physique he was in in last fights. I thing he could do fairly well against Cain. Hes has a chin, good BJJ to be a threat on the ground and a knockout power that can clip Cain and put him in danger.
Glad there are journeymen like Nelson who fight until they die and don't care about their well being as much. We need these guys too.
