Roy Nelson’s losing streak is no longer.
Friday night in Abu Dhabi, “Big Country” bounced back from consecutive setbacks with a thunderous knockout finish of Pride standout Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the final bout of the latest UFC Fight Night event.
This was a quality performance for Nelson, one that stands alongside the three first-round finishes the former Ultimate Fighter winner collected over Dave Herman, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo prior to his two-fight slide. Looking to land an overhand right from the outset, Nelson did just that and it brought the fight—and perhaps Nogueira’s career—to a sudden halt.
If you scan Nelson’s UFC resume, this is a typical outing and one that doesn’t really change anything for the rotund Las Vegas native. Throughout his time in the Octagon, Nelson has done well against fighters on the fringes of the Top 10, but struggled against the true threats, and he kept that up here.
Now it’s a matter of figuring out what comes next.
How’s this for an idea: Alistair Overeem?
Beating Frank Mir at UFC 169 didn’t impress UFC President Dana White and didn’t elevate “The Reem” back into the title chase, so a match-up with someone like Nelson makes sense on a number of different levels.
For starters, they’re established names, so it’s easy to assign them a spot on the main card of an upcoming pay-per-view event. Maybe they don’t go second-last, but as the third fight on a fight card headed by Renan Barao sometime this fall might help bump up the buy-rate a little.
Secondly, it’s an interesting clash of traits—Nelson has an unreal chin and nasty power (if only until his cardio gives out), while Overeem is a talented offensive fighter, but a little bit chinny, so there are immediate avenues to seeing either guy emerge with a win.
And that’s important in selling a fight between two guys that are out of contention for the time being, especially on a pay-per-view card.
Lastly, they haven’t fought each other, and given that Friday’s contest was Nelson’s 12th UFC appearance, there aren’t a lot of match-ups out there for him at the moment.
Here’s a look at the match-ups I’d make for the rest of the fighters that emerged victorious in Abu Dhabi.
Clay Guida vs. Josh Thomson
Prior to his post-fight interview with Dan Hardy—who is doing a tremendous job as an analyst—I never would have thought to move Guida back up to lightweight, but after dispatching Tatsuya Kawajiri in vintage fashion, “The Carpenter” said he’s open to fighting in both weight classes.
And if that’s the case, give him Thomson. I know Guida isn’t ranked and was bounced from contention in the 155-pound ranks a while ago, but they have history from Strikeforce and it has the potential to be an entertaining fight.
Ryan LaFlare vs. Tarec Saffiedine
This is a “meet in the middle” in terms of the rankings to me, as LaFlare should debut in the Top 15 after collecting his fourth consecutive win on Friday, and Saffiedine is stuck at No. 9 after getting scratched from his scheduled bout with Jake Ellenberger.
LaFlare deserves a step up and Saffiedine has to prove himself after fighting just once since beating Nate Marquardt for the Strikeforce title. Make it hap’n, Cap’n!
Ramsey Nijem vs. Sam Stout/K.J. Noons Winner
Nijem looked great against Beneil Dariush, but let’s be honest with each other: he hasn’t suddenly morphed into a future contender.
He’s solid, but the middle of the pack feels like his ceiling, and that applies to Stout and Noons as well. Whoever emerges from that contest—which takes place next week as part of the TUF Nations Finale card in Quebec City—makes for a decent dance partner for the former TUF finalist.
Jared Rosholt vs. Soa Palelei/Ruan Potts Winner
Rosholt’s wrestling is going to serve him well against lower-tier opposition, as it did Friday, but he doesn’t take punches very well—he turns away from them, and that’s going to cost him at some point.
But he’s won two straight, so mix him in sometime this fall with the winner of next month’s bout between the surprisingly surging Palelei and UFC newcomer Potts.
Thales Leites vs. Costas Philippou/Lorenz Larkin Winner
Leites gets dogged for his poor showing against Anderson Silva way back when, but he’s 9-1 in his last 10 and just cracked Trevor Smith on Friday. Cut the guy some slack already, people!
The Brazilian is a perfect gatekeeper at middleweight, and that’s roughly where the Philippou-Larkin winner would fall as well. Those two fight next month in Cincinnati, so the timelines match up nicely.
Jim Alers vs. Charles Oliveira
“The Beast” earned a split decision win over fellow newcomer Alan Omer in Abu Dhabi and has a bunch of upside (as does Omer), but there are enough emerging talents in the featherweight ranks that you can move him up a little quicker than normal.
Oliveria got thrown to the wolves a couple years back, but rebounded with a good win over Andy Ogle and feels like a good measuring stick for Alers. Winner moves up the rankings, losing remains an entertaining middle of the pack guy.
Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya
With this one being declared a No Contest as a result of an accidental headbutt—and Bedford losing his mind about it—the UFC needs to just run this back as soon as they can so these two can have some closure.