Roy Nelson can forget about looking to UFC President Dana White for support in his decision to apply for the executive director position of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
On Monday, Bloodyelbow.com reported that Nelson applied for former executive director Keith Kizer’s position. The 37-year-old heavyweight star is starting to look beyond the Octagon and piece together a career after fighting.
After sitting down with his wife, Nelson made the decision to apply for the position in hopes of furthering the sport in his hometown. He also hopes to improve the working relationship between the UFC and the NSAC.
On Tuesday, MMAWeekly’s Erik Fontanez attended a media scrum for UFC 169 held in Los Angeles, where White addressed Nelson’s aspirations of being the new NSAC executive director.
It’s no secret that White has never been a fan of Nelson’s potbelly rubbing, caveman image. Chael Sonnen is often referred to as the biggest trash talker in the UFC, but White has certainly thrown his share of verbal jabs at Nelson’s expense.
In May 2013, White told Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole that Nelson was “not a smart guy” and an “absolute pain in the ass.” A few months later, he scolded the UFC heavyweight for his “nasty, ratty” beard during a media scrum for UFC 162, according to MMAFighting.com.
Unless Nelson is looking to retire from fighting, his goal of heading the NSAC is a bit unrealistic, but it still doesn’t give White any leeway to put down one of his own fighters.
Nelson’s intentions seem honorable for a fighter entering the twilight of his career. He even harped on the idea of helping to improve the rocky relations between the UFC and NSAC.
White could have simply smiled, offered a vote of confidence and moved onto the next question. Instead, he made the decision to put a guy down for having ambitious goals.
Would it really hurt to have shown Nelson a little support?
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