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The Full Nelson: IFL Champ Talks Future
The bright lights of Las Vegas can overwhelm fighters making their
way to Sin City for the first time in a professional capacity. That
isn't a problem for IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson (Pictures). The man who took home the gaudy
hardware with a knockout of Antoine Jaoude (Pictures) this past December was born and
raised in the Mecca of debauchery.
The 31-year-old champ is set to face Fabiano Scherner (Pictures) on Friday at the Orleans Arena in his hometown. Along with the belt, Nelson's consistent march toward relevancy in the sport's notoriously thin heavyweight division will be on the line.
Nelson (11-2-0) began down the path toward a career in mixed martial arts after, ironically, becoming fed up with the flakiness he experienced in the kickboxing world.
"I used to think that it was just kickboxing that was full of flakes, but I have figured out it is all the fighting sports," Nelson said with a chuckle.
After wrestling in high school, the man dubbed "Big Country" was looking for a new challenge and started training kung fu to prepare him for his new vocation. Following numerous instances of opponents dropping out at the last second and the frustration that goes along with dealing with the quirky nature of the sport, Nelson found his way to John Lewis (Pictures)' academy in search of another new sport to scratch his itch for competition.
The year was 2000, and within a month Nelson was sporting a new blue belt, a testament to his aptitude on the mat. Along with that skill came a big frame, and he soon became a sought-after training partner for some of the sport's elite. Chuck Liddell (Pictures), Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) and Maurice Smith (Pictures) all enlisted Nelson at one point or another.
Whooping up on some of the world's best mixed martial artists would generally be enough of an eye-opener for aspiring fighters. But when you throw in the fact that most training partners go uncompensated, Nelson, with a newfound wealth of knowledge and experience, made the leap from submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the fight game.
After bouncing around a bit early in his career, he found a home in the IFL but also found himself being considered little more than an afterthought in the fledgling promotion's heavyweight division. Ben Rothwell (Pictures) was perceived as the premier big man while Jaoude was seen as his primary competition for the top spot.
"I'd been telling the IFL I am probably one of the top fighters in the world, and they are just kind of, ‘yeah whatever,'" said a confident Nelson.
"Big Country" even affiliated himself with Ken Shamrock (Pictures)'s Nevada Lions because he knew the organization was sure to continue promoting Rothwell as the face of the outfit. Turning down a chance to fight alongside his friend and training partner Mike Whitehead (Pictures) with the Tucson Scorpions, Nelson enlisted with the Lions because a cursory look at the IFL schedule showed a more expedient path to Rothwell.
When the showdown eventually happened, Rothwell came out on the good end of a close split decision. The scores did not sit well with Nelson, who has been vocal about his belief that he should have got the nod.
"At the end I thought hands down I won that fight," Nelson remarked. "I got hosed."
The thing that really struck the champion as odd was that the two judges who scored the bout for Rothwell didn't score a single round for Nelson. Worst case scenario, said Nelson, the fight was a draw.
Now that any hopes of a rematch in the IFL are impossible -- that chance went out the window when Rothwell departed the league in a messy divorce at the end of 2007 -- Nelson was sure to make it clear the fight does not weigh on him in the least. While he acknowledged he would love to fight Rothwell again, it is not imperative.
Rothwell leaving the organization underscores another issue Nelson sees as a problem. The lack of depth in the division is apparent when you look at his opponent for Friday's championship fight. Scherner (7-5-0) has dropped four of his last six bouts, and yet he is signed to fight for the belt.
Still, there can be serious consequences when a champion takes an opponent lightly. Nelson, realizing he is in a lose-lose situation, is intent on handling the questions about his competition's lack of credibility rather than those queries about how he lost to one of them.
"Those are the most dangerous guys you face," Nelson said. "Guys that just lay it all out there and have nothing to lose."
He remains hopeful that the IFL, entering its third full season of operations, is ready to make a leap forward. Although winning the title was nice, Nelson understands he needs to fight top competition if he wants to fulfill his potential.
"It is a validation, winning the belt, but I am just gonna look forward to progressing and hopefully they will either bring more talent in or, if I have to, I will go outside," he said.
Whether the beleaguered IFL has the resources to bring in the kind of talent he hopes to fight is another question. Nelson does not seem optimistic his current employers will be able to get it done.
"Any good guys are not gonna fight for peanuts," he remarked. "That is the biggest thing; they think they are paying good, but it's really still peanuts."
His sharp words are not reserved for the IFL. Echoing a growing sentiment among fighters, Nelson turned his guns on the sport's biggest promotion.
"It is the same thing with the UFC," continued the IFL champ. "They say, ‘Aw, we're paying great money,' but then you look at their bottom line and how much money they're making and yeah, you're making more money than boxing."
It is especially tough for him to watch some fighters often considered top 10 who garner attention when he feels wholeheartedly that his skill set is better. Nelson mentioned Cheick Kongo (Pictures) and Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures), noting the one-dimensional game of the former and the suspect heart of the latter.
"Styles make fights," he declared, "and I know I would match up well with guys like that. Kongo lost to a wrestler with like three wins, and with Gonzaga all you have to do is take him into the second round, take him out of the driver's seat and he will give up."
Those are pretty bold statements from a fighter who is really just starting out in the sport, but they show a self-assuredness that has been steeled over the years by training with some of the sport's finest athletes.
Nelson may be confident in his abilities, but he is also aware of other well-rounded heavyweights: chiefly Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), Josh Barnett (Pictures) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), whom he mentions by name as the prototype fighters in the division.
If Nelson hopes to one day be mentioned in the same breath with the top heavyweights, he really must dominate the less than stellar competition he is sure to face this year in the IFL.
If he can do that, he could be in line to make a few more peanuts down the road.
The 31-year-old champ is set to face Fabiano Scherner (Pictures) on Friday at the Orleans Arena in his hometown. Along with the belt, Nelson's consistent march toward relevancy in the sport's notoriously thin heavyweight division will be on the line.
Nelson (11-2-0) began down the path toward a career in mixed martial arts after, ironically, becoming fed up with the flakiness he experienced in the kickboxing world.
"I used to think that it was just kickboxing that was full of flakes, but I have figured out it is all the fighting sports," Nelson said with a chuckle.
After wrestling in high school, the man dubbed "Big Country" was looking for a new challenge and started training kung fu to prepare him for his new vocation. Following numerous instances of opponents dropping out at the last second and the frustration that goes along with dealing with the quirky nature of the sport, Nelson found his way to John Lewis (Pictures)' academy in search of another new sport to scratch his itch for competition.
The year was 2000, and within a month Nelson was sporting a new blue belt, a testament to his aptitude on the mat. Along with that skill came a big frame, and he soon became a sought-after training partner for some of the sport's elite. Chuck Liddell (Pictures), Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) and Maurice Smith (Pictures) all enlisted Nelson at one point or another.
Whooping up on some of the world's best mixed martial artists would generally be enough of an eye-opener for aspiring fighters. But when you throw in the fact that most training partners go uncompensated, Nelson, with a newfound wealth of knowledge and experience, made the leap from submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the fight game.
After bouncing around a bit early in his career, he found a home in the IFL but also found himself being considered little more than an afterthought in the fledgling promotion's heavyweight division. Ben Rothwell (Pictures) was perceived as the premier big man while Jaoude was seen as his primary competition for the top spot.
"I'd been telling the IFL I am probably one of the top fighters in the world, and they are just kind of, ‘yeah whatever,'" said a confident Nelson.
"Big Country" even affiliated himself with Ken Shamrock (Pictures)'s Nevada Lions because he knew the organization was sure to continue promoting Rothwell as the face of the outfit. Turning down a chance to fight alongside his friend and training partner Mike Whitehead (Pictures) with the Tucson Scorpions, Nelson enlisted with the Lions because a cursory look at the IFL schedule showed a more expedient path to Rothwell.
When the showdown eventually happened, Rothwell came out on the good end of a close split decision. The scores did not sit well with Nelson, who has been vocal about his belief that he should have got the nod.
"At the end I thought hands down I won that fight," Nelson remarked. "I got hosed."
The thing that really struck the champion as odd was that the two judges who scored the bout for Rothwell didn't score a single round for Nelson. Worst case scenario, said Nelson, the fight was a draw.
Now that any hopes of a rematch in the IFL are impossible -- that chance went out the window when Rothwell departed the league in a messy divorce at the end of 2007 -- Nelson was sure to make it clear the fight does not weigh on him in the least. While he acknowledged he would love to fight Rothwell again, it is not imperative.
Rothwell leaving the organization underscores another issue Nelson sees as a problem. The lack of depth in the division is apparent when you look at his opponent for Friday's championship fight. Scherner (7-5-0) has dropped four of his last six bouts, and yet he is signed to fight for the belt.
Still, there can be serious consequences when a champion takes an opponent lightly. Nelson, realizing he is in a lose-lose situation, is intent on handling the questions about his competition's lack of credibility rather than those queries about how he lost to one of them.
"Those are the most dangerous guys you face," Nelson said. "Guys that just lay it all out there and have nothing to lose."
He remains hopeful that the IFL, entering its third full season of operations, is ready to make a leap forward. Although winning the title was nice, Nelson understands he needs to fight top competition if he wants to fulfill his potential.
"It is a validation, winning the belt, but I am just gonna look forward to progressing and hopefully they will either bring more talent in or, if I have to, I will go outside," he said.
Whether the beleaguered IFL has the resources to bring in the kind of talent he hopes to fight is another question. Nelson does not seem optimistic his current employers will be able to get it done.
"Any good guys are not gonna fight for peanuts," he remarked. "That is the biggest thing; they think they are paying good, but it's really still peanuts."
His sharp words are not reserved for the IFL. Echoing a growing sentiment among fighters, Nelson turned his guns on the sport's biggest promotion.
"It is the same thing with the UFC," continued the IFL champ. "They say, ‘Aw, we're paying great money,' but then you look at their bottom line and how much money they're making and yeah, you're making more money than boxing."
It is especially tough for him to watch some fighters often considered top 10 who garner attention when he feels wholeheartedly that his skill set is better. Nelson mentioned Cheick Kongo (Pictures) and Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures), noting the one-dimensional game of the former and the suspect heart of the latter.
"Styles make fights," he declared, "and I know I would match up well with guys like that. Kongo lost to a wrestler with like three wins, and with Gonzaga all you have to do is take him into the second round, take him out of the driver's seat and he will give up."
Those are pretty bold statements from a fighter who is really just starting out in the sport, but they show a self-assuredness that has been steeled over the years by training with some of the sport's finest athletes.
Nelson may be confident in his abilities, but he is also aware of other well-rounded heavyweights: chiefly Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), Josh Barnett (Pictures) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), whom he mentions by name as the prototype fighters in the division.
If Nelson hopes to one day be mentioned in the same breath with the top heavyweights, he really must dominate the less than stellar competition he is sure to face this year in the IFL.
If he can do that, he could be in line to make a few more peanuts down the road.
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