When Roy Nelson steps into the octagon, you notice his unique look. From his belly, beard and ponytail, he’s not your typical clean-cut heavyweight. Similar to many people, I’ve been very critical of Roy Nelson in the past about his conditioning and dedication to this sport.
It was sad to see someone with such a powerful right overhand punch, great Jiu-Jitsu skills, and arguably the strongest chin in the entire organization starting to underachieve due to poor conditioning. Despite lasting an entire three rounds against Junior Dos Santos, he clearly showed how gassed he was by the end of the second round. The fight could have put Nelson in title contention as well, which had to be a massive letdown for his camp and most importantly himself.
Then he went through almost a year long layoff and was put in a co-main event against Frank Mir. It was one of the most painful fifteen-minute fights I’ve ever watched with Nelson breathing heavily by the second round and struggling to even throw any combinations. He was heavier than ever before and was dominated by Mir, who continuously took him down with no problem. Dana White, Joe Rogan, and many others really began to question if he had a future.
When Nelson came back five months later, finally he looked to be in good shape. His performance against the legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was very promising based on how aggressive he was and showed how dominant he can be on the ground. It reminded everyone of the Roy Nelson, who knocked out Stefan Struve and Brendan Schaub.
When Nelson is at his best, you’ll see him throw leg kicks along with pressing opponents against the cage to work in the clinch. He’ll mix up his striking to set up the overhand right, which has knocked out a handful of fighters. It wasn’t until his fight against Fabricio Werdum, when I was convinced that he could still compete with the best fighters in the world.
Many people including myself had Werdum beating Nelson without it being too competitive. That wasn’t the case and the fight ending up being a top ten fight of the year. At first, it looked like Werdum was going to finish him off with some devastating knees from the clinch. Then as the fight wore on, he started to look more dangerous and gave Werdum some problems. It was the first fight in quite some time that Nelson looked better, as the fight progressed.
He ended up losing 30-27 by unanimous decision, but it showed that Nelson might have turned the corner even if he was starting to get older. Despite the great performance, the buzz going into UFC 146 was Nelson possibly going to be cut if he were to lose. That buzz ended in 51 seconds, when he finished Dave Herman off with his vintage over hand right punch.
There are some scary signature moves in the heavyweight division from Junior Dos Santos’ uppercut, Mark Hunt’s left hook, and Cain Velasquez’s ground-and-pound. None of them are as impressive as Nelson’s overhand right punch. He swings it so recklessly; yet his timing tends to be right on point. It seems to be a lost art for some fighters, but timing is so valuable towards a fighter’s success.
We’ve seen the likes of Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida stay patient, before finding the perfect spot to land a strike to either rock their opponents or put them on their back. Even when fighters like Johnny Hendricks throw punches recklessly, they’ll use proper timing. That was shown when he knocked out Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann in the first round.
Some fighters don’t have a clue about timing and that’s why you don’t see them in main events anymore. Roy Nelson knows how to time his striking whether it’s overhand right or even his left hook, which is why he’s won knockout of the night four times.
It didn’t surprise me when Nelson was picked to be a coach on the Ultimate Fighter. He’s won the competition before and I’m sure many fighters can learn from him about anything fighting related, as long as it doesn’t include nutrition. Also, it kept Nelson busy and kept him on the right track for his career.
He’s been always saying how he deserves a title shot, even though he’s been far away from title contention. If he stays busy and wins fights, then that day could come eventually. Even though the season was pretty dull, I was really looking forward to his fight against Shane Carwin.
Sadly the fight didn’t happen because of a knee injury to Carwin. I’d still love to see that fight happen someday before either one of them retires. Other than Junior Santos, I’m not sure if anyone in the heavyweight division punches harder than both of them. Matt Mitrione stepped up and took the fight only to last three minutes.
Mitrione may not possess the same power as Carwin, but he’s more versatile and is more unpredictable than him. It was an interesting matchup, even though it was once again another first round knockout for Nelson. In a matter of nine months, he has gone from possibly being cut to being a top ten heavyweight in the world.
It was disappointing to see him not get a bigger fight than Chieck Kongo. I’ve always felt that Kongo was an average fighter, who is a decent striker and nasty ground-and-pound. Other than that, he’s not very well rounded and always had a questionable chin. When he was matchup with Roy, the fight just seemed to be headed towards a first round knockout.
That is what exactly happened, as Nelson cornered him and landed his signature right overhand punch for another first round knockout and another belly rub celebration. It may sound dull, but seeing that right overhand punch connects is a thing of beauty.
Now Nelson should be one win from a title fight in a very competitive division. If Mark Hunt were to lose to Junior Dos Santos, I’d love to see that fight happen. Ever since Hunt knocked out Stefan Struve, it has been on my list of dream fights. Both fighters have one-punch knockout power, great chins, and their similar physiques.
Obviously the appeal of two chubby heavyweights would be fun to watch, but both fighters have shown how powerful they can be with one single punch.
The huge debate with Nelson is how special he could be in the light heavyweight division. Joe Rogan constantly talks about how much of a force he could be if he were to cut down to 205 pounds. As Dana White says, let’s just be happy that he can keep his weight around 250 or 255 pounds. It would be pretty remarkable to see him fight someone like Lyoto Machida, but that ship has sailed. It’s his decision to look the way he looks and it has benefited him in recent fights.
In a manner of two years, we’ve witnessed the resurrection of Roy Nelson’s career. He’s gone from possibly losing his job to being one win away from a championship fight. He may not have a poster-boy image for your company, but his popularity continues to grow and he continues to finish fights with highlight-reel knockouts.
What more can you ask for from a fighter? I’ve gone from being a huge critic of him to now being a firm believer that he can finish anyone in the heavyweight division.
By Allen Strk
Twitter: @Allen_Strk
