Bleacher Report’s Tim McTiernan:UFC 130 is coming up this Saturday, and although it doesn’t have a marquee main event, this is still a card that should not be overlooked.All 10 fights will be broadcast, and five of them will be free. The first three…
Bleacher Report’s Tim McTiernan:
UFC 130 is coming up this Saturday, and although it doesn’t have a marquee main event, this is still a card that should not be overlooked.
All 10 fights will be broadcast, and five of them will be free. The first three fights on the card will be featured on Facebook, the next two on Spike TV and the final five will be on the PPV.
UFC 130 did lose its original main event, which took away a good deal of luster from what was looking to be a very strong card.
In light of that, Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill was moved up to the main event, and Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story was moved to the main card.
So although many people are overlooking this card, every main card fight has the chance to be a highlight reel knockout, submission or just a damn good fight.
And you may be looking to make some money on that.
If so, then here are the odds and predictions for the main card of UFC 130.
Filed under: UFCLAS VEGAS – Much is being made in the buildup to UFC 130 on Saturday about the friend vs. friend heavyweight bout between Frank Mir and Roy Nelson.
Make no mistake – the two Las Vegas natives and residents and frequent training partne…
LAS VEGAS – Much is being made in the buildup to UFC 130 on Saturday about the friend vs. friend heavyweight bout between Frank Mir and Roy Nelson.
Make no mistake – the two Las Vegas natives and residents and frequent training partners are far from enemies. But as Nelson said Wednesday, let’s not take this whole “friends” thing too far.
“It would be different if we were really friends – best friends,” Nelson told MMA Fighting prior to the press conference for Saturday’s pay-per-view at the MGM Grand. “There’s a difference between business acquaintances and friends. I consider a friend any time we eat together at the same restaurant, or he’s eaten at my house or I’ve eaten at his house. We train together – jiu-jitsu. It’s like (a reporter) who interviews me – does that mean we’re friends too?”
Thirty minutes later on the press conference dais, the two seemed chummy enough. And they even mock-hugged before their pose-down photo op. But Mir said for this particular fight, it affects more than just the two of them in the cage – it’s the people in their inner circles.
“In this situation with Roy, it’s difficult because we have a lot of mutual friends,” Mir told MMA Fighting. “James Johnson is in his corner on Saturday night – the guy was one of my groomsmen in my wedding! So we have a lot of mutual relationships where I might not be his best friend, but we have mutual best friends that go back and forth.”
And that, Mir said, affected how he approached the fight – not wanting to make any comments about Nelson, even in jest, that their mutual friends would take the wrong way.
“I think I’ve kind of kept, on purpose, any kind of poking or badgering to a minimum, not because I didn’t want to fight him,” Mir said. “I know Roy gets it. I get it. It’s the close friends around us that I worry about that I’m going to have to see 20 years from now, people who are a godfather-of-my-kids-who-train-with-him type of scenario.”
Nelson (15-5, 2-1 UFC), the Season 10 heavyweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter,” beat Mir eight years ago in a grappling tournament that had slipped under most radars until it was dredged up from the archives after the fight was booked. But both have acknowledged they’re two completely different fighters than back then.
Mir, Nelson and UFC president Dana White joked Wednesday about the fight booking causing mini-battles over gym schedules and who would wear what color shorts on Saturday. But Mir (14-5, 12-5 UFC) said despite not having any lunch dates planned with Nelson, he’s still traversing new territory with this fight.
“This will be the closest I’ve ever been to any of my opponents,” Mir said. “I’m cordial with everybody – I try to be. But it’s a fight.”
Nelson said in this particular case, it all just comes down to one thing: Friendship may be friendship, but business is business.
“It’s just one of those things,” Nelson said. “You’d prefer to fight somebody that you really would rather derail their whole career. I have no ill will toward Frank. But it is what it is, and if the UFC wants you to fight whoever, then that’s what you do to get paid.”
Roy Nelson sees the movie star martial arts trend hitting mixed martial arts in the UFC and he wants in. The UFC heavyweight is known for his long-flowing mullet haircut and “Big Country” belly hanging over his TapouT shorts. It’s giv…
Roy Nelson sees the movie star martial arts trend hitting mixed martial arts in the UFC and he wants in.
The UFC heavyweight is known for his long-flowing mullet haircut and “Big Country” belly hanging over his TapouT shorts. It’s given the former IFL heavyweight champion an aura of every-man heroism when he’s able to knockout Brendan Schuab and Stefan Struve in the Octagon or take the best punches Junior dos Santos can offer looking like an extra from Sylvester Stallone’s Over the Top.
Leading into his UFC 130 main card match with former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at the MGM Grand Garden Arena this Saturday night, Nelson (15-5) reveals he wants to impress viewers with his martial arts prowess and land a famous coach in the process.
“I’m hoping not this fight, maybe [for] my next fight I’ll have [Jean-Claude] Van Damme work some kicks or something like that,” Nelson told Bleacher Report. “It’s just one of these things that as a fighter, you just go out and learn from every martial art kind of like Bruce Lee did it.”
Nelson admits he’s worked diligently in his home gym to prepare for the two-time champion. He’s also been watching tape: “Just Bloodsport,” said the 34-year-old. “It’s the only one I need because I’ll be Jackson in the next Bloodsport movie.”
He’s not looking past Mir, but the seven-year veteran asserts a career in Hollywood is just another part of being a legend, like former champions Randy Couture or UFC 130’s headliner, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Still, the prospects of teaming up with Van Damme aren’t as compelling to Nelson as seizing a signature win over Mir.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 winner admits the most significant roadblock of his careen has been not winning when he should win. A slight underdog to Mir, Nelson asserts this is a chance to prove he’s been a championship level fighter for years before arriving in the Octagon—a notion undercut by two controversial losses to Andrei Arlovski and Jeff Monson between his IFL and UFC careers.
“If the UFC bought the IFL, it’d be just like the PRIDE champions or something like that. It’d actually mean something just how the Strikeforce belt means something now,” the ADCC veteran said.
“Me being the IFL Champion, I won the Grand Prix so that means I had to beat a couple of people. Then me holding it after that showed where I belonged in the whole scheme of things.”
Nelson gained fan fare for a pair of Knockout of the Night performances before losing a unanimous decision and a shot at the UFC heavyweight belt to Junior dos Santos.
Learning from his mistakes, the Renzo Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt breaks down the bout with Mir, a Robert Drysdale jiu-jitsu black belt, to damage more than the intricacies of mat work.
He has a healthy sense of fear and respect for Mir’s skills yet won’t shy away from trying to take him out of the fight early and often.
“The biggest [lesson] that I remember from the dos Santos fight is you have to punch the guy more than he punches you, so that’s usually how you can dictate the fight,” he said. “If I can punch Frank more than he punches me, I win the fight.”
Nelson downplays his dedication to the sport with self-deprecating humor; however, it’s been a life-long endeavor. He got his black sash in kung fu before his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Nelson reflects being a martial artist doesn’t make a better fighter—just a better person.
With a believe-to-achieve American attitude, Nelson hopes notching the most significant victory of his career over Mir will add more followers to his legion of martial arts and mullet enthusiasts he’s dubbed “The County Club.”
“There’s a big list of code of ethics and basically a time period where you have to prove yourself then after that, you can be part of the exclusive membership of the Country Club,” said Nelson. “It can be like the Shaolin Temple where you have to wait out in front of the temple for years and years just to get in or they might just go, ‘This guy, we can see his aura and he’s a good person,’ so we just let him in.”
Nelson leaves all potential Country Club members—Van Damme especially—with a reason to tune in for a “Big Country” fight at UFC 130: “Heavyweights always hit harder. You always see a knockout. Plus you got two guys that are larger than life.”
No kidding: Being larger than life is never a problem for Roy Nelson.
Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend
UFC 130 is coming up this Saturday, and although it doesn’t have a marquee main event, this is still a card that should not be overlooked.All 10 fights will be broadcast, and five of them will be free. The first three fights on the card will be feature…
UFC 130 is coming up this Saturday, and although it doesn’t have a marquee main event, this is still a card that should not be overlooked.
All 10 fights will be broadcast, and five of them will be free. The first three fights on the card will be featured on Facebook, the next two on Spike TV and the final five will be on the PPV.
UFC 130 did lose its original main event, which took away a good deal of luster from what was looking to be a very strong card.
In light of that, Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill was moved up to the main event, and Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story was moved to the main card.
So although many people are overlooking this card, every main card fight has the chance to be a highlight reel knockout, submission or just a damn good fight.
And you may be looking to make some money on that.
If so, then here are the odds and predictions for the main card of UFC 130.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Roy Nelson about his upcoming fight against Frank Mir at UFC 130, his mullet, why he didn’t compete in the WWE Royal Rumble, how he’s feeling after knee surgery and more.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Roy Nelson about his upcoming fight against Frank Mir at UFC 130, his mullet, why he didn’t compete in the WWE Royal Rumble, how he’s feeling after knee surgery and more.
LAS VEGAS — Watch below as Frank Mir talks about fighting Roy Nelson at UFC 130, the criticism he received after beating Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 119, why he wasn’t initially keen on fighting Nelson and where a win over Nelson ranks him in the heavyweight division and more.
LAS VEGAS — Watch below as Frank Mir talks about fighting Roy Nelson at UFC 130, the criticism he received after beating Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 119, why he wasn’t initially keen on fighting Nelson and where a win over Nelson ranks him in the heavyweight division and more.
LAS VEGAS – Much is being made in the buildup to 
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to 
LAS VEGAS — Watch below as Frank Mir talks about fighting