Issue 075

May 2011

He’s the awkward mullet-haired kung fu expert who hates diets even more than Garfield does. Yes, Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson makes an unlikely ‘ultimate fighter,’ but there’s no doubting his right to be inside the Octagon.

As UFC heavyweight contender Roy Nelson hobbled back to his stool at the conclusion of the first round of his UFC 117 bout with Junior Dos Santos, the nearly 13,000 fans in attendance at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, did exactly the opposite. They leaped to their feet and applauded wildly for the five-minute frenzy of action that Nelson and Dos Santos had just provided.

Dos Santos, the heavy-handed Brazilian slugger who had stopped his first five UFC opponents with his powerful striking (with all but Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic falling in the opening round), had landed a stunning 50 total punches in the opening stanza according to a FightMetric report. That tally included a stunning 40 shots to his opponent's head. Renzo Gracie-trained BJJ black belt Nelson, who was knocked down once in the frame, countered with just 11 successful punches and three failed takedown attempts. Yet he somehow survived the opening-frame melee and took a spot on the stool.

Unfortunately, the 34-year-old Nelson knew something was wrong, and it wasn't anything Dos Santos’ boxing barrage had caused. “I actually blew my knee in the fight,” Nelson says. “You can see it in the first round when I fell kind of weird. My knee just kind of fell out from underneath me. Junior has good takedown defense, but besides that, my knee went out. It’s all about stability issues and basically putting yourself in a worse situation than where you’re already at.”

Nelson cut his teeth at Ken Shamrock’s notoriously intimidating Lion’s Den gym so the thought of remaining on that stool never once crossed his mind. Nor did it creep into his subconscious when he tasted leather another 30 times in the second frame while coming up short on another four takedown attempts. Dos Santos’ boxing remained as billed for the rest of the fight, and his takedown defense, coupled with Nelson’s bum wheel, left few apparent paths to victory for ‘Big Country.’

“In between rounds, I wasn’t really reflecting on anything,” Nelson says. “I was just thinking about the fact that like, ‘OK, he hits hard.’ I thought I had probably taken the worst that he’ll ever throw at me. Now it was my turn to get mine on. I think other fighters sometimes think about quitting, but with me, any fighter that has ever fought me doesn’t like to fight me again. That’s why I can hold my head high at the end of the day, win or lose. I know I gave it 120%, and I can live with myself. That's how I go to bed at night.”

Nelson pushed through until the final bell, even as Dos Santos scored with another 58 strikes in the third frame. While the outcome was clear well before the judges’ scores (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) were ever read across the venue’s PA, Nelson had shown more courage and determination than most anyone had predicted he might. And while the round-bellied Nelson was unquestionably huffing and puffing in the closing seconds of the contest, his younger, ostensibly more athletic counterpart was also slowing on his advances. “I think it was a high-paced fight for heavyweights, and on top of that, Junior Dos Santos was just as tired as I was,” Nelson says. “It just goes to show how in shape I really am. If anything, I was actually getting stronger in each round. He was fading while I was still the same.” Statistics support Nelson’s claim, as he fired off 46 strikes in the final round – as opposed to 31 attempted blows in the second and just 24 in the first.

Fortunately for Nelson, the injury won’t keep him on the shelf for an extended period of time. Less of a cataclysmic injury than simple attrition, Nelson says the joint had been slowly worsening over time, and it finally just gave out on him at a very unfortunate moment. Nevertheless, Nelson was forced to go under the knife. “I had a little bit of everything done to the knee – a little cleaning and a little repair,” Nelson explains. Ever self-effacing, Nelson took the procedure in stride – even Tweeting a less-than-flattering picture of himself in a hospital gown with a message for all his fans. “Here is me in my sexy gown,” Nelson stated next to a selection of photos. “Thank you for all the prayers.”

But Nelson wants to make it clear that he’s not using the injury as an excuse. Instead, he credits Dos Santos for an active approach to the fight and says he learned a few valuable lessons during the contest. “I think the biggest thing was just not throwing punches in bunches,” Nelson said. “He threw more punches than I did. Every time I threw multiple punches, they landed. When I threw one shot, he would land two. He was just countering me any time I threw one punch. Any time I threw two, I was landing, but everything was just falling short.”

But a funny thing happens after a performance like Nelson turned in that August night. While Dos Santos proved himself the better fighter with the victory and is now handling coaching duties on The Ultimate Fighter 13 opposite Brock Lesnar, Nelson earned something just as difficult to claim: admiration.

UFC president Dana White famously referred to Nelson as both a “moron” and an “idiot” during the rotund heavyweight’s winning run on The Ultimate Fighter 10. But while wins over Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson, Justin Wren, James McSweeney and Brendan Schaub weren't enough to impress the hot-tempered UFC head, Nelson’s courage-fueled loss to Dos Santos was. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” White told reporters of Nelson at the UFC 117 post-fight press conference. “He’s a tough guy. He’s got a great chin. He went in there and mixed it up and went at it hard with a guy that I think is one of the best in the world. It was a great fight.” 

Even Dos Santos was forced to admit his newfound respect for an opponent some had called a walkover. “In my opinion, he’s a really tough guy,” Dos Santos said after the win. “I think he’s going to give trouble to a lot of people in the heavyweight division. I’m just thankful I got through the fight. He’s a really tough fighter and a really tough guy.”

Nelson’s gutsy performance at UFC 117 was just the latest example of a lesson learned by most in elementary school, but that is so often overlooked in MMA: don’t judge a book by its cover. In the way that Major League Baseball’s Kirby Puckett or the National Basketball Association’s Charles Barkley each earned entry into their respective sport’s Hall of Fame, Nelson has proved that talent can’t be determined based on a quick visual analysis of one’s physique. Now Nelson hopes to draw parallels to a fellow pudgy pugilist – George Foreman – who in the latter stages of his career was able to claim three separate boxing titles with a frame more suitable for the cover of Travel + Leisure than Muscle & Fitness.

With that goal in mind, Nelson believes he learned valuable lessons in his 15 minutes of hell with Dos Santos. “The thing is, every loss makes you a better fighter,” Nelson says. “Then what you do is you just gain from it, and its building blocks. MMA is not about winning or losing. It’s about becoming a better fighter. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it. It’s about being a martial artist. It’s about making yourself a better fighter and a better person.”

The first block was laid as Nelson walked from the cage, followed closely by his wife and manager, Jessy Nelson of MMA Glory Talent Group. Nelson said it’s the close support of his wife that helps him maintain focus during difficult times. “The thing is, at the end of the day, my wife is the only one that’s actually going to be there besides my real friends,” Nelson said. “She’s the only thing that matters. After the fighting thing – and fans come and go – the only ones that are going to be there are the people that really care about you.” The next step came in the gym, where Nelson says that despite the injury he returned just three days after the brutal contest with Dos Santos. “I was back in the gym I think on Tuesday,” Nelson said. “I had another fighter, RJ Richter, fighting the weekend right after, so I went in there and tried to help him out. It’s probably not the best thing to do, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do for your teammates.”

And now fully healed, Nelson's teammates will return to helping him focus on the items identified at UFC 117. “There’s definitely lessons,” Nelson says. “I didn’t throw multiple punches. There’s a lot of things I didn’t do. But I stood with the best of the best, and that's the worst part of my game. If I start putting my striking game together, then people are going need to watch out.”

Thanks to his ‘everyman’ build and lighthearted approach to fan interaction, the number of Nelson supporters is growing by the day. But there are still some MMA observers who refuse to get behind the Las Vegas resident. While his grappling skills (witnessed by Nelson's Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and 2003 drubbing of Frank Mir in a grappling contest) have always been top-notch, his striking skills have remained a concern. Add in his belly-rubbing antics and lack of a ‘real’ MMA camp outside of his current home-based team at the Roy Nelson Country Club, and Nelson's detractors say he refuses to take the sport seriously and evolve into a complete fighter.

Nelson strongly disagrees. “The thing is, as a fighter, you’re always changing,” Nelson says. “I don't know where everybody gets that stigma from. I’m always a fighter that's evaluating and changing to become a better fighter and a better person.” Of course, when pressed on what his current focus is in regards to improvement, Nelson gives a typical half-joking reply. “Getting my knee better,” he responds. “There’s a big change right there.” While it’s not exactly what one might hope to hear, he is correct. Would a healthy knee have provided the difference in the loss to Dos Santos? Probably not – but it’s possible. What if Nelson would have earned one of those early takedowns? What if he hadn’t been forced to completely abandon the grappling game? Nelson hopes he'll get a chance to answer those questions one day.

While Nelson's recovery from knee surgery proved far less problematic than was initially expected, ‘Big Country’ was nearly derailed by an opponent that seemed to come from out of leftfield: Roy Jones Jr. Nelson was briefly slotted for a UFC 125 co-main event slot against Shane Carwin, but a neck injury forced the one-time heavyweight title challenger to withdraw from the event. But before UFC brass could arrange a new opponent for Nelson, company president Dana White revealed a legal challenge to the heavyweight’s contract status would force him to the sidelines indefinitely.

“These guys go out and sign with these rinky-dink little promotion companies and sign these bad contracts, and let’s just say Roy Nelson is involved in a bad contract right now that he had before,” White said when the challenges first came to light. “There are a couple of different organizations out there that do it.” The issue stemmed from Nelson's relationship with boxing great Jones Jr’s Square Ring Productions, for whom Nelson fought in March 2009, just prior to joining The Ultimate Fighter 10.

While Nelson was never offered another fight with Square Ring, Jones Jr’s company tried to lay claim to his services. White said the entire process, while understandably frustrating, was also all too familiar. “There are organizations that are locking these guys up to the old-school boxing contracts – the contracts that Don King and those guys were doing back in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s where they have options on top of their options, so your contract never ends with these guys,” White said. “These are the kinds of contracts that some of these guys are signing in these other organizations out there that some of these MMA websites go, ‘Oh, stick up for these guys; they’re the small guys.’ The small guys are the guys that are really [expletive] the fighters.”

But just when it seemed Nelson might be entrenched in a vicious legal tangle, the smoke suddenly cleared. Neither Nelson nor the UFC have yet to comment at length on exactly what changed in the filing, but the heavyweight did insist the episode is completely behind him. “All I can say is it that it’s settled,” Nelson says. “Thanks to the Las Vegas legal system, we’ll all just live a happy life.”

Nelson will finally put all the extraneous activities behind him in May with a UFC 130 matchup with Mir. While the two Las Vegas residents have long enjoyed a healthy rivalry, Nelson said he’s more worried about returning to the top of the heavyweight division than he is about settling some personal score. “As a fighter, you’re always thinking about who you need to fight to get back in the mix,” Nelson says. “I’m looking for the fastest way to get right back on the horse.”

Despite the setback against Dos Santos, Nelson’s resiliency means that he hasn't lost his focus or desire for the ultimate prize. “The title shot is always the goal,” Nelson says. “If I wanted to fight just for money, I wouldn’t be fighting Junior Dos Santos. I think I’m probably right back in the mix if, I get a win, in probably two fights. The thing is, the heavyweight division is just so stacked. It’s really going to be styles and matches. I look at it as two or three fights. I think in 2011, depending on the road that I get, I could be a champion.”

While Nelson fell short of his intentions at UFC 117, the fight may yet prove to be a defining moment. It’s often said that champions are defined by how they react to adversity rather than how they perform when on top of the world. While Nelson has yet to feel the weight of a UFC championship belt wrapped firmly around his ample belly, against Dos Santos he showed that at least in terms of heart and determination, he's got what it takes to be considered among the sport's best heavyweights.

“The way I look at it is Dos Santos is fighting Brock Lesnar, and the winner gets a Cain Velasquez bout,” Nelson says. “If Lesnar and Velasquez stand with him and get knocked out, I see our paths definitely crossing. He would have the belt, so we’d definitely have to do Nelson-Dos Santos II. At the same time, I think even if Dos Santos loses, he would still be right in the mix, and when I become champion, he’d want to fight me again. Our paths will cross once more. I think it definitely has drama and fan appeal.”

Nelson certainly understands what it takes to create both. He’s become a folk hero for the common man, encouraging a beer-bellied battalion of wannabe warriors to think, ‘If he can do it, why can’t I?’ And while UFC 117 saw the immovable object topple the irresistible force, Nelson’s refusal to wilt in the face of adversity provided a 15-minute summary of his career direction. “I’m going to the top,” Nelson says. “I don't want to go backward. I always want to go forward.”

Killer whales: Can a fighter be fat and fit?

It’s an old adage that fat doesn’t equal fit. Many of the MMA elite look like statues of Greek warriors cast out of granite and cut to perfection. Yet there are the exceptions of the bunch who can keep going despite the chub: the Fedors, Nelsons, Russows and Sylvias. Boasting hearty bellies and love handles galore, these beasts are able to battle it out round after round with seemingly infinite gas tanks, unlike some of the more svelte specimens that fill the MMA ranks. The question remains: how can they be 

so fit?

Those fat cells can provide extra energy when digging deep. The more ripped pugilists don't have this extra reserve so when they find themselves gassing out, it’s game over. Lighter fighters gas out slower, as illustrated by the lower-weight divisions’ capacity for long, intense bouts. The EPOC oxygen debt (the amount of oxygen your body needs to replace during/after exercise) builds up fast in stacked guys as those large muscles are using up a lot of oxygen. Plus, bigger muscles means more lactic acid produced. Just look at Shane Carwin against Brock Lesnar: all that muscle needs oxygen to power it. If the muscles aren’t supplied with enough oxygen then the fighter will experience lactic acid build-up and ultimately gas out. In simple terms, if you have a big car with a big engine, it’s going to need a lot of fuel. 

But what about fighters who have both fat and muscle? Fighters who are chubby and strong yet still remain fit (like Roy Nelson specifically) will need to train very hard to avoid collapsing on the floor after the second round. The question then arises; if these types of fighters are training so hard then why are they still fat? 

Without pointing the finger at anyone in particular, it comes down to a fighter’s diet. Some fighters enjoy the luxuries of snacking on burgers and provide payback by having to train harder at fight camp. The fact is, while such fighters may have excellent gas tanks when it comes to fight night, you can’t out-train a bad diet, which means their bodies will still look rather portly. Saying this, there are exceptions. Some people’s genetics mean they are born with bodies that can remain fat even if they do enjoy a healthy diet. But, more often than not, it’s down to the donuts and Doritos.  

Information provided by Barry Gibson, strength and conditioning trainer to some of the UK’s top MMA fighters including TUF 9 lightweight winner Ross Pearson.