UFC Heavyweight Roy Nelson Brings Knock Out Power To Dallas
By Richard Hunter | @RichardHunter
DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) -- UFC veteran heavyweight Roy Nelson has a great outlook on a perpetual truth of his division: "With the heavyweights, you're pretty much always two fights away from a title shot".
Indeed, the perennial fan favorite may have lost three of his last four fights, but still ranked #8 among the UFC's big men, a win over Alistair Overeem this Saturday at Dallas' American Airlines Center could vault him right back into the running for a contenders' matchup.
Listen to Richard Hunter talk to Roy Nelson about his expectations for Saturday's fight:
(Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images)
Nelson has always marched to his own beat, a philosophy that at times both delights fans and frustrates the promotion's managment. He has embraced his "everyman" physique of a sizable spare tire around his mid section, accentuated with a mountain man's beard and a mullet that would be the envy of any redneck. "Big Country" (as he's nicknamed) shows up to finish fights every time out, using his devastating knock out power to put opponents to sleep while relying on his iron chin to absorb their counter blows.
His perfect record of never being KO'ed came to an end late last year when he was dropped by "The Super Samoan" Mark Hunt, purveyor of the "walk off knock out" and one of the hardest punchers the sport has ever known. Still, Nelson looks at that fight as one that he was having success in before getting reckless.
"I just got caught," Nelson told me Thursday from his hotel in Dallas. "I thought I already had that fight in the bag…and I think I just got overconfident."
Nelson would be wise to not make that same mistake Saturday, as his opponent Overeem is certainly capable of making him pay for such a mistake. Regardless of who comes out on top however, most fans and media agree that this is probably the fight least likely to go the distance.
Saturday's UFC 185 main event will see Anthony "Showtime" Pettis defending his title against #1 ranked challenger Raphael Dos Anjos. Pettis is one of the flashiest fighters in the sport, and most of the conclusions to his fights are the things that highlight reels are made of.
Co-headlining Saturday's card will be a women's 115 straw weight title fight between champion Carla Esparza and #1 ranked challenger Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Esparza won the inaugural title on last season's "Ultimate Fighter" with her solid wrestling base, but she'll be facing a decorated muay thai striker and undefeated MMA fighter in the Polish born Jedrzejczyk.
Another Dallas native, former welterweight champ Johny "Bigg Rigg" Hendricks, looks to rebound against his December title loss to Robbie Lawler in a feature bout against gritty Matt "The Immortal" Brown, in what is sure to be a fight of the night contender.
UFC 185 airs exclusively on pay per view (9:00pm CT) from The American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
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