Roy Nelson – Looks are Deceiving
Roy Nelson may be a thorn in the side of Dana White, but he continues to cement his legitimacy in the heavyweight division through a tough jaw and some of the heaviest hands (and body) around. Nelson may be considered a walking oxymoron but there aren’t many guys in the heavyweight division that want to stand across from him, or that could for three full rounds.
This weekend was another example where Nelson seemed to walk away with a huge win after taking little to no damage. Matt Mitrione, a fighter who has greatly improved since his time spent on The Ultimate Fighter alongside Roy Nelson took the fight on short notice and fell to strikes midway through the first round in devastating fashion.
Matt Mitrione (5-2) has shown a great leap forward in his striking improvement and will be solid in the division for the next few years, but Saturday night was not the match-up for him to prove it. Roy Nelson can absorb punishment in an almost un-human fashion, and has one shot stopping power that can take out nearly anyone in the division, if he lands on the button. Mitrione came out with solid inside leg kicks, and crisp striking that we have not seen from him until his move to the solid Blackzillian camp. Nelson came out throwing more than just single punches, and it was his use of combinations that tagged Mitrione and stopped him at 2:58 of round one. Mitrione has shown great resiliency to strikes in the past which just further proves Nelson’s hands could be some of the most dangerous in the UFC.
Roy Nelson (18-7) now has back to back first round knockouts over Dave Herman and Mitrione, to bring his UFC record to 5-3 with all of those wins via knockout.
When thinking of new opponents for Roy Nelson, a suggestion for Daniel Cormier comes screaming forward. Cormier is the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix Champion currently looking for a fight. Cormier would bring the elite grappling aspect to put Nelson on his back which is something we haven’t seen in quite some time. Having Shane Carwin fight Roy Nelson has been on the plate two times for the fans but it’s beginning to look as if it may never happen. Carwin did coach against Nelson in The Ultimate fighter 16 so having him fight Nelson makes sense but the former interim champion is very injury prone. Two other options would be Cheick Kongo and Mark Hunt, which could be great striking affairs and would give the fans quite possible the KO of the year for 2013.
Whatever direction the UFC decides to go with Roy Nelson you can rest assure that despite his questionable fitness, he comes to fight and constantly delivers some of the best heavyweight fights in the UFC.
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About the Author (Author Profile)
A college student residing in Arizona, coming off of active duty and continuing to work for the government. I hold a black belt in Hapkido, and have high school wrestling experience paired with multiple grappling tournaments. I spent six months training Authentic Muay Thai and now I am currently enrolling in Gracie B.J.J/MMA this week. I plan on starting my amateur fighting Career sometime late this year to early next year and also plan on entering B.J.J. tournaments through the year.Subscribe
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