Talkin’ MMA With Roy Nelson
Published by on March 9th, 2009 in Interviews

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At six feet tall and weighing in at a massive 265 pounds, Roy “Big Country” Nelson has never been a poster boy for super ripped abs, and he never will be. The thirty two year old Las Vegas based fighter told MMAMemories.com in an exclusive interview that he is perfectly fine with the fact that he may not have the appearance of a swimsuit model, he considers himself to be the hero of the common man.

A throwback to the old days of the MMA when the average Joe would see Tank Abbott pounding his opponents into oblivion and confidently claim, ‘I can do that’, Nelson is a plus sized brawler, but that is where the similarities between himself and the legendary Tank end. Nelson is a dangerous ground fighter with a lethal stand up game to go along with it. A true mixed martial artist in every sense of the word, Nelson’s athletic ability has shocked countless ringside observers in the past when he has performed a back flip in the center of the ring to celebrate victory.

Coming off of a loss to Andrei Arlovski, that saw a questionable stand up by the referee play a major role in the bouts outcome, Nelson is hungry to return to his winning ways. Standing directly in front of him is the extremely experienced and dangerous, Jeff “the Snowman” Monson.

First things first, The man referred to as “Big Country” is eager to deal with Monson so he can set his focus on fighting for the biggest organization in the business. Nelson is doing all of the things that he has to do to establish himself amongst the top dogs of the heavyweight division so the move to the UFC is viewed as an inevitable one.

MMAMemories.com: What was the first martial art that you became involved with?

Roy Nelson: The first martial art I was involved with was just plain old karate. I was also involved with Shaolin Kung-Fu for a little while.

MMAMemories.com: How long did you remain involved with Shaoling Kung-Fu?

Roy Nelson: I started when I was about fifteen and continued to train in it until I got into ji-jiutsu, which was about twenty four years old.

MMAMemories.com: When did you realize that you wanted to fight for a living?

Roy Nelson: Really, I realized that I wanted to fight after training a bunch of guys that were fighting in the UFC for a while. They weren’t beating me in training so I figured I would go out there and take their money.

MMAMemories.com: I heard you were a huge fan of “The Karate Kid” and Shaw Brothers films growing up. Did that play a role in you wanting to become a fighter?

Roy Nelson: It definitely played a role in me wanting to become involved with martial arts as a kid. Like American Ninja. If you watch American Ninja you immediately want to be a ninja.

MMAMemories.com: What can you tell me about your boxing training you had with Skipper Kelp?

Roy Nelson: The time I spent with Skipper was really just about me putting the work in. The main thing I would focus on with Skipper would be working on different angles and stuff like that.

MMAMemories.com: I know you are generally comfortable whether the fight goes to the ground or on the feet. Do you have a preference as to where a fight generally ends up?

Roy Nelson: For me, preference wise, I like to go wherever will end the fight the fastest, but usually I really like to bang it out. When you hit someone, and they feel your power and kind of fade, it’s a really overwhelming feeling.

MMAMemories.com: Do you feel as if you would have been able to finish off Arlovski had it not been by the quick stand up by the referee?

Roy Nelson: I won the first round, he won the second, we just couldn’t make it to the third. Me personally, everything was going according to the game plan, until the ref came into play, that wasn’t part of the game plan.

MMAMemories.com: What are some of the key areas you have been focusing on in the gym since your last fight with Arlovski?

Roy Nelson: Really my main focus has been on just becoming a better striker. I’ve been working a lot on my conditioning. Basically, I’ve just been working on all of the things that I know I need to do to become a better fighter.

MMAMemories.com: I know you have Jeff Monson in your sights right now. How do you feel you match up with The Snowman?

Roy Nelson: I think it’s a pretty good match up. We’re both world class grapplers, so that’s where we negate each other. I think the stand up is going to be where the big difference is. I know he’s really hard to finish. He’s not really one of those guys that gets knocked out. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight to watch.

MMAMemories.com: What would be the perfect ending to this fight for you?

Roy Nelson: The perfect ending would be for me to finish Jeff Monson, either by submission or by knockout, just mainly because of the fact that, if you finish Jeff Monson, you’ve done what a lot of other people have not been able to do before. Josh Barnett couldn’t do it and Tim Sylvia couldn’t do it, so I’d really like to finish him.

MMAMemories.com: Is there anyone that you would really like to face in the future?

Roy Nelson: Pretty much anyone in the UFC, I would be more than game to fight. You have Brock Lesnar, who only has four total fights right now, and then you have Frank Mir, who I know personally, but I would love to fight Frank, just because he is the TV champion right now. I would say anyone in Strikeforce but the only guy they really have is Alistair Overeem. I don’t know if he will be fighting over here anytime soon just because we test for drugs and stuff like that.

MMAMemories.com: Is there anyone outside of the UFC that you would love to face off with in the future?

Roy Nelson: Yeah of course, I’d love to fight Fedor or Josh Barnett. Of course I would love to fight Andrei Arlovski again. I’ve also always wanted to fight Paul Buentello. To me, anyone that’s a gamer, like a top ten or top fifteen fighter, that’s who I want to fight.

MMAMemories.com: Have you ever talked with the UFC? Have they ever expressed any interest in signing you?

Roy Nelson: I’ve talked to Joe Silva several times and I’ve talked with Dana White a little bit. They have their heavyweights that they’re working with right now, and I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing to show that I belong in the top upper echelons of the heavyweight division. I just want to be with an organization that actually wants me. It’s like either working for a boss that doesn’t like you, or working for a boss that likes you.

MMAMemories.com: Can you still do a back flip?

Roy Nelson: I used to be able to do a back flip but I don’t really like dong that now because you have to be careful with your knees. I think my most famous back flip was when I fought Mario Rinaldi. They were saying that he could do a back flip and I did one after I handed him his first loss.

MMAMemories.com: Do you let any of the nasty stuff that a lot of the internet warriors have to say about you in the forums and places like that bother you at all?

Roy Nelson: You know what, it really doesn’t bother me that bad. It really bothers me when they say they don’t care. As long as their talking about me, that’s the most important thing. I have always kid of felt that I was kind of the hero for the common man, because I look like a lot of them and I go out and fight. My biggest thing is, for any of these people that want to hate on me or talk bad about me, come on down to my gym and train with me and see what it’s like to work out with me.

MMAMemories.com: What does the future hold for Roy Nelson?

Roy Nelson: I’m going to continue to always put on a good show and going out there and proving all of the internet warriors wrong.