Talkin’ MMA with IFL Champ Roy Nelson
Published by on September 9th, 2008 in Interviews

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MMAMemories.com: You recently said in an interview that it was an ‘easy choice’ to sign with Affliction as opposed to other MMA promotions. Please elaborate on why Affliction was your top choice as your new ‘home.’

Roy Nelson: I chose Affliction because of their heavyweight division. They went out and secured the best talent out there. That is why they wanted me to join and I accepted.

MMAMemories.com: Was there any interest at all by UFC in signing you to fight in their heavyweight division?

Roy Nelson: As for the UFC and all the other organizations, they are interested in the best talent out there. The difference is, in this business you must do what’s best for you, your family and career. Affliction has the best fighters in the heavyweight division. To get to the top you need to fight the number one guy. The fastest way is a straight line.

MMAMemories.com: When Ben Rothwell left the IFL and fought in Affliction, you kind of took the torch over from Ben as the IFL’s top heavyweight fighter. Do you feel that you are the best heavyweight that the IFL has ever had in the company’s history?

Roy Nelson: As for me being the best heavyweight fighter in the IFL, I would have to agree, given that I do have the belt and I will retire with the belt. Ben is a great fighter, but when you compare him to me, I am the better fighter. Did you not see the fight?

MMAMemories.com: What kind of interest is there on your part in facing Rothwell in Affliction? What would be your strategy against him in terms of fight planning? The last time you fought Rothwell, he won but only by a split decision.

Roy Nelson: To fight Ben in Affliction would be an entertaining fight, but I prefer to fight the number one guy. If I have to go nine, eight, seven until I get to the number one guy I will. Planning for the fight with Ben would be the same as before. I would beat him up like last time and in the end I would finish him or get new judges.

MMAMemories.com: Rothwell showed a lot of heart against Andrei Arlovski during their fight on the Affliction debut show, but ultimately Arlovski punished him and won the fight relatively easily. Do you think that there is a negative stigma attached to IFL fighters when they go to other promotions and fight, fair or not?

Roy Nelson: No, I don’t feel that there is a negative stigma attached to IFL fighters, because when IFL fighters compete, they usually win. Just ask the UFC about IFL fight night on July 19th of this year, all of the IFL fighters either won or made the best UFC guys look “not so tough”. If IFL guys suck, they wouldn’t have been signed by the UFC or Affliction.

MMAMemories.com: You mentioned recently that you have a desire to face Fedor. Isn’t taking such a fight a steep rise up in competition? What would your manager think if you were given the opportunity to take that fight right away as opposed to building up your career slowly and steadily?

Roy Nelson: It’s not steep competition. He is a professional and I am a professional, it’s our job to fight. If I thought I couldn’t win the fight, I would probably choose to build up my career the slow and steady way. As for my camp, friends, and family, they want the best for me. They believe that I’m the best and know that I can win that fight. Everyone in my corner understands that fighting is hard on the body and that as a fighter you need to get in and get out. In this sport, you don’t want to put yourself in a position to where you still have to rely on winning a fight to pay the bills in the latter years of your life. You just have to be smarter than that.

MMAMemories.com: You are set to face Paul Buentello on October 11th in Las Vegas. Buentello looked sluggish against Gary Goodridge. What kind of weaknesses do you see in Buentello’s game and how do you plan on exploiting them?

Roy Nelson: Paul Buentello’s weakness is that he seems to be one dimensional fighter. I also could be wrong; we haven’t seen his world class jits come out, since he just knocks everybody’s head off.

MMAMemories.com: A lot of the MMA fans that show up for UFC-level events really seem to be hardcore in physical training and even keyboard warriors online talk a lot of trash about a fighter if their body fat is higher than 5%. What kind of pressure, if any, do you feel from people inside and outside the business about your weight? Do some of the comments negative impact you?

Roy Nelson: When I first started, everybody commented about my body shape. Now everybody says, “That guy knows how to fight and he looks like me”. The people that still complain are the ones who don’t even get out of bed to do something productive with their lives. As for the comments, I use them as fuel to go out there and win.

MMAMemories.com: One of your biggest boosters in MMA is Ken Shamrock, who coached you in the IFL and trains you currently, said that you are ‘virtually unbeatable.’ Every good fighter has to have a high confidence level, but if you were to analyze where you stand right now on the worldwide stage in terms of heavyweight fighters, where do you rank yourself?

Roy Nelson: On the world stage my team and I rank my self in the top ten easy.

MMAMemories.com: Ken discovered you at an open tryout in Reno. What was his first impression of you as a fighter and how did your relationship with him evolve as time as gone on and you’ve trained together more?

Roy Nelson: This question is better suited for Ken, but I believe he was like everyone else their first watching me, just in awe of my skill at my size. Once we got to know each other better, we realized our paths had crossed many times over the years, due to the fact that we have both been in the sport for very long time.

MMAMemories.com: A lot of casual MMA fans don’t know about your grappling skills or your background in terms of martial arts training. Tell us a little bit more about your background and how you decided you wanted to become an MMA fighter.

Roy Nelson:I started my martial arts career right after I watched “Karate Kid” and “America Ninja.” So, I have been doing martial arts for over 25 years. I decided to compete in MMA because I felt that I was a better fighter than some of the fighters that I was training, fighters that were UFC Champions.

MMAMemories.com: Tell us a little bit about a project you are involved in called “The Free Gas Fund.”

Roy Nelson: “The Free Gas Fund” is basically a fund that helps underprivileged individuals and teams that want to excel in their sport. The fund helps pay for travel, gas to get to the event, lodging, and even their entry fees.

MMAMemories.com: It seems every MMA web site these days has a list of Top 10 fighters in the world in different weight classes. On your web site at roynelson.com you have your own Top 10 heavyweight rankings list. Have you gotten any grief from fighters about your opinion on the heavyweight scene?

Roy Nelson: I haven’t gotten any grief. I have been told “It’s a good list and I can see how you would rank them that way”. As for my list now, it has change since the last Affliction fight.

MMAMemories.com: You ranked yourself as the fifth best heavyweight in the world. We know that you feel you beat Ben the first time around in the IFL, but why do you feel that you are better than Andrei Arlovski (who is main event the second Affliction show?)

Roy Nelson: I don’t believe that I am better, I just believe that I could win that fight. Andrei is a gamer with solid hands. With someone like Arlovski, you can’t make any mistakes or he will capitalize on them. From the fighting stand point, my grappling is much better than his, it’s my forte’. Like most fighters out there, this is one thing I have that they don’t.