Sunday, May 29, 2011

UFC 130's Roy Nelson: Ho-Hum, Another MMA Wrestling Dummy* in Elite Competition

Roy “Big Country” Nelson must not know the difference between a full-nelson and a half-nelson.

He must not know that one is an illegal hold in folkstyle and Olympic-style wrestling, but is allowed in catch and professional entertainment wrestling. (Yours truly is uncertain if it's legal in the UFC as it is technically a neck crank.)

His consecutive losses to Junior Dos Santos and then to Frank Mir last Saturday night in UFC 130 must suffice as a wake-up call.

And no, I won't add anything to the discussion about whether he is best off fighting as light-heavyweight or not.

Or if he should cut his whoppers diet to lose the horizontal outgrowth from his waist, which he claims to give him a massive advantage or two.

Whatever Nelson's diet or best weight class is, it's high time to amp his training in the world's oldest competitive sport: wrestling. (Yup, as posted on the official website of the International Olympic Committee itself.)

Striking? Check, blessed with KO power—though not as polished as Dos Santos or Alistair Overeem.

Grappling? Check, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who defeated Mir in a national grappling competition years ago.

Wrestling? Maybe the same level as his punk-rocking counterpart.

From mohawk to mullet, welterweight to heavyweight.

I'd really love to see Nelson wrestle down his opponent and see the power of his punches when he ground-and-pounds!

But last Saturday night, especially in the latter half of the fight, I thought average wrestler Frank Mir was actually Georges St-Pierre taking down his opponent with impunity.

*By "wrestling dummy," I mean the training equipment.

 UFC 130 Rampage vs. Hamill Fight Card: News, Previews & Predictions, Results 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 Web site of our country’s premier MMA organization, the Universal Reality Combat Championship and our top MMA online forum at PinoyMMA.com.

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