“Big Country” Roy Nelson is certainly a very capable fighter, despite his big belly and overall “sloppy” look, and he’s next fight could be the toughest of his career. Nelson looks to take on high quality UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos on August 7 at UFC 117 in Oakland, California and Nelson is hoping to continue his unbeaten streak inside the Octagon. Nelson’s critics have no love for Nelson’s style of fighting, or his lack of muscle tone, but Nelson has shown that looks can be deceiving and he truly believes that his toughest opponent is himself, as he pointed out during a recent interview with UFC.com:
“My toughest opponent is always me. Any fights that I’ve lost were all because of me. I know I was the better fighter in every one of them. The only person who actually beat me was myself. Some of them I’m sure I won and some of them were a result of questionable refereeing and judging, so our records are actually a lot closer if you look at it that way. I don’t sit and stew about my losses, I just work to make sure I don’t make the same mistakes twice. I think any opponent I have is tough. Junior has knocked out some tough guys. I think he has already fought for his title shot. When he beat Werdum, he should have fought for the title in his next fight. It’s one of those things. Styles make fights and we match up really well.”
It should be a great matchup with both fighters looking to move into title contention with a win. Junior has proven his ability to strike with the best fighters in the world and Nelson will have to be careful not to be the next highlight reel victim of the Brazillian.