Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson may finally be sank by his gargantuan belly after UFC president Dana White described his latest performance as ‘embarrassing’.
Nelson was defeated by unanimous decision by veteran Frank Mir at UFC 130 on Saturday, after running out of puff after the first round.
The 260lbs fighter has often been criticised for looking more like a Jabba the Hut than a professional athlete but a string of big wins meant he was largely immune from criticism from White.
However, he appeared to be badly out of condition during his bout with Mir and White was left unimpressed.
“I thought Roy looked terrible tonight,” White told MMA Junkie. “I thought it was terrible. I thought it was embarrassing… I have a meeting with him on Friday, and we’ll see what happens.”
White wasn’t overjoyed with how Mir performed either. “I’m not happy about the performance from either [Nelson or Mir]. I thought it was borderline embarrassing. If they were earlier in the card, but being in the co-main and the main event position is when you take the most criticism.
“When you’re the co-main or the main event, you’ve got to go out there and perform and look good. When you don’t, you’re going to hear my opinion about it – and the fans and the media, I’m sure.”
Nelson, however, suggested post-fight that he needed to gain rather than lose weight.
He said, “It’s really just bigger, stronger, faster. Just go out there and just push the pace. I just got out-wrestled because my mindset was a little bit different. Mine was just hit Frank in his face more than he hit me. I just got outwrestled.”
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