Tag: Roy Nelson

UFC Fight Night 39: Nogueira vs Nelson Fight Card, TV Info, Predictions and More

Heavyweights take center stage at UFC Fight Night 39 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, April 12. Roy “Big Country” Nelson and Minotauro Nogueira will clash with relevancy in a division at stake for both.
Both men are coming off losses in their last bout. …

Heavyweights take center stage at UFC Fight Night 39 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, April 12. Roy “Big Country” Nelson and Minotauro Nogueira will clash with relevancy in a division at stake for both.

Both men are coming off losses in their last bout. Big Country has lost his last two.

In a division with emerging talent, these two grizzled veterans are in a must-win situation. Aside from the main event, there are a few other mildly interesting scraps on the ledger.

Here’s a look at the full fight card, viewing information and predictions for each bout. Deeper analysis for the top three bouts is located just beyond the table.

 

Clay Guida‘s Descent Is in Full Swing

It’s official.

Guida is now a gatekeeper for new talent in the UFC. The 35-year-old Kawajiri is anything but new to the MMA scene, but this will be just his second fight in the UFC. He’s  won six fights in a row, including his UFC debut against Sean Soriano at UFC Fight Night in Singapore.

His last loss came at the hands of Gilbert Melendez in Tawajiri’s lone Strikeforce appearance.

The Crusher is extraordinarily balanced. He has 12 knockouts and 10 submissions victories in his career. He has been susceptible to the knockout, but Guida has never been a major striker.

Lately, Guida is even less of a threat to finish an opponent. Though he’s always scrappy, his KO loss to Chad Mendes at UFC 164 showed his vulnerability. Sure, Mendes is a dynamic striker. But that loss broke up the aura that was once associated with Guida.

It looks as if it’ll be all down hill for him from here.

 

Ryan LaFlare‘s Cardio Will Push Him to Win

If John “Doomsday” Howard lands a heavy right hand on LaFlare, the latter will be in major trouble. The thing is, that probably won’t happen.

Versatility is LaFlare‘s strong suit. Mark La Monica of Long Island Newsday writes:

“Opponents have yet to find much comfort in the cage against the undefeated welterweight who likes to push the pace, fight aggressively and use any of the disciplines of MMA necessary to win. That style continues to serve LaFlare well as he makes a name for himself in the UFC.”

Howard is giving up five inches to LaFlare. Look for the latter to use his length to strike effectively from a distance. Both men are adept on the mat, but LaFlare is a little sharper. 

If Howard does gain top position, LaFlare is good enough off his back to avoid major damage, and he is capable of escaping to reset the fight.

In the third round, LaFlare will be the fresher of the two. That will help him take a unanimous decision win over Doomsday.

 

Big Country Will KO Big Nog

In a battle of two “big” guys, Nelson’s power and overall strength will be too much for Nogueira. 

Nelson is pumped for an opportunity to fight a legend. Big Nog is the only man to hold both the UFC and PRIDE heavyweight titles.

Every loss he’s ever had has come against men of stature in the sport (Frank Mir twice, Fedor Emelianenko twice, Fabricio Werdum, Cain Velasquez, Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson).

Nelson realizes he’s taken on a legend, and he is showing him tons of respect. Per Yahoo! Sports’ Dave Doyle, Nelson said:

When I was breaking in, Nogueira was right up there with the best of the best, and he’s still one of the biggest names. In some ways you have to treat this like just another fight. But yeah, the guys like Antonio and Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor [Emelianenko] were the guys I respected and admired, so it’s an honor to be able to get a fight like this.

Don’t take Nelson’s admiration for complacency or weakness. When the fight begins, he’ll be looking to pound Noguiera into the mat.

Big Nog is still a formidable submissions fighter, but Nelson is an accomplished wrestler. Thus the edge in grappling won’t be that significant.

Stamina has been an issue for Nelson throughout his career, but against an older performer like Nogueira, it may not be as big of a deal.

Aside from that, Nelson has the huge edge in punching power. In his storied career, Nogueira has only stopped three opponents. Nelson has scored 12 KO wins, and a few of them have been spectacular.

Look for Nelson to add to his total with a statement-making second-round KO that should send Big Nog into retirement.

 

Follow me. I dig combat sports.

@BMaziqueFPBR 

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Roy Nelson Plans Knockout of PRIDE Legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

One hopes Roy Nelson’s second trip to Abu Dhabi is better than the first.
The last time Nelson visited the city that hosts tomorrow’s UFC Fight Night card, he spent most of his time inside conference rooms, news studios and hotels. He was on a UFC-mand…

One hopes Roy Nelson‘s second trip to Abu Dhabi is better than the first.

The last time Nelson visited the city that hosts tomorrow’s UFC Fight Night card, he spent most of his time inside conference rooms, news studios and hotels. He was on a UFC-mandated public relations tour. He didn’t get to see the Burj Dubai or the ridiculous mall with the indoor skiing slopes. He did not see Ferrari World, where a stadium has been built for the UFC’s use on Friday, and where a stadium will vanish into thin air after they leave Saturday.

Nelson saw carpet and walls and cameras, and then he went back to America.

Twenty-five hours later, back in the United States, Nelson discovered the airline lost his luggage. It is easy to believe Nelson when he says he prefers fighting back home in Las Vegas.

“I just like fighting in Vegas. It’s the fight capitol of the world. There is less travel,” Nelson says. “You don’t have to worry about the environment. It’s completely different, fighting indoors and then fighting somewhere where the humidity is a lot higher than it is in Vegas. We have dry heat.”

Nelson’s bout with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira headlines the UFC’s latest Fight Pass card. Nelson does not have Fight Pass. Not yet, anyway. “There haven’t been any fights I wanted to watch,” he says. But he’s quick to point out that the hubbub surrounding the internet-only cards is actually contained to North America. To the rest of the world, Nelson said, the cards are the same as fighting on Fox network television. They are a great way to build your exposure to international fans.

Nelson’s international stature is already fairly high. “My fanbase is already up there with Big Nog,” Nelson says. “Roy Nelson is already a household name. Everybody knows my name.” But the chance for Nelson to notch a win over Nogueira, who feels like an ageless veteran despite being the same age as Nelson, was too much for Nelson to pass up.

“Nogueira is the only one to ever win a PRIDE belt and a UFC belt. He’s a legend. He’s a guy you want to fight. He’s one of those guys that come to fight. He’s going to try to finish the fight in the first round,” Nelson says. “I respect fighters that try to do that, rather than just try to play the new game of ‘I can outpoint you.’ He’s old school. We’re both going to be in this cage, and only one of us is going to leave.”

Nelson is aware of Nogueira’s jiu-jitsu prowess. “But I’m not worried about him submitting me,” he says. “And I definitely hit harder than he does. But he’s going to try to finish me, by submission or knockout. Well, the knockout would likely come more from my side.”

Big Country is ever in search of the knockout. Long before he became a famous athlete, Nelson was a darling of the jiu-jitsu circuit. But as many submission artists do, Nelson discovered a love of punching other men in the face. And he was good at it, so he kept punching. An interesting side effect: Nelson became one of the more popular fighters on the UFC roster.

He says that winning is still the most important thing, but that entertaining the fans is also an important thing.

“If I’m on a 4-fight losing streak and I’m fighting someone in the lower tier of the division, I have to get the win,” he says. “But if I’m fighting the elite? I’m fighting to entertain.”

The Nelson vs. Nogueira winner won’t move into title contention. Not with one win, anyway. In the grand scheme of things, this is a fight not for merit or for consideration, but for fun. It’s a bout between two men who are known for kicking things into high gear when on the threshold of being finished. Nogueira, the man who must be part zombie. Nelson, who never stops swinging those powerful fists.

“If I have to go for broke, I’m going for broke,” he says. “That’s the difference between me and other fighters.”

And sometimes, that’s a good enough reason to make a fight.

All quotes obtained first-hand by Bleacher Report

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Fight Night 39: Antonio ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira Expecting a War with Roy Nelson

Throughout the history of mixed martial arts, few heavyweights have accrued a more storied career than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Over the course of his 15-year career, “Minotauro” has risen to legendary status on the strength of his slick jiu-jitsu ski…

Throughout the history of mixed martial arts, few heavyweights have accrued a more storied career than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Over the course of his 15-year career, “Minotauro” has risen to legendary status on the strength of his slick jiu-jitsu skills and immeasurable variables such as heart and determination, which he has relied on to persevere in some of the biggest bouts in the history of the division.

Where the majority of fighters who compete inside the cage operate with a certain level of toughness and grit, “Big Nog” has proven to be in a league of his own in that regard.

The Brazilian grappling ace’s resume is among the best of the best, and the 37-year-old’s track record of accomplishments during his time in the sport is undoubtedly impressive.

Nogueira rose to prominence under the now-defunct Pride organization in what is widely recognized as the “golden age” of MMA. During his time in Japan, the “Team Nogueira” leader consistently squared off with elite heavyweights, and he carried that momentum with him when he transitioned over to the UFC in 2007.

Nogueira would go on to win the interim heavyweight title in 2008 and is the only heavyweight fighter to have held belts in both Pride and the UFC. Nevertheless, setbacks and injuries have plagued the former champion in recent years as he’s attempted to fight his way back into the heavyweight fold inside the Octagon.

The former title contender will be coming off a 10-month layoff when he steps in to trade leather with brick-handed knockout artist Roy Nelson this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Nogueira and “Big Country” are set to scrap it out in the main event of Fight Night 39, and the legendary heavyweight is fired up about his return to action.

Where Nogueira has built a career on the strength of his heart and his willingness to mix things up, he carries the utmost respect for Nelson, whose fighting style is cut from a similar mold. That particular element provided an extra push as Nogueira prepared to face the winner of the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, and he’s excited to get down to business with Nelson in Abu Dhabi.

“I’m feeling good and motivated,” Nogueira told Bleacher Report. “When you fight someone like Roy you have to be well prepared. My body has felt great all throughout this camp. I feel stronger, lighter and let’s see what’s going to happen on fight night. We’ve trained very hard for this fight. I have a lot of respect for Roy, but I have a lot of trust in my skills and I think I’m going to do a good war.

“I know he has respect for me and I have the same for him. He’s a tough dude and a really tough fighter. Fighting someone like him motivates me to train very hard. But I know he’s coming to fight and he’s going to try his best to throw his heavy hands. He’s going to be looking to grapple as well. I have to be ready for everything and I have prepared for this fight to go everywhere. Getting that respect is great, but a fight is still a fight. When we get inside that cage we are going to see who is the better fighter.

“Fighting has changed a lot in recent years, but Roy and I are kind of old school,” he added. “We are both always looking to win by knockout or submission. When you fight that way it is exciting and people love to watch you. It’s even exciting for us knowing we are going to get a good fight. It makes you more excited to train and prepare for fights like this. You get excited watching his tapes and when you are working very hard in the gym. It’s the kind of fight that really makes you motivated and I’m excited for this fight.”

 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 39: Main Event of Big Country vs. Big Nog Signals Changing Times

Perhaps the story of Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of lowered expectations—about the fighters and the kind of fight we think of as a UFC main event.
Nelson and Nogueira both come into UFC Fight Night 39 on the heels of losses, bo…

Perhaps the story of Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of lowered expectations—about the fighters and the kind of fight we think of as a UFC main event.

Nelson and Nogueira both come into UFC Fight Night 39 on the heels of losses, bonded by nothing aside from their middling promotional records (6-5 for Nelson, 5-4 for Nogueira) and similarly precarious positions in the heavyweight landscape.

Their matchup smacks of randomness. We expect few surprises. To the extent there are any assessable stakes, this fight shapes up as one that would be disastrous for either to lose while not being overly meaningful to win. It’ll be held on a Friday afternoon in a temporary stadium in the United Arab Emirates at a time when most Americans will be at work.

In other words, it’s strange to think of a fight like “Big Country” vs. “Big Nog” as the marquee attraction on a show booked by the world’s largest MMA promotion.

Even for a card that will air exclusively on UFC Fight Pass—an entity we’re all still trying to get a read on—this bout seems a specious choice as a headliner.

Perhaps it’s a sign of shifting tides. As the organization’s ever-inflating schedule increases its demands on fans and the roster, we’re all being forced to readjust the perception of what it means to be a “main event.”

Because Nelson vs. Nogueira? That ain’t it.

A former IFL champion, Nelson won The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 crown in 2009 but has never broken through as a top contender in the Octagon. His swing-for-the-fences style and lackadaisical attitude have won him fans, but back-to-back defeats to end 2013 likely signaled his permanent return to the B-list.

Nogueira is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, but his glory days are far behind him. The former Pride champ and UFC interim titlist has fought just four times since February of 2010, going 2-2. He’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the time comes, but right now it feels like that time can’t come soon enough.

A year ago, a fight between these two guys would have been fortunate to earn a supporting role on a pay-per-view or cable TV main card. Now, through the wonder of technology and the UFC’s bold international expansion, it’s ascended to Internet main event status.

This is a natural byproduct of world domination, I suppose. The UFC plans to put on close to 50 events this year, and it needs warm bodies to staff them all. Particularly, it needs bouts with recognizable faces to stock the overseas cards for the new digital network that it’s trying urgently to sell to its hardcore fanbase.

If the fight company is going to fill the 2014 calendar to bursting with shows all over the globe (not to mention multiple broadcast platforms, at all times of the day and night), they’re not all going to be gems. Not every main event will be for a title. Not every one can have No. 1 contendership at stake. Not every one can even come equipped with particularly coherent storylines.

Some of them will have to be Nelson vs. Nogueira: an entertaining, though ultimately out-of-context scrap between two likable guys on the downside of good careers.

There’s obviously nothing wrong with booking a fight for fighting’s sake—that’s sort of what is done in this industry—but if all we want is to watch a disconnected bout between two hard-swinging heavyweights, we could get that for free on Friday nights on Spike or AXS TV. We could get it at the local bingo hall or even the local bar, depending on what kind of evening we want to have.

History has taught us to expect slightly more from a UFC main event. We expect meaning and well-defined consequences. We expect the biggest fight on the card to contribute somehow to the bigger picture—the eternal, company-wide search to find the best fighters in the world.

Or at least we used to.

Big Nog vs. Big Country doesn’t really do any of that. It’s just a fight—one we might watch if we can spare the $9.99 per month and don’t have anything else going on.

Again, that’s not a terrible thing.

But it’s not main event quality, either.

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‘UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson’ Weigh-In Results — All Fighters on Weight, Andrew Craig Pulled Due to Tonsillitis


(LMFAO…I still can’t believe this poster is a real thing.)

All fighters competing on tomorrow afternoon’s UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson Fight Pass card in Abu Dhabi weighed-in today without incident — although one matchup was scrapped just hours before the weigh-ins. Due to a sudden bout of tonsillitis, middleweight Andrew Craig was forced to withdraw from his bout against Chris Camozzi, which is a bummer because Camozzi was fighting for a great cause.

The removal of Craig vs. Camozzi means that the Abu Dhabi card will only feature eight matches, making it the briefest UFC card since…well look, I’m not going to burn 15 minutes on Wikipedia trying to find the answer to that, but it’s been a while.

In a semi-related story, the monthly cost of Fight Pass was suddenly jacked up from 10 euros to 16 euros ($22.20) for Polish subscribers. But hey, you guys were warned, right? Weigh-in results for Nogueira vs. Nelson are after the jump…


(LMFAO…I still can’t believe this poster is a real thing.)

All fighters competing on tomorrow afternoon’s UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson Fight Pass card in Abu Dhabi weighed-in today without incident — although one matchup was scrapped just hours before the weigh-ins. Due to a sudden bout of tonsillitis, middleweight Andrew Craig was forced to withdraw from his bout against Chris Camozzi, which is a bummer because Camozzi was fighting for a great cause.

The removal of Craig vs. Camozzi means that the Abu Dhabi card will only feature eight matches, making it the briefest UFC card since…well look, I’m not going to burn 15 minutes on Wikipedia trying to find the answer to that, but it’s been a while.

In a semi-related story, the monthly cost of Fight Pass was suddenly jacked up from 10 euros to 16 euros ($22.20) for Polish subscribers. But hey, you guys were warned, right? Weigh-in results for Nogueira vs. Nelson are after the jump…

Main Card (Fight Pass, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (238) vs. Roy Nelson (255.5)
Clay Guida (146) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (145)
John Howard (171) vs. Ryan LaFlare (171)
Ramsey Nijem (156) vs. Beneil Dariush (155)

Preliminary Card (Fight Pass, 11:50 a.m. ET/8:50 a.m. PT)
Jared Rosholt (240) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (248)
Thales Leites (185) vs. Trevor Smith (186)
Alan Omer (146) vs. Jim Alers (145.5)
Rani Yahya (135.5) vs. Johnny Bedford (135)

UFC Fight Night 39: 3 Fighters with the Most to Gain in Abu Dhabi

The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi this week for the first time since Frankie Edgar’s improbable 2011 lightweight title win, offering up a card headlined by two solid heavyweight veterans for its Fight Pass audience.
In the main event Roy Nelson will attempt…

The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi this week for the first time since Frankie Edgar’s improbable 2011 lightweight title win, offering up a card headlined by two solid heavyweight veterans for its Fight Pass audience.

In the main event Roy Nelson will attempt to derail the great Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a bout between two of the toughest, most durable athletes MMA has ever seen, while Tatsuya Kawajiri and Clay Guida will lock horns in the co-main event.

As with any UFC event there are stakes for those entering the Octagon, and Fight Night 39 is no different. Here are a few guys who stand to gain the most with a good showing in the desert. 

Begin Slideshow