As the feud between former teammates Jon Jones and Rashad Evans continues to escalate in drama, another pair of training partners are quietly going about their business before they face off next Saturday at UFC 130.
Next weekend’s bouts features a co-main event battle between former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir and the Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson. Both fighters, born and raised in Las Vegas, are good friends and teammates who are putting aside their friendship to square off in their hometown at the MGM Grand.
“We get paid to win,” Roy Nelson told the press during Thursday’s media conference call. “You put your family before all your other friends,” he said.
Avoiding the back and forth trash talking that the Jones-Evans situation has sparked, Nelson has nothing but the utmost respect for his opponent.
“You always got to be a scared of Frank,” Nelson said. “He’s a true mixed martial artist.”
Asked to compare Mir with his last opponent, Junior Dos Santos, Nelson said that Mir is “bigger” and should “hit harder”.
This respectful gesture means a lot considering Nelson is the only person to not be finished by top contender Dos Santos.
Earning his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie, a man Nelson considers a “living legend” and “one of the best (in) MMA“, “Big Country” has faced Mir in competition before, defeating him in a grappling match in 2003.
Commenting on the match, Nelson doubts that he has an advantage over Mir on the ground, joking that he is “a bigger and fatter guy now.”
With a win possibly pushing the victor into title contention, both fighters will undoubtedly come out looking to put on a show. Regardless of the winner, Mir and Nelson have shown the MMA world that teammates can fight each other while remaining friends.
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