This season of Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) reality television series, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), has showcased the embattled relationship between Roy Nelson and UFC President Dana White.
White has been frequently open about his dislike for Nelson as a person, and now he's got more fuel for his fire, as he's had cause to decry him and his efforts as a coach versus Shane Carwin on TUF 16.
Nelson appeared on AXS TV's "Inside MMA," talking about his relationship with White. First, he talked about the specific things he's learned so far this season as a coach:
"As a coach, you learn what you want to work with and what you don't want to work with. But, overall, it's just an experience of how to be a better coach. I think the worst aspect is, they're always trying to tell a story, and it;s not usually the story you want to tell. Reality TV -- they always do that. That's not reality TV. It's a fight show. It's a game show, really. That's all it is is a game show."
It might be a game show, but his boss, White, doesn't seem to be playing when he talks about the ill will he holds for Nelson.
Nelson went on to talk about that dynamic, stating that this season of TUF has been sort of like therapy:
"The relationship with Dana [White], is, we're a husband and a wife. We have that marriage. The way I look at it now is, we're in couples therapy, and we're working on a relationship. I guess, when it's your significant other, they just want what's best for you. He just wants me to do what's best for him and the UFC. I think he just wants what's best for me. I appreciate that."
White hasn't been the only nemesis that Nelson has had to navigate around during TUF 16. It's been almost as well documented that his opposing coach, Carwin, is also not a fan of the portly fighter.
Nelson is somewhat bemused by Carwin's feelings and comments about him, but he's not taking it personal. At the end of the day, he knows they'll get their chance to climb into the cage and work out their respective differences:
"No. I respect Shane. I look up to him. But, at the end of the day, he's at the other side of the cage. I wanna beat him up. At the end of the day, I don't like him, he doesn't like me. I'm not going to his kid's birthday party, he's not going to my kid's birthday party. I don't care. It's Shane Carwin. I try to talk to him, as a professional, and then I don't know what he's talking about, with the other thing, me talking behind his back. Whatever I say to his face, I say to his face. I'll shake his hand. I'll shake anybody's hand."
Nelson and Carwin will do battle at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 15, 2012. For more information on that event, including fight lineups, rumors and breaking news, click here.