After Roy Nelson’s lopsided and unanimous decision loss to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143 on Saturday night, two things became clear about the man they call “Big Country.”
1. His days of being a contender in the heavyweight division are over.
2. He is easily one of the toughest guys in the sport.
Despite being completely blasted on more than one occasion by some vicious knees by Werdum, Nelson kept on swinging for the fences and moving forward. And despite a great display of heart, Nelson was simply outmatched by Werdum’s length and striking abilities.
However, if Nelson were able to make the cut down to 205 pounds, he could revitalize his career.
During the broadcast Joe Rogan brought up an interesting point. If Roy Nelson were to get really serious about his weight, he could fight at middleweight.
While that may be some hyperbole on Rogan‘s part, with Nelson’s build a cut to 205 is not out of the picture.
Lost in the fact that Nelson is extremely tough with decent power is the fact that he is actually an excellent grappler with a black belt in jiu-jitsu. Unfortunately the heavyweight division is not the best place for him to show that off as evidenced in recent fights with stronger men in the division Nelson was unable to bring down.
A more svelte Roy Nelson at 205 would pose an interesting challenge, as he would make for a big light heavyweight and would conceivably still be able to take just as much damage. After going 1-3 in his last four fights at heavyweight, he could at least try making the cut.
At 35 years old, a move to light heavyweight is the only option at this point if Nelson wishes to remain relevant in the UFC.
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