Veteran mixed martial artist Roy Nelson is no newcomer to the MMA world. However, it wasn’t until his inclusion on The Ultimate Fighter season 10 that he became a household name. After defeating Kimbo Slice in his first fight on the show, and then making it to the Finale where he knocked out Brendan Schaub, the newly christened Ultimate Fighter has become a legitimate contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Whether he’s making light of his Burger King-enhanced physique or exuding a confidence that rubs some people the wrong way, “Big Country” is always entertaining. Fresh off his big win, the Las Vegas-native talks to BumpyKnuckle.com about his experience on the show, where he’s at in the heavyweight division, and how his weight plays to his advantage.
BumpyKnuckle.com: So, how does it feel being the TUF champion?
Roy Nelson: You know what, I actually feel pretty good. It feels good to accomplish your goals and go in the right direction.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Did you do anything special after your win?
Roy: No, pretty much after winning it I went home, took the day off and went back to work on Monday. This week has been a lot more hectic with doing radio and TV interviews but other than that it’s just same old, same old.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Any idea when you’ll be fighting again?
Roy: I’m actually not sure. I’m sure I’ll hear something soon. Hopefully sometime in the beginning of 2010.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Where do you feel you’re at in the heavyweight division? What plans do you have at this point?
Roy: My plan is basically to fight whoever they want to put in front of me. I think I’m up there in the top echelon of UFC fighters. I think I’m one of the guys that can be considered the real Ultimate Fighter besides Season 4 with the veterans. I think I’m pretty competitive and can be thrown in there with the lions.
BumpyKnuckle.com: You used the crucifix position a lot on the show. Is that something you set out to utilize or did you just go for it when it was offered?
Roy: On the show the crucifix was my bread and butter because it was the safest. You’re not creating any scrambles or any awkwardness where you’re going for an armbar. So if you’re a good grappler you can dictate your movements, and you’re not going to hurt yourself and you can control your opponent.
BumpyKnuckle.com: How did you feel going into the Finale? Any extra nervousness or anything?
Roy: Nerves-wise, it was probably a little bit more than I’ve ever had before. It wasn’t from fighting in front of people or anything, it was just the fact that everybody expected me to win and everybody started coming out of the woodworks expecting it, and I expected myself to win. So it was just a little more pressure to step up and silence all my critics.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Was it tough waiting so long for the actual fight to happen? It’s got to be tough to do the show, then watch the show, then go through the promotion for the fight and everything.
Roy: Yeah, it was like five months. But not really. Pretty much it was just like a five month camp of getting ready for the fight, pushing yourself and keeping the motivation. You wake up everyday and you’re like ‘it’s so far away, I don’t want to go to the gym,’ but you just have to keep going knowing it’s something you have to do.
BumpyKnuckle.com: You’re not really known to train with anyone specifically or associated with any particular camp. Who do you train with, or do you just do your own thing?
Roy: You know what; the thing a lot of people don’t realize is I used to be a camp. People would come out and I’d be the Greg Jackson. People would be like ‘hey Roy can you show me this,’ or ‘hey Roy can you be in my corner.’ So I’ve always had my own camp, but it was my camp. So what I’ve done is always just tried to keep it in-house. When I do it that way I can focus mostly on myself and focus on my guys.
BumpyKnuckle.com: You make light of your physique a lot. Do you think your weight actually plays to your advantage?
Roy: The thing is, I’m a jiu-jitsu guy so every ounce and every pound I have I use to my advantage. If I was 6’6” and had Marcus Jones’ body I wouldn’t even have to train half the time. I’d just be like ‘let’s go.’ God gave him some gifts and he’s the most physically strong guy I’ve ever felt and that’s one hundred percent natural.
BumpyKnuckle.com: You got “Knockout of the Night” for your KO of Brendan Schaub at the Finale. Do you feel vindicated or some sense of satisfaction after Dana White said he wasn’t all that impressed with some of your wins on the show?
Roy: It’s not that feel vindicated or anything, I just wanted to put on a show for the fans and show that I’m not just a grappling guy, that I can also strike.
The plan was to stand more than to go for the takedown. The takedown was just more to get an idea of what he wanted to do on the ground and when I got there I just knew his idea was to look for a way to get up from the bottom and he wasn’t going to try to do anything else. So I knew if I ever got in trouble I would be safe taking it to the ground.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Some people thought that with your experience you should’ve been the guy getting a lot of the attention on the show as opposed to Kimbo. How did you feel about the show considering all the outside factors going on?
Roy: It was a good experience because I won. That’s really the main factor out of the whole thing because if I would’ve lost then I would say it was the crappiest experience. But I set my goals and accomplished them and I’m happy to say that I won.
As far as the Kimbo thing, Kimbo brought me more fans and more haters. And vice-versa, me being on the show I brought more hardcore MMA fans that don’t watch the UFC or a broader audience because I’m just the average guy.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Any last words?
Roy: I just appreciate all the support that I’ve gotten from fans and always my sponsors www.fightchix.com, www.tapout.com, and of course www.cangles.com.
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big country better get a top level fighter in his next fight. he dominated on the show, time to see if he deserves legitimate contender status.