Nelson: I moved to Bellator because they say please and thank you
Roy Nelson: “It was a no-brainer. It had nothing to do with the offer. It had everything to do with `please’ and `thank you.'”
Heavyweight Roy Nelson makes his Bellator debut Saturday night vs. Javy Ayala after eight years in the UFC.
“There’s a big difference in my enthusiasm,” said Nelson to Dave Meltzer for MMA Fighting. “`Please’ and `thank you’ go a long way. Anytime someone says `please’ and `thank you,’ it means so much more than `just do this.’
“What brought me to Bellator was Scott Coker, Viacom and one of my good friends, Mike Kogan. I’ve known Mike for I’d say 10 years. And then there’s the new regime at the UFC. There’s a lot of things.
“It was a super easy decision. It was a no-brainer. It had nothing to do with the offer. It had everything to do with `please’ and `thank you.’ That is appreciation. One of the things in marriage is you have to understand what appreciation is about, and that’ll keep me for longevity. That’s why my fans love me, because I appreciate them. Because with no fans, there would be no sport, no fighting for me, no UFC, no Bellator, no RIZIN, there’d be nothing without the fans.”
Nelson has his eyes set on the belt, and hopes Bellator does a tournament to crown their heavyweight champion.
“That’s the reason I love the Grand Prix, I did the IFL Grand Prix, Pride did the Grand Prix, the old UFC, UFC 1, that was a tournament,” said Nelson. “The Super Bowl is a tournament. The World Series is based on a tournament. The NBA finals is based on a tournament. The one thing a tournament does is it takes the politics out of the game. That’s the one thing Scott Coker does very well. He’ll probably do a Grand Pix tournament, and then all you have to do is win on those important days.”
