Roy Nelson's jiu jitsu myth.

[Matt M]

Is this some kind of inside joke or an MMA myth?

I realise he's meant to have a black belt under Renzo Gracie, which may be the inside joke - hey, let's pretend a really fat guy is great at BJJ!
Really wouldn't surprise me.
But as far as I can see, he won a Grappler's Quest tournament once (whatever that is) and the best he ever did in Abu Dhabi was the quarter finals.

We keep hearing about how amazing he is at JJ but he never uses it. We've not seen it in the UFC. Ever.
So he's fighting a guy who just wants to take him down last night but is so confident in these JJ skills that he supposedly has, that he fights like a guy who has never been to the ground in his entire life and is terrified to going to the ground so much that he adopts a completely new stance.

I'm really not buying the 'I'd rather stand up and bang' nonsense.

'Kung-Fu fighter and BJJ black belt'. Hmmmm.

 

[Reach4theSky]

He used it on TUF, and he definitely has ground skills.

 

[Matt M]

He used it on TUF, and he definitely has ground skills.

Most fighters have ground skills, but we keep getting told he's this BJJ wonder who just chooses not to use it. After last night I'm not buying it.

 

[El chapo Jr.]

When somebody mentions kung fu panda, Roy nelson comes to mind.

 

[JAGDPANZER209]

He got fatter and slower since the days when he used to use BJJ. But his black belt still counts.

 

[kaneso14]

Werdum took his back in their fight and he looked pretty good defending it, so there's that.

 

[Nelly]

His claim to fame is beating Frank Mir in a grappling match. But yeah he wasn't as fat as he is now.

 

[LouisBolanos]

Being fat makes you better at BJJ, at least defensively. You literally cannot sub a hippo. Not possible. Your arms can't wrap around anything to create leverage. It has simply too much girth. Nelson is similar albeit to a much lesser degree.

 

[orangecuse]

He used it on TUF, and he definitely has ground skills.

He grappled Kimbo Slice to a decision.
Is that supposed to be a feather in the cap of a high level jiu-jitsu practitioner?

 

[Lanx]

Ppl don't want to watch roy suffocate ppl, no they want to see that overhand right DECIMATE ppl.

had to make this just to show you da POWA

Roy knows what the fans want, they don't want to see him rolling around with other heavies, they wanna see him throw down.

 

[Gonzaginator]

I'm really not buying the 'I'd rather stand up and bang' nonsense.

Have you ever seen Gonzaga fight? How about Werdum? You sound clueless. Go watch some more tape. Nelson has great BJJ, but he also has an iron chin and a knockout punch. He's a good striker. Very rarely will you see a black belt with good or great striking skills look to take guys down and submit them. Anderson is amazing on the ground, he avoids the groundgame. BJ Penn is amazing on the ground, he doesn't go for it, he wants to box. The only guys that are great on the ground and actively try to get the fight to the ground are BJJ fighters that don't have a standup. Damien Maia is a perfect example. Same with the Gracies, Travis Lutter and so on.

 

[leojr2005]

he could lose a couple pounds and go down to light heavyweigh

 

[Chronicsonic]

Nah he has legit bjj /close thread

 

[Reach4theSky]

He grappled Kimbo Slice to a decision.
Is that supposed to be a feather in the cap of a high level jiu-jitsu practitioner?

LOL Definitely not. I was just saying he actually used BJJ on tuf and won doing so. Which makes him proficient enough to beat pro fighters with it.

 

[loisestrad]

He grappled Kimbo Slice to a decision.
Is that supposed to be a feather in the cap of a high level jiu-jitsu practitioner?

No, he didn't. He beat him by tko.

 

[Gorkle]

Being fat makes you better at BJJ, at least defensively. You literally cannot sub a hippo. Not possible. Your arms can't wrap around anything to create leverage. It has simply too much girth. Nelson is similar albeit to a much lesser degree.

"Ronda could arm bar a hippo" - Joe Rogan

 

[Matt M]

Have you ever seen Gonzaga fight? How about Werdum? You sound clueless. Go watch some more tape. Nelson has great BJJ, but he also has an iron chin and a knockout punch. He's a good striker. Very rarely will you see a black belt with good or great striking skills look to take guys down and submit them. Anderson is amazing on the ground, he avoids the groundgame. BJ Penn is amazing on the ground, he doesn't go for it, he wants to box. The only guys that are great on the ground and actively try to get the fight to the ground are BJJ fighters that don't have a standup. Damien Maia is a perfect example. Same with the Gracies, Travis Lutter and so on.

I've seen Werdum submit the heavyweight champion and various other people, so yeah, he kind of uses his already established and proven JJ skills don't you think?
There's no need to be patronising.

Your point makes no sense because Gonzaga, Werdum, Silva and Penn would not be afraid to go to the ground.
Do you honestly think Werdum would care too much if Jared Rosholt took him down? Fuck no! And that's from a guy arguably worse on his feet than Nelson is.

BJ Penn's career has been severely tainted because of his stubborn refusal to take fights to the ground, we all know that.

 

[HelloJapan]

Educate yourself TS. Roy is clearly in much better shape in this video, and yes it's a while back. That being said Roy also clearly has legit BJJ skills. Another person who thinks BJJ just equals submissions.

 

[Matt M]

Educate yourself TS. Roy is clearly in much better shape in this video, and yes it's a while back. That being said Roy also clearly has legit BJJ skills. Another person who thinks BJJ just equals submissions.

There isn't a need to get insulting, this is a conversation/debate, so calm down.
Yes i've seen that video.
Almost EVERY fighter has 'legit' BJJ skills these days.

I understand JJ and I just don't think Roy is very special at it. Last night was the perfect example to show his JJ skills, instead he took on a completely new stance because he was terrified of being taken down.
If you're that great at JJ and that comfortable with it, why would you adapt in such an extreme way?

People just need to stop talking about Roy Nelson like he's some kind of jiu-jitsu wizard who just chooses not to use it.

 

[Gonzaginator]

I've seen Werdum submit the heavyweight champion and various other people, so yeah, he kind of uses his already established and proven JJ skills don't you think?
There's no need to be patronising.

Your point makes no sense because Gonzaga, Werdum, Silva and Penn would not be afraid to go to the ground.
Do you honestly think Werdum would care too much if Jared Rosholt took him down? Fuck no! And that's from a guy arguably worse on his feet than Nelson is.

BJ Penn's career has been severely tainted because of his stubborn refusal to take fights to the ground, we all know that.

Stop embarrassing yourself any further and admit that you don't know what you're talking about. You're like those last few Spartans walking into a wall of arrows somehow trying to win the war.