Roy Nelson talks Kimbo Slice
Coach Quinton “Rampage” Jackson picked the first two match ups on the show and Rashad Evans’ team won both of…
Coach Quinton “Rampage” Jackson picked the first two match ups on the show and Rashad Evans’ team won both of them. When Evans got the chance to play match maker, he immediately put his most seasoned fighter against Jackson’s most known. Nelson spoke with MMAWeekly.com about how the bout with “Kimbo” was made.
“Rashad (Evans) took us all in the back and said, ‘okay, who would you like to fight? Who do you think you match up good with?’ The whole nine yards. And then you just kind of picked who you wanted,” explained Nelson. “Me, I went in and was like, I want Zak (Jensen). They were like, ‘why do you want Zak?’ I was like, well, he got gogoplata’d by Brad Imes, so I want Zak. They were like, ‘you match better against Kimbo.’ I’m like no I don’t. I match really good with Zak, trust me.”
Believing the decision was as much political as strategic, Nelson commented, “You just need somebody that will make Kimbo look better than what he is because he can’t lose to nobody else. That’s kind of how I picked it. From a business aspect, it just makes sense. That’s what I would do if I was running the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter, but as a fighter I wanted Zak.”
Nelson’s not new to the fight game. He understands match making and the format of the show. Tough fights early are not smart. “That’s not the easy fight,” said the 33-year old heavyweight.