In the build-up to his fight with Frank Mir at UFC 130, portly heavyweight Roy Nelson joked that the best thing about living in Las Vegas is that he can buy a burger at any time of the day or night since the city’s open 24/7, but after showing serious cardio issues in a one-sided loss things have now taken a more serious turn for the TUF 10 winner.
“The fat thing was funny for a while – it’s not funny any more,” Dana White commented backstage, describing Nelson’s performance as “terrible” and “embarassing.”
White revealed that he would meeting with Nelson to discuss his future in the UFC on Friday, and while he’s not specifically said so, all signs point to the UFC president laying down an ultimatum to the 260lb fighter, who’s now lost two fight in a row, to either loss weight or be cut from the roster.
Some, such as UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, have suggested that Nelson could make 205lbs if he cut down all of his excess fat, but White doesn’t appear to be looking to go quite that far at this stage.
“How about 240? Let’s make 240 Roy, you know?” White told MMAfighting’s Ariel Helwani, giving a flavor of what he’s likely to be saying to ‘Big Country’ next week.
Nelson’s physique has been an issue for White since he appeared on The Ultimate Fighter season 10 show, but after the veteran fighter went on a winning streak, coming out on top on the show and then notching up a win over Stefan Struve, the UFC boss admitted that perhaps he was in the wrong.
In his last two fights with Junior Dos Santos and Mir however Nelson has shown little apart from his large belly and a remarkable resilience to getting punched and kneed in the face repeatedly.
Nelson himself appears to still be on a different wavelength about his shortcomings however. At the post-fight press conference he stated that to improve he needed to get, “bigger, stronger, faster.”
Bigger is the last thing White wants from him though, and if he’s not willing to attempt to lose weight and get in better shape then his UFC meal ticket might be about to run out.
