Alistair Overeem will probably be limping for a few days after spending 15 minutes smashing his shin across the amoeba-like belly of Roy Nelson at UFC 185.
The sounds of bone slamming against flesh opened the floodgates for the “oohs” and “ahhs” of fans in the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night. For most of the heavyweight tilt, Nelson served as Overeem’s striking dummy, while absorbing inconceivable amounts of punishment.
“I’m banged up on my feet from kicking him,” Overeem said at the UFC 185 post-fight press conference. “Every time I hit him, I could see in his eyes he wanted to hit my head off. Every time I hit him, he got more angry, kind of like the Hulk or something.”
UFC President Dana White has been a longtime critic of Nelson, but even he had to give “Big Country” props for the heart he displayed against the former K-1 World Grand Prix champion.
“Roy Nelson is not human. The shots that guy took tonight. The kicks to the body were unbelievable,” White grimaced, when speaking about the fight with Ariel Helwani on Fox Sports 1.
Seeing a battered Nelson trudge through Overeem’s offense just to land a shot of his own was like watching a fisticuffs version of The Walking Dead. He even managed to drop Overeem with a punch late in the third round before losing a lopsided unanimous decision.
With his second consecutive win under his belt, Overeem now moves back into the title picture with his eyes set on a top-five heavyweight contender. A long-awaited showdown with former UFC champ Junior Dos Santos could be on tap.
Meanwhile, Nelson likely bought himself another shot in the UFC—despite being 1-4 in his last five bouts—with his typical ironman performance. But at 38 years old, the window is closing on his career.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon and FanRag Sports.
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