While speaking with MMA Fix’s Dave Farra late last month, Roy Nelson did his best ‘can’t confirm-won’t deny- even a dimwitted Doberman can put this together’ act, indicating that he would most likely fight Junior Dos Santos next. Well, Mr. Nelson is a man of his ‘read between the lines’ word, as the UFC has confirmed today that the heavyweight will indeed face the fellow contender Dos Santos, August 7th at UFC 117.
So, there you have it, and with Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida already confirmed, the main card for the Oakland event has 3 pretty sweet bouts set. It will be interesting to see what kind of game plan Nelson comes out with. Now of course, both Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve know all too well just how “Big Country” the TUF 10 winner’s fists can be, but Dos Santos also hasn’t had much trouble scrambling opponent’s consciousness with his striking. Someone should really bring Struve in on this as he should be the expert; Nelson bombed out the reedonkously tall Dutchman in 39 seconds, while Dos Santos needed 54 seconds…Wonder who Struve will be cheering for?
Dos Santos hasn’t really had his ground game tested thus far in the UFC, and while he trains with the Nogueira brothers and is reportedly pretty good on the mat, Mr. Nelson is a BJJ black belt (equipped with one of the finest bellies the sport has to offer…). Pretty damn important fight as the winner will probably get in line behind Cain Velasquez for a title shot.