UFC heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson have both seen plenty of success in their respective careers and whoever emerges from their UFC 130 matchup will move either one step closer to a heavyweight title shot.
While Nelson has faced his fair share of quality competition throughout his career, Mir believes the rotund heavyweight would have a better chance at 205 pounds.
“You know, I’ve always felt that Roy probably could be very effective at (light heavyweight),” Mir recently told MMADigest, courtesy of MMAUniverse.com.
Since trimming down and adding muscle to his frame, Mir considered the idea of moving down to the light heavyweight division prior to his bout against Cheick Kongo at UFC 107.
While he admires the success Nelson has achieved competing in the heavyweight division, Mir is skeptical of “Big Country” and his chances of competing against the upper echelon of the division.
“The whole big belly thing is cool, but I think he will struggle with some of the better heavyweights in the UFC,” Mir said.
Nelson’s most recent loss came at the hands of heavyweight standout Junior Dos Santos at UFC 117, while Mir’s recent losses came up against some of the bigger, stronger guys such as Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.
It’s those two losses that has Mir believing Nelson’s time will be limited in the heavyweight division.
“He could still beat guys at heavyweight, but will he be an unstoppable force? Nah, he is giving up a lot of height. I can speak from experience, quality size matters.”
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