Josh Barnett praises Roy Nelson after five round war in Japan: You have to respect what he brings to the cage

Roy Nelson has seen better days inside the Octagon.

Last night (Sat., Sept. 26, 2015), however, wasn't one of them, as "Big Country" suffered a unanimous decision loss to Josh Barnett in the main event of UFC Fight Night 75 in Saitama, Japan; his third defeat in a row and five of six overall.

Video highlights here.

But as Barnett see it, wins and losses don't exactly tell the entire story, as he declared during the post-fight press conference (video replay), you need guys like Roy to keep fighting in order to make the heavyweight division what it is. After all, it does take two to tango and create lasting memories like the classic brawl that went down last night in "The Land of the Rising Sun."

His words via Sherdog:

"I don't think wins and losses really tell an entire story. If you need a heavyweight division to make noise, be exciting and to have perennial contenders that are going to always be capable of racking up wins and finishes then you have to have Roy Nelson. People get hung up on wins and losses. I lost my last fight, but that's not the kind of performance to expect from me ever again. Tonight I gave my all and I was able to win this win but it wasn't anything like my last fight. I'd have to watch our fight, but I think he made improvements from his last fight as well. I know you can stick him in the ring with anybody in the UFC and they have to respect what he brings."

After making his successful return following a near two-year hiatus, Barnett doesn't know exactly when he'll return to action.

"I don't know. Stay in shape... The thing is you build upon things no matter what. Even the losses you have to build upon them. You have to dissect it and try to grow form it. You have to grow from wins. There's a lot that I could pick out to try and improve my own performance."

The win got Barnett back on the winning track after suffering a first-round knockout loss to Travis Brown at UFC 168.

As for Roy, his future is uncertain following his third straight defeat. While the pudgy pugilist didn't hint at retirement, Barnett, for one, doesn't want to see "Big Country" go just yet.

Do you?