TUF 10: Was Kimbo Slice merely a decoy for the Roy Nelson 'Big Country' marketing machine?
by Jesse Holland on Dec 17, 2009 1:32 PM EST
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Props: MMA Manifesto
Quoteworthy:
"I believe I'd very competitive with the top heavyweights right now. I think that's the reason why the UFC did their marketing with me and Kimbo. We're the most watched show on Spike. I was in three of the top 10 (most) watched cards in MMA history. So it's one of those things that I think that definitely (they) marketed me to make sure I was shown to the UFC fans and the public so they could just throw me in right with the other guys. The only guy that I ever had my eye on when I chose to go to the UFC was whoever had the belt - that was Brock at the time. It's pretty much whoever is the man to beat. Those are always my goals. And then after I get that goal then the next one is to kind of spread the wings and just fight whoever I haven't fought yet just to see how I prepare. The thing about once you're at this level it is about styles in matches. My thing is I always want to be very competitive and fight the best in the world so even if they're not the champ I always just want to challenge myself and fight the guys that I thought were legends, all the way from a Randy (Couture) to a (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira - there's guys that you just want to fight."
Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 winner Roy Nelson believes he was purposely matched against Kimbo Slice on Episode 3 of the Spike TV reality series to help the masses become more familiar with his brand of corpulent cage fighting. "Big Country" stopped the former Elite XC attraction via buffet tongs after using his prodigious girth to secure the bearded brawler in an iron-clad crucifix. A staggering 6.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the two heavyweights throw down and Nelson was panned for his play-it-safe strategy to boot Slice from the competition. Was he purposely plopped into a ratings bonanza for future marketability against the promotion's top stars? Or did Dana White hope that his least favorite contestant would get KTFO? Opinions?
(Thanks to Watch Kalib Run for the tip)
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I like Roy, but Cmon Man
Kimbo was the guy, everyone knows it. That said, I do want to see him fight name fighters right off the bat. There are a few matchups that would be interesting to me…Heath Herring if he ever comes back, Gonzaga in April, or if they want to go with an up and comer I think Stefan Struve would make an interesting matchup
I dont want to see him ever fight again. The bum Killer, Kimbo Slice.
@fjbar75 on twitter...formerly El Mexicutioner
What roy seems to be implying is that DW has some control over who fights whom such as him fighting Kimbo. Dana’s denied this many times and frankly I think their focus would have been to keep Kimbo on the show as long as possible, so giving him Roy in his first fight would not have been ideal. On top of that, out of all the guys on the show Nelson was probably the least marketable so i think it’s fair to say this was not Dana’s intention.
That being said the exposure he got, particularly with his dominant win on the finale could help him get some big fights down the line. I say give him Kongo, that fight makes sense right now imo and is one that Nelson would have a great shot at winning with his ground game.
And then God said "Let there be light," to which Chuck Norris replied, "say please."
A proud fat guy with a mullet?
Easy to market. He appeals to all the regular dudes who don’t exercise or anything but like seeing a guy who looks like they do competing at the highest level of a physical sport.
Good times and riches and son of a bitches
I've seen more than I can recall.
Have any of you seen the betting lines for evolution
whitehead is at +400 and scott smith is at +300
Nelson has no chance as a HW.
anyone in the HW division really he would have no chance he is just to out of shape and fat. make him lose the belly and gain some muscle and go down to LHW he would actually do good but he just has no chance right now kongo would knock roy out.
Brenden Schaub should have won
let him fight roy again i bet brenden would win 2 out of 3 he is way better well rounded fighter
Chubby wins that fight 8 times out of ten
Brendan would never knock him out. Fatty is better on the ground and can obviously knock Schaub out. Tubby dominates Brendan in most aspects of fighting.
Uh, NO.
Would not last amongst the top HW’s out there. Put him against Nog and then watch how painful that will be.
lol
i like roy as well, i don’t know if he says this stuff to market himself,be funny or if he really beleaves it. who knows but i do like to see a fat guy fight especially when they know how. i hope he does good in the ufc cause i think dana is going to throw him in the deep end.
Fatass Nelson will quickly be overwhelmed by real UFC fighters
Dude, get over yourself…
by TheFriendlySponge on Dec 17, 2009 2:06 PM EST reply actions
He has fought before, you know that right?
He isn’t going to get killed by everyone in the UFC. He can beat half of them.
Not only for one day anymore Sarah. LOL
Exactly
Roy is a good fighter, has been for a while. He went into TUF as the prohibitive favorite. He wins fights, plain and simple. He finished 3/4. He is suprisingly athletic, and coming out to I’m Fat was funny as hell. I understand he is not for everyone, and that not everyone will root for him, but give him his due because he is a good fighter
by domino effect on Dec 17, 2009 3:20 PM EST up reply actions
Seriously?
dude!!! Your KO of Brendan Schaub was nice but as far as you being able to contend at HW…….Not gonna happen Dont think you can beat Carwin,Mir,Lesnar(if he ever comes back)JDS,even Cain!!! maybe give him Kongo,Herring,Rothwell(that would be fun to see again)then move down to LHW and see what happens
oh man. here we go roy,
why are you so egotistical? i think he likes to believe everyone is doing reverse psychology on him…but in actuality its not that way at all roy. i personally dont like this guy. fat, sloppy and proud of it. there should be a rule for the hw divison. no buddha bellys allowed.
"i just want to be known as the greatest of all time, is that too much to ask?" - BJ Penn.
IF you lose to Roy
You get a $25,000 per fight contract with Zuffa and put in the video game. Just ask Kimbo.
@fjbar75 on twitter...formerly El Mexicutioner
If anything TUF did the least marketing possible for Roy
For a former IFL champion that eventually won the whole thing, Nelson barely got any TV time other than a quick quote before he got bashed by Dana, Rampage and Rashad. Kimbo was the only one given any sort of marketing despite having little talent, Roy only got noticed by winning all of his fights. Dana clearly didn’t want him to win and was looking for Kimbo to do as well as possible because he is the draw.
He would be a difficult match up for most HWs, especially those that can’t grapple e.g. Kongo. I hope that he gets a high profile fight from the start.
"If you’re a fight fan, I don’t know how you don’t think that that card is a great card…." Dana White on UFC 108
20%: Percentage of MMAManiacs buying UFC 108 (I guess the other 80% aren't "real fight fans" according to Dana)
They didnt even put Roy or Shaub on the fight poster.
Dana was in the Kimbo business for this whole season. What a hypocrite.
@fjbar75 on twitter...formerly El Mexicutioner
love the photoshopping
no idea what’s going on but i like it. that being said, it’s obvious the trend with the hw division is moving towards the 250 lb+ end of the spectrum. there’s no way roy is gonna be able to hang with those dudes who are so much bigger than him.
YES
I would like to see a rematch with Ben Rothwell or possibly put him against the loser of Krzysztof Soszynski vs Stephan Bonnar.. That would be a good test fight for him in the UFC
Those two guys you named are LHW's.
Hell, I want to see him face Clay Guida. I don’t think the commission is going to be down with it though.
Not only for one day anymore Sarah. LOL
Oh well, let him face Jason Guida
They’re both as annoying as each other, so let him smash the fat Guida and watch Clay cry in the corner.
"If you’re a fight fan, I don’t know how you don’t think that that card is a great card…." Dana White on UFC 108
20%: Percentage of MMAManiacs buying UFC 108 (I guess the other 80% aren't "real fight fans" according to Dana)
Problem is.....
Jason can’t cut weight even for a HW. Plus his record is the same as the TML’s or Philly….
by hairybumcrack on Dec 17, 2009 9:12 PM EST up reply actions
Haha I was joking
I’ll never be upset to see Jason Guida get beat up though, or Clay for that matter. I bet Nelson would be in better shape than Guida as well.
"If you’re a fight fan, I don’t know how you don’t think that that card is a great card…." Dana White on UFC 108
20%: Percentage of MMAManiacs buying UFC 108 (I guess the other 80% aren't "real fight fans" according to Dana)
dana will try and get him on a losing streak
so he can dump him as quick as he can..he does not have any love for him..and yeah he has skills for a fat guy..imagine if he got in shape..he would be even better..why would he not strive for that?
nelson good to go, ferguson bound to go
Riy Nelson is good to go with just aobut any UFC heavies,
Ferguson is so limited that he couldn’t catch or finish Alexander,
so look for Roy in some big fights with real quality heavyweights
and
watch for Ferguson’s dim light to fade away quickly
nelson-ferguson redux
how about letting ferguson and schaub go at it?
both are losers to nelson
and were not really close
so
let roy have a shot at a top gun heavyweight
and let the consolation fights go to losers
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