Issue 056
November 2009
A five-year veteran of the sport Roy Nelson’s a big character in more ways than one. As he makes his Ultimate Fighter debut in this season’s show we find out about the man they call Big Country and get his frank views on everything MMA.
You know what... being in this business for such a long time, I learned along the way that the only person I can trust is myself and my family and my friends. I’ve had managers in the past. I’ve had other types of trainers where it’s all about them trying to help me but most have never really tried to help me as much as help themselves.”
Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson speaks from bitter experience as fans worldwide watch him compete as one of the hopeful contestants on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. A self-motivated man who’s never relied on a team to get by, Nelson shuns the usual manager / glamorous head-trainer setup. Enjoying success on his own terms, the former IFL heavyweight champion with a 13-4 record still has fond memories of the defunct promotion, although didn’t quite enjoy the luxuries of the team concept.
“The IFL was definitely one of the best things that ever happened to me. It gave me the chance to train all day as a fighter and do nothing else, five days a week, six days a week, I was just eating, sleeping and breathing fighting.”
Although a member of Ken Shamrock’s Nevada Lions team, Nelson admits he rarely trained with the team.
“I lived in Vegas while everybody else lived in Reno. He (Shamrock) did his training and I still did my training separately from everybody else.”
Apart from a UFC contract (which he stands to win if he is victorious in the tournament) the only thing missing from Nelson’s career is a win over a well-ranked fighter. However, fate seems to have conspired against him as he’s controversially lost to former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and to UFC title challenger Jeff Monson. In the first round of their fight Nelson was working Arlovski from top when the referee stood the fighters up.
“I had a kimura from the side and I actually let it go because the ref said “keep moving, keep moving, action” and so I tried moving from that position to an underhook to probably go to mount. That’s what I thought. Usually, the ref gives about five to six seconds in between movements. Usually, it’s a lot more than six seconds. But apparently not in Florida.”
Arlovski would go on to knock Nelson out midway through the second round.
“In that second round, it was the first time I had a mental lapse in a fight where I thought there is just no way I can win. I was already defeated then. When I went into the fight, I was like “I can beat this guy, no problem.” But once that stand-up happened, I was feeling like I wasn’t just fighting him but the ref as well. There was just a lot of stuff going on. This is not even a fight – it’s unfair.”
Nelson went on to experience further controversy when he fought Monson at Roy Jones Jr’s hybrid boxing / MMA event in February of this year. “That’s probably a bigger one than even the Arlovski fight. Now, me and Jeff actually work out together. Jeff knows that I won. That’s the reason why he actually trains with me. For the most part, I think that because it’s Florida, first of all, they don’t know how to ref or judge. But the second and probably the most is they scored up on the scorecards. Right before we walked out, I was supposed to be in the red corner. Then they put him in the red corner. The judges, because they were boxing judges, probably didn’t even know who Roy Nelson was or Jeff Monson was. When they did the score, they figured that I won but had their corners mixed up. Finally, when we went to ask to see the scorecards, they said they lost them. So... that’s just Florida for you.”
Despite coming off back-to-back losses the UFC came calling for Big Country when it was decided that Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter was going to be contested by heavyweights.
“We’ve always touched bases here and there. This is just the first time that everything fell into place where I wanted to be in the UFC because all roads end in the UFC. That’s where the best are. I had a chance to jump on that. Especially being in the house is a bit of a tougher road to than actually just jumping in but I figured it’d be a good way to build a fan base and improve on the fan base.”
The show is now well known for helping build stars and champions but the trials of 16 men on high-protein diets having to live and fight together and with few distractions has also been well documented. Were there any reservations on Nelson’s part regarding having to bunk up with 15 other guys for six weeks?
“Not really. The only reservation I had was being away for six weeks. I didn’t realize it was going to be worse than jail. I’ve never been to jail but I imagine it’ll actually be better. It’s one of those things where I just wanted to have an experience so I can say You know what? I did that.’ I’ll never do it again. I just wanted the experience to tell other fighters whether it’s worth it or not worth it. It’s one of those things that you just want on your resume.”
Like many of the ‘more professional’ fighters who enter the house, Nelson was focused on the training opportunities that the show presented.
“[I wanted to]...just fine-tuning everything, from my grappling aspect, to my striking aspect to my conditioning. Basically just turning myself into a more fine-tuned machine. Actually, I just want to turn into The Ultimate Fighter!”
“Usually, I’m the guy yelling at people and telling them what to do. It’s good to be able to bounce ideas off people and they actually understand, so that was most beneficial.”
Training and living in the Ultimate Fighter house also had another effect on Nelson. “In the house, I actually went up in weight. Everybody thought I’d lose weight due to training harder. I already train hard, so it’s not like I was training harder than I normally do. I think I just put on an extra couple of pounds of muscle.”
On the subject of weight, Nelson’s physique has often been a source of entertainment. Some fans appreciate the fact that an athlete in the world’s toughest sport doesn’t have to look like Mr. Universe and appreciate him for his fighting skills. Others aren’t so kind.
“You know what? Those are actually my favorite people just because they can’t even walk up a flight of stairs. But the more haters I have, the more fans I have. For every additional hater, I probably won over three to four more fans.”
Nelson’s ambition within the UFC is admirable. He aims to be fighting for the heavyweight title as soon as possible.
“I don’t know how soon they’ll put me in there. I hope they’ll throw me in with the lions. I’ve always wanted to fight the best guys in the world and I think I can produce. That’s where I want to be. I’d rather be fighting lions than fighting people that I’ve already faced in the past.”
“Brock is definitely a guy that is beatable. He’s just really good at what he does, which is wrestle and hold people down, pitter-patter you until your face looks like a melon. But for the most part, Lesnar is very, very beatable. There’s a lot of guys... I think Shane Carwin is going to be Lesnar’s first true test: A wrestler who can actually punch hard. So it’s definitely going to be interesting to see if Carwin can come out on top.”
If all goes to plan for Nelson and he does land a fight against the imposing Lesnar, how does he feel he would fare?
“I think I’d be a mixture of a Carwin where he couldn’t take me down and I have knockout power, with a Frank Mir where if you did put me on my back, I’d still be able to tap you. So I think I’m a guy that can hurt you from a lot of different angles. The thing is: I don’t like to be put on my back and not a lot of people have been able to put me on my back, so... it’d definitely be one of those fights that’d be a banging war until somebody’s getting knocked out.”
Finally one of our readers swore that he’d read somewhere that one of Nelson’s career aspirations is to be sponsored by fast food chain Arby’s. Is this true?
“No, it wasn’t Arby’s. I was working for bigger endorsements, more like McDonald’s or like Taco Bell.”
Roy on Kimbo
Did you ever have a chance to talk to or socialize with Kimbo before you went into the house together?
“When we were down in Florida, we only said hi and introduced ourselves. It wasn’t until we were in the house that I actually got to know Kimbo.”
What was your impression before coming into the house? Did he give off the impression of thinking he was a major star or did he give off the vibe that he was just there to do his job?
“He’s just a fighter that had success follow him. The same is true for myself. He is one of these well-known fighters. I also went into the house as a well-known fighter. He had more of the Hollywood-type fame, while I came in with more fighting fame. He did have a stigma to get rid of in the house where many people thought he wasn’t really a fighter. The one thing I can say is: He’s always been a fighter.”
Without spoiling anything, do you still have the same impression today?
“I respect Kimbo a lot and I have a lot more respect for him now because I actually know him now. I didn’t want to make any judgment calls but now that I know him, I’ve formed my opinion of him.”
So you don’t think he’s a one-trick pony? Does he have potential in MMA?
Yes, definitely. For MMA, there’s a lot of people that’ll say he’s a one-trick pony. He’s definitely one of those guys who can knock you out. We’ve seen this many times in MMA: Styles make fights. That’s how most fights are won.
Roy Nelson word association
- Burger King: Whopper
- Tank Abbott: Fun to watch, good one-liners
- In ‘n Out Burger: Not as good as the Whopper
- Dana White: Passionate, respectful to this sport
- Hash House: Big plates
- Ken Shamrock: Guy that knows how to make money in MMA
- Affliction: (pauses) Affliction... that’s a good one. Sellout
- Best Vegas Buffet: Station Casinos
- Randy Couture: Captain America
- And finally... the Spearmint Rhino: Spearmint Rhino... we’ll go with... we’ll just say “fun”
