Opinion | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC 130 Fight Card: Fat Jokes Aside, Is Roy Nelson a Legit Heavyweight Threat?

It’s time for the Rodney Dangerfield of MMA to seize his Back to School moment. In fact, come UFC 130, Roy “Big Country” Nelson is going to treat Frank Mir and the entire UFC-watching public to an extra helping of special education. On May 28, the…

It’s time for the Rodney Dangerfield of MMA to seize his Back to School moment.

In fact, come UFC 130, Roy “Big Country” Nelson is going to treat Frank Mir and the entire UFC-watching public to an extra helping of special education. On May 28, the plus-sized fighter who “can’t get no respect” is finally going to get some.

A lot of online sports books have Nelson vs. Mir as even money. But the popular favorite appears to be Mir. That could be based, in many cases, on the highly scientific revelation that—hope you’re sitting down—Roy Nelson is fat.

Yep. No getting around it. Roy Nelson is fat. He’s a fat guy. Six-feet tall, 263 pounds. Insert your own beer-gut quip here.

Trust me, it’s no problem. After all, you’d just be following Nelson’s lead. This is the guy who jokes about getting Burger King after a win, proudly rocks a mullet and enters the arena to the song titled—you know it—”Fat.”

All joking aside, though, with this fight, which I believe Nelson will win (if you hadn’t already guessed that), he will finally prove himself a serious contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Fat and all.

Just look at his past. It’s practically “bulging” with victories, if you take my meaning. He has a “glut” of successes, if you will.

No one does or should confuse the defunct International Fight League’s heavyweight division with Pride, but Nelson still won that belt and defended it twice. In fact, no one else ever even held it.

Lots of noise these days about Brendan Schaub and his status as a rising star at heavyweight, and deservedly so. But at the same time, not so much noise about Nelson, who knocked Schaub cold to win season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Admittedly, outside of Schaub, Nelson doesn’t have a “ton” of high-profile scalps on his “menu” of victories. Still, you don’t get a 15-5 professional fighting record by sitting around eating onion rings, or at least not exclusively. And even in his most recent loss, Big Country was still impressive, absorbing colossal punishment in going the distance with one Junior Dos Santos.

Know how many guys have gone the distance with Dos Santos? One. That’s right: the fat guy.

But of course, Nelson is more than a great chin. He’s a great athlete, too. He’s a jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie. He has trained with the likes of Randy Couture. And he can throw some leather, too.

If you count his fights during The Ultimate Fighter, four of his last five wins were stoppages due to strikes. To be certain, he is a well-“round”ed competitor.

And yes, he does use his weight to his advantage at times. He can grapple opponents to the ground and smother them under his ample abdomen, to the point where they can probably almost taste the Whopper essence emanating from his pores.

Ugh, that was a gross image. Sorry.

Bottom line: Whether it’s a lack of great victories or just his physique, Roy Nelson has yet to earn acknowledgement as a legitimate force in the heavyweight division. Now, having won two of three fights in the UFC and earning two Knockout of the Night bonuses, how many Nelson victories need to come with a, “Well, but he’s fat” asterisk before he gets his due?

My answer: one. This one.

At UFC 130, Frank Mir will be the punchline, Roy Nelson will have his signature UFC win and people will finally be a little less apt to pick the pudgy guy last in the heavyweight division.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 130 Fight Card: 5 Things Miguel Torres Must Do to Beat Demetrious Johnson

UFC 130 is only a few weeks away, but already the card is shaping up to be one of the most solid nights of fights in recent history—only another great card to add on to what the UFC has already put on in 2011.On the Spike TV card, which also feat…

On the Spike TV card, which also features Rick Story facing Thiago Alves, Miguel Angel Torres will look to extend his streak in the UFC to 2-0 against Demetrious Johnson, who has a great wrestling base and has been known to be very explosive when he lays in some shots.

Torres is a former WEC Bantamweight Champion with great striking, long limbs and some very good Jiu-Jitsu, but without question Johnson poses one of the toughest threats to date for Torres.

So what does he have to do to beat Mighty Mouse?

Begin Slideshow

UFC 129 Aftermath: Head-to-Toe Breakdown of Lyoto Machida vs. Jon Jones

The Dragon is back on the winning track after beating Randy Couture last weekend at UFC 129, which has once again ignited the talks of that one superfight that some have been buzzing about with UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Jon “Bones” Jones.That’s one t…

That’s one thing you have to love about Mixed Martial Arts, boys and girls: regardless of a fighter and their record, one impressive win will always keep the hopes alive for a superfight.

Even more lovable is that there’s more than one superfight that many in the MMA world would like to see happen, and the fact that we are not fans of a sport that has few options for superfights outside of the tilting Anderson Silva-Georges St-Pierre superfight further justifies why this ever-growing phenom of a sport is one of the most damn fun to watch.

So on the real side of things, how would Machida fare if he really did face Jones?

Begin Slideshow

Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping: Does Bisping Deserve This Shot?

Many people not from the United Kingdom may have a disdain for Michael Bisping. In fact, most fighters do too.You can’t go and write any piece about Bisping and not get negative feedback. It ranges from the nice, negative commentary, to the vulgar. The…

Many people not from the United Kingdom may have a disdain for Michael Bisping. In fact, most fighters do too.

You can’t go and write any piece about Bisping and not get negative feedback. It ranges from the nice, negative commentary, to the vulgar. Then there are some of those Bisping fans who come out of the woodwork and get attacked by everyone in favor of cutting Bisping.

Well, one fighter says that Bisping versus Anderson Silva would be competitive.

“Bisping has gotten really effective at that transition and that happens to be Anderson Silva’s Achilles Heel, the takedown, so it could be a competitive fight,” said Rashad Evans to Fighters Only. “And another thing that Bisping does is, sometimes he just doesn’t care, you know? He just doesn’t care, he just goes for it. So for people to say it wouldn’t be a fight or it wouldn’t be close? I wouldn’t say that about someone like Michael Bisping.”

Evans would know best, holding a split decision victory over Bisping.

“And I am not like some huge Bisping fan, I just think he can scrap and he is very competitive. Put him in with anyone and he will give it a competitive fight,” said Evans. “But then Anderson is something else… put it this way, put Bisping in with Anderson and it would be interesting.”

So does Bisping deserve the title shot at pound-for-pound kingpin, Silva?

Let’s all face facts, Bisping is climbing up the middleweight ladder. But to give Bisping a title shot would be a pretty bad decision.

Bisping’s record speaks for itself; 21-3 with 13 wins by knockout. Sure, Bisping might be able to take down Silva, but might is the keyword there.

Silva’s got incredible striking and could pick apart Bisping. Silva is unmatched in the middleweight division. The only person who could beat him is Chael Sonnen. And last time I checked, Bisping is no Sonnen.

Bisping needs to fight a top five middleweight before making any claims to fight for the title. Maybe, just maybe, Bisping can beat Sonnen but, for right now, the thought of Bisping fighting Silva is a little out of grasp.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 129 Results: Expect a Quantum Leap in Jake Shields’ Standup Striking

Looking into the mirror in his locker room right after his futile and adrenaline-challenged (spectator-wise, that is) attempt to wrest the UFC Welterweight Title from champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, Jake Shields must have thought, &ldquo…

It would’ve been no surprise, really. Everybody who saw the still-champion’s face and then the challenger’s immediately post-fight, when the winner was being proclaimed, would’ve thought the same for the latter.

It may have rightfully mattered to the judges that St-Pierre landed more punches, whereas Shields solidly delivered only around three or four—with one arguably a legit razor-sharp jab or eye poke.

But it appealed to everyone’s sense of irony that Rush appeared more likely to get rushed to the hospital while Shields seemed primed to party after their fight.

Count in also the sense of humor, tinged with sarcasm, shared by MMA fans. Last but not least, count the sense of outrage coming from St-Pierre’s severest critics—mixed feelings over their frustration but at the same time vindication that, per their gripe, he just ain’t got no more fin in him.

Shields survived Martin Kampmann, Dan Henderson and recently St-Pierre’s standup assault and even made a mess of the Welterweight Champion’s face.

He must have pondered and convinced himself—as he surveyed his comparatively unmarked facial topography—that it’s seriously time to level up, load and unleash his long dormant striking artillery.

With that realization, expect a more aggressive and dangerous Shields on his feet in his next fight or two. (Perhaps more than St-Pierre?)

Thanks to St-Pierre for unwittingly providing the impetus that is finally making his last challenger a complete fighter.

True champions truly bring the best out of their challengers and eventual conquerors.

UFC 129 Results, News and More

I think we have Manny Pacquiao’s future MMA equivalent lurking here somewhere…for those interested in Philippine MMA, check out here the official website of our country’s premier MMA organization, the Universal Reality Combat Championship and our top MMA online forum at PinoyMMA.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Randy Couture: Is There Anyone Who Could Possibly Replace the MMA Legend?

With the retirement of Randy Couture following his loss to Lyoto Machida this past Saturday at UFC 129 coupled with fellow UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell hanging up his gloves recently, is there anyone on the UFC roster who could be viewed as the elder statesman. Is there a fighter who the UFC can bank on to help them out of a desperate situation whether or not it benefits them personally the way Liddell and Couture did on so many occasions?

It’s very rare that an organization has a fighter who is willing to put the needs of their employer before their very own the way Couture has. When they needed a main event for UFC 105 they called on Couture to take on the much younger Brandon Vera. When Tito Ortiz bailed out of his bout with Mark Coleman, Couture stepped in despite having nothing to gain personally. When James Toney ran his mouth and belittled the sport who came through to shut the boxers mouth and prove just how different the two sports truly are?

There aren’t many fighters around today who could ever dream of becoming the icon Couture is. What is most important though is whether or not there is somebody who can be a true ambassador for the sport and follow the example “The Natural” has set during his illustrious career.

Begin Slideshow