TUF 10 Finale Preview: Brendan Schaub and Roy Nelson Talk About Their Upcoming Fight
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 3, 2009 9:26 AM EST
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Promoted from the FanPosts by Kid Nate.
The last episode of the Ultimate Fighter 10 forged a final match-up between Roy "Big Country" Nelson (13-4) and Brendan Schaub (4-0), with the winner getting that six figure contract, and the title of "The Ultimate Fighter".
Brendan Schaub says that 'Big Country' has yet to face a guy on his skill level:
"I've been ready for this fight for about eight weeks now... I got off the show the first week of July and I took maybe three, four days off and started training. I've just been working my butt off getting ready for this fight."
"I don't think anyone can argue, I definitely had the tougher road to the finale. If not by far the toughest road, and not only did I have the toughest road, but I ended up finishing all my guys. I can't say Roy had an easy road. He definitely had a tough road as well, but at the same time I just don't think it compares to mine. It wasn't like he was going out, smashing these guys, and doing all of these impressive performances... He lay and prayed on Kimbo, same thing with James (McSweeney), and then with Justin Wren, I think you could argue he actually lost that fight. Like I said, he didn't have an easy road, but he didn't finish it the way I did."
"I think that's my big advantage, Roy's never fought a guy like me. That's a big thing to make cause he's fought guys like (Andrei) Arlovski, (Jeff) Monson, and those other guys, but at the same time he's never faced a guy of my caliber. If it goes to the ground, I'm fine down there; I can finish the fight down there. Obviously, I have a huge advantage if we keep it on the feet, so I just go in there and I react."
Roy Nelson the veteran that he is, saw the whole TUF experience as a way to market himself better. He also compares Brendan Schaub to Fedor, so uhh.. Maybe that's the reason why Roy has "never fought a guy like him":
"I was thinking it was a good business opportunity. Going The Ultimate Fighter route is equivalent to fighting about five times on pay-per-view on a regular UFC, so it's just like advertising and marketing. People see your face three times then they actually know it. It's one of those things where I just wanted to make sure millions of people would know exactly who I am."
"Brendan's a tough guy. He has great hands. He's definitely an athlete, definitely the younger of the bucks. He doesn't get rattled. He was kind of like Fedor where he might get in bad positions, but if you give him that little hole he's going to capitalize on it, and make you pay. He did it with Jon Madsen, he even did it with Marcus Jones, and he even did it with Demico. So you see Brendan, he'll take a bad position to scramble out and capitalize on your mistakes."
"My goals, hopefully I achieve them, and while I was in the house I did exactly what I wanted, hurry up and get three wins and then hopefully this Saturday I'll get my fourth and will become The Ultimate Fighter"
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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Ummmmmmmmmmmm
Schaub knows Nelson has fought Arlovski right?
by ufc4 on Dec 3, 2009 8:33 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Apparently, McSweeney didn’t.
“He’s never faced a striker like me before.”
That made me chuckle.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Dec 3, 2009 10:05 AM EST up reply actions
if i see nelson's belly on schaubs face i'm going to break my tv.
i think schaub will be the only guy to land solid combo punches to nelson’s face and ko’d whopper boy. i can see dana white smile already.
yes i am obsessive, obnoxious, in your face and all about covering the spread. those are my good qualities.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Dec 3, 2009 2:34 PM EST up reply actions
Schaub is apparently of higher caliber than Arlovski, Monson, etc etc etc…. What?
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
Calling crucifixing two opponents (at will, no less) “lay n pray” is ridiculous. If it goes to the ground, Schaub is not going to be “fine down there.”
I disagree.
Schaub’s training and improvement has been documented and it’s unbelievable. He basically went from knowing NOTHING about boxing or jiu-jitsu to becoming the Colorado State Golden Glove champion and winning a grappling tournament after submitting Mike Nickels in the championship, who is a legitimate brown belt. He did all of that in six months. He also trains with some of the best guys out there.
I think Roy has his hands full here, and it’s a lot closer fight than people think. I picked Schaub to win the show, and I think he’s going to give Roy some trouble.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Dec 3, 2009 10:07 AM EST up reply actions
Going The Ultimate Fighter route is equivalent to fighting about five times on pay-per-view on a regular UFC, so it’s just like advertising and marketing
Roy is a smart man.
To all those folks saying he shouldn’t have been forced to go the TUF route, sounds to me like Roy sees TUF for what it is, a star making vehicle that can greatly enhance a fighter’s career.
except i don’t think he won any fans with his performances
all people at work said about him “the fat guy layed on him and pitter patted”
Doesn’t matter if the fans love him or hate him, as long as they care about him. There is nothing wrong with being a heel.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. said it best to Jeff Gordon
“Don’t worry if they boo you. Start worrying if they don’t do nothin’.”
"(Brock Lesnar) is never in good spirits and he's not in good spirits now." - Dana White
“all the people at work” don’t matter in the long run. Those are the people who will stop watching anyway, as soon as something else comes along.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
But they matter right now.
I don’t have any numbers, but I’ll bet the "all the people at work"-type fans make the UFC more money than us here in the BE comments area.
Plus we all know what happens to organizations like Affliction that don’t have those fans (Amongst other reasons, of course).
Quick buck
They won’t be there in the long run. These are also the same people who boo as soon as it hits the ground.
“all the people at work” are completely irrelevant as far as the sport is concerned. I’ll let the accountants worry about Zuffas money.
Also, I think your Affliction reference is silly. The UFC became the top org. without those fans, so clearly they don’t need them, while Affliction appealed to those fans (and overpayed fighters), and it cost them.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
The problem is the different definitions of casual fans.
The 200k casual fans who bought the Franklin Wandy fight but didn’t buy Affliction are the most important part. The extra 4 million that watch Kimbo or the 1 million that will pay for Brock are gravy.
But some casual fans are very important, getting them is why the UFC went from 50 million in debt to where they are now.
Yes
but not in the long run. The ones who pay to watch Brock ( * ) or Kimbo are the ones who will start watching something else as soon as it gets ‘kinda boring’. These are not the people that a smart business should be using as a foundation (see: EliteXC). They may help right now, but in the long run they don’t matter.
( * ) I mean people who tune in to watch him as a personality rather than as a fighter.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
NASCAR would beg to differ
They’re driving away (pardon the pun) casual fans who started at the beginning of the decade, and are finally making moves (liek consistent start times) to bring them back.
Not every casual fans STAYS a casual fan.
"(Brock Lesnar) is never in good spirits and he's not in good spirits now." - Dana White
+1
TUF can be a HUGE career boost for a fighter. TUF vets often get top billing on UFN cards, and main-card status on PPV’s over better fighters.
There’s also an advantage to just having more people know who you are. Whether they like you or not, there is a guarantee of more interest in your fight. That’s true even if a UFC career doesn’t pan out. A guy with some TUF notoriety can headline regional shows.
I see a duet in the making
Roy: I’m a little bit country.
Brendan: I’m a little bit Fedor.
by MMAInFeRioRiTy on Dec 3, 2009 10:18 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Dammit, I thought that was funny!
You get a rec from me if no one else.
"(Brock Lesnar) is never in good spirits and he's not in good spirits now." - Dana White
Schaub by TKO, round 1.
Roy won’t be able to take him down.
Schaub got taken down by Demico, Jones, and Madsen where Schaub also kept grabbing the fence in that fight. Schaub’s fights did not make me confident in his takedown defense. Understandably, Jones is obviously bigger than Schaub, and Madsen is a wrestler, but that still doesn’t give me confidence that his takedown defense is that good. If you mean that Schaub will keep grabbing the fence and therefore Roy won’t be able to take him down, then I agree with your statement.
Roy likes to trade a lot before even going for the takedown
So schaub has a Good chance.
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 3, 2009 12:53 PM EST up reply actions
you apparently haven’t seen Nelson v. Monson. Jeff Monson is twice the man (literally) that Schaub is with more grappling cred outside of Werdum and Nelson was taking him down at will during that match. If it took AA almost 3 rounds to TKO Nelson, what makes you think that Schaub is going to do it in one?
Schaub should take this.
I for one welcome our new Colorado Overlords.
Keep firing Assholes!
In Idaho, it's illegal to f--- a porcupine. You know why? Because someone tried it.
Schaub certainly is a confident young man
but does he really think he can “finish it on the ground” against Roy?
Confidence, good or bad?
Schaub has it, but I get tired of these guys tooting their own horns over and over. Go out, win the match, and time will tell if you are as good as you say. Big Country has had some big fights and won some and lost some, but to say he has yet to face someone like himself (Schaub) is just another guy buliding himself up, before he has done anything (and not looking at Roys past, he was the IFL champ). Should be a good fight, but Roy is a very good and smart fighter, so if Schaub thinks he is the next coming he will have a shot to prove it (I still put my money on Roy).
I actually like Schaub, but I am liking him a little less after these comments. Schaub is a legit Heavyweight prospect in my opinion, but to say that Roy has never fought someone of his caliber is kind of ridiculous. It’s not like Schaub has that good of takedown defense in that he got taken down by Demico, Jones (the size difference plays a factor of course), and he kept grabbing the fence against Madsen. I see the fight playing out like this: they exchange a little on the feet, Roy finds an opening for a takedown and takes Schaub down, Roy stays heavy making it difficult for Schaub to escape, then finally a submission or crucifix and Roy wins.
Roy's going to fail the post-fight drug test
“He was kind of like Fedor…”
He must be on some good shit
naah, not when you finish the sentence
.
He was kind of like Fedor…
…where he might get in bad positions, but if you give him that little hole he’s going to capitalize on it, and make you pay.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
I think you guys are silly.
Schaub can take it, especially if it goes to the ground and Roy is on his back.
Roy will gas if it goes passed the first round and besides, he only has two weapons anyway.
(1) “Puncher’s Chance”
(2) A belly like an asian diety.
the fix is in. dana white gets his revenge on tuf 10 finale
he will personally feed 15 whoppers roy nelson before the fight and will literally and figurately gas out.
yes i am obsessive, obnoxious, in your face and all about covering the spread. those are my good qualities.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Dec 3, 2009 2:37 PM EST up reply actions
Funny
I don’t remember Roy gassing very much, if at all, in any of his three fights on the show. Perhaps a bit in the Wren fight, but he was definitely far fresher than Wren in the third round.
If you think that Schaub has an ever better chance at winning on the ground, I’m led to believe that you haven’t really seen much of Roy prior to TUF.
You got me. I haven’t seen his fights prior to TUF. However, I don’t have any interest in seeing Roy before or even after TUF. He is not entertaining, nor interesting, and I don’t really respect any PROFESSIONAL athlete who let’s themselves look like that. Just like Tank Abbot, it’s like a gimmick. “Big Country” , c’mon really?
And for the record, I don’t really think any of the guys on the show are that great on the ground, or well, great at anything really. Bib Baby has a ton of potential, but that’s it.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
by mythbuster on Dec 3, 2009 6:21 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Funny. I have no idea how that relates.
Is it because I don’t like hsi big belly and I want a pro athlete to be in shape?
Is it because I beleive that no one on the show had good ground game?
Or is it because I said the word “gimmick” because MMA fighters sometimes become (and are marketed) as personalities and obtain monickers.
Because I think I am valid on all of those points.
He is not entertaining, nor interesting, and I don’t really respect any PROFESSIONAL athlete who let’s themselves look like that.
Lots of entertaining guys with nice bodies for you to look at in the WWE. I want to watch the best fighters fight – don’t try to turn MMA into Pro Wrestling.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
And on a side note
No PROFESSIONAL athlete should look like that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Perry_%28American_football%29
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
If you don’t like the ground game, there are other sports you can try. Boxing, kickboxing…
by grb on Dec 3, 2009 6:42 PM EST up reply actions
Haha, I’m not saying I don’t like the ground game. That is one of my favorite parts.
I’m saying they are not GOOD at the ground game. TUF this go-around was a piss poor showing altogether; stand-up and on the mat. We need less brawlers and more legit strikers; we need less watered-down BJJ with high school wrestlng and more legit grapplers, and we sure as hell don’t need some Michelin Man clogging up a Heavyweight division that is already shallow.
…and we sure as hell don’t need some Michelin Man clogging up a Heavyweight division that is already shallow.
Stop obsessing so much about mens bodies.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Lots of entertaining guys with nice bodies for you to look at in the WWE. I want to watch the best fighters fight – don’t try to turn MMA into Pro Wrestling.
No PROFESSIONAL athlete should look like that?
Stop obsessing so much about mens bodies.
This is why I’ve always tried to avoid online forums. Immaturity and irrationality abound.
Fact of the matter is, the best fighters are usually the best athletes and therefore have the best bodies (G.S.P., Urijah Faber), or, at least look like they are moderatly in shape (B.J. Penn, Sakuraba, Nick Diaz). Of course there are exceptions (Kimbo Slice, Marcus Jones), but generally, it is a good judge.
Along with being unsightly, Nelson’s belly is also unhealthy and holds him back from full potential. But his enormous gut pales in comparision to the fact that he is just plain UNSKILLED. That is the point.
Un-athletic + Unskilled = Bad MMA Fighter.
LOL at calling a decorated competition tested BJJ blackbelt ‘unskilled’.
I bet if he had a sweet tan and six-pack abs, you wouldn’t be questioning his skills.
Haha, Kazushi Sakuraba was a pale asian man who smoked cigs, drank booze and did not have a six pack but he wrecked all the relevant members of the Gracie Family and many others.
In MMA today a BJJ Blackbelt is the equivalent of a high school degree, almost everyone has one or is on their way to getting one.
Nelson is sub-par at best. His striking is ugly and not technical, his BJJ (Belly Jiu Jitsu) is sloppy. He is not relevant in the grand scheme of things and I beleive that the TUF is just creating fluff for the division.
Like I said before, get Big Baby into a great camp and he has potential, will he be Top 5 Heavy? No, Top 10? Maybe not. But his size, strength and athleticism might prove interesting in the mix if he gains a lot of experience.
In MMA today a BJJ Blackbelt is the equivalent of a high school degree, almost everyone has one or is on their way to getting one.
That’s because BJJ translates really well to MMA, leading a lot of people to train in it, not because a BJJ black belt doesn’t mean anything.
Roy Nelson is a BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie. He has beaten the likes of Frank Mir in grappling tournaments. To say he has no ground game is simply inaccurate.
I'll let your words speak for themself.
There is nothing I can say to make your post look worse than you did. Good job.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Fedor < Sapp?
Nice..
And Roy Nelson is in the top 25 in the world. He’s unskilled? If he is unathletic and doesn’t have cardio, how’d he get there? Hmmmm.. Oh wait, skill!
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 3, 2009 11:50 PM EST up reply actions
I said there were exceptions.
Wow, maybe you’re right guys…
Maybe I’m just absent minded and strange (much like the people who write the articles that you fine people read on this site) that I have produced this notion that the quality of the fighters, especially Roy Nelson, was poor this go around.
here's the thing..
you’re willing to give Marcus jones (who has worse stand up, and wayyyyy worse jiujitsu than roy) enough credit that you think that with a proper camp, he’d make waves enough to be in the mix, yet you’re unwilling to think that Roy can? You even go say that Roy is Sub par at best..
why is that? cause Marcus has muscles and Roy has a belly?
Roy has gotten to where he is even if he was mostly training on his own, yet you can’t even give him credit that he could improve if he got into a great camp cause he’s unathletic and unskilled?
before you guys got to know the Roy Nelson that Dana White and you guys hated on TUF, he WAS ALREADY MAKING WAVES in the HW division.. He’s a veryyyy skilled grappler who beat guys like Mir in grappling tournaments, and was owning Arlovski and other guys on the ground. He’s been in the top 25 in the world way before he entered TUF..
That sir, sure isn’t “sub-par” at best…
Also, who wrote in this site that Roy Nelson’s talent was poor? I sure didn’t.. The other people in BE sure didn’t.. They said the quality of TUF fighters as a collective sucked, cause of all the people gassing in the first, and no, not “especially Roy Nelson”
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 4, 2009 1:07 AM EST up reply actions
why is that? cause Marcus has muscles and Roy has a belly?
No, because Marc is a better athlete and strong as hell. He is why everyone is becoming fans of Brock Lesnar. You can not deny Brock’s sloppy stand-up and lack of submission knowledge (even though he is a very legit wrestler) but he is a huge tank of a man and is athletic.
Jones fights like a black frankestein, but when you take a great athlete who is a beast, he can become good, and ever really great at anything. Again, like Brock… He did WWE, was going to play Pro Football, then jumped into MMA.
you’re willing to give Marcus jones (who has worse stand up, and wayyyyy worse jiujitsu than roy) enough credit that you think that with a proper camp,
Sorry, I thought it was assumed knowledge that everyone can improve when they go to camp, I thought that was the whole point of a camp.
Anyway, I’m done. Basically, it comes down to this. I don’t get interested or behind fighters I find are boring, fight sloppy, have poor technique. I become fans of fighters who push the sport, who are explosive and exciting, who are technical (standing up and on the ground).
Sure, it may be my fault for not looking into Roy’s other fights before TUF, but, shouldn’t be be at his best on the show? And, if he has grappling up to the caliber of beating Frank Mir in a grappling match, where was this skill on the show?
Because all I saw was a puncher’s chance and a capitalization of a cocky fighter via side-control belly-smother ground and pound.
uhh.. didn't he beat them on the ground?
again, im not trying to make you like Roy, cause you obviously won’t.. All im saying, you’re not giving credit where it is due..
It’s just funny how you give credit to Marcus ONLY cause he’s big and athletic, and you don’t give credit to a very skilled Nelson, who already accomplished a lot.. again… is TOP 25 in the world wayyy before the newer fans started hating ‘that fat cocky guy on TUF’..
You are giving Marcus’ “potential” more value for him to be “in the mix” but you fail to see that Roy, already is “in the mix” because of his accomplishments before you got to know him.
Sure, it may be my fault for not looking into Roy’s other fights before TUF, but, shouldn’t be be at his best on the show?
Yes, you haven’t watched him so you don’t know half the stuff you are talking about. And no, he doesn’t have to be at his best on the show.. He just has to win 4 fights to get to the end.
and again, NO, Marcus =/= Lesnar..
He did WWE, was going to play Pro Football, then jumped into MMA.
WWE is irrelevant. He is good in MMA because of several reasons, 1. he’s big, 2. he’s athletic, as you mentioned, but you are forgetting the most important attributes that make him special.. He is a DIVISION 1 national champ, and he is freakishly fast for his size.
Marcus is slow. Marcus doesn’t have Brock’s power, Marcus has a background in jiujitsu.. a background.. that’s it.. he’s decent, but he’s no jiujitsu wizard. His jits is also not on the level as Brock’s wrestling is.. (and if you haven’t noticed, wrestling is one of the best base to start on)
They both have a lot of upside, but Lesnar and Marcus’ potential are on completely different levels.
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 4, 2009 2:00 AM EST up reply actions
I think you’re taking everything I say a little too literally. I just compared Lesnar to Jones because they are both big and athletic, not because they are near each other in skill at all. I know how good of a wrestler Brock is, after all I did say…
You can not deny Brock’s sloppy stand-up and lack of submission knowledge (even though he is a very legit wrestler)
Maybe I didn’t get specific as I should have.
WWE is irrelevant. He is good in MMA because of several reasons, 1. he’s big, 2. he’s athletic, as you mentioned,
WWE (or any pro wrestling) is relevant if you are talking about athleticism. Yes, of course it is a glorified soap opera for men and completely fake, but they are athletes.
Anyway, back to the point. I don’t really like any of the guys on TUF, but if I had to pick someone to get behind I’d pick Jones.
Of course Roy is “in the mix”, I’m just not interested in him and think, no, know, that he won’t do anything for the sport other than take up space and put on boring fights, hypnotizing his opponents with the rippling waves of pale flesh tidal waving over his giant stomach.
Does that mean I think Jones will “do something for the sport” or not just “take up space”. No, I’m just more interested in him as a athlete and how he improves.
Roy has been around awhile and if this is as good and as interesting as he can be, then I have no interest in him. Maybe my opinion will change after he starts fighting in the UFC.
see.. you finally said it..
You like Marcus and dislike Roy.
that’s it then. were clear.
At least I know where all this, he’s unskilled, sub-par etc, bullshit comes from.
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 4, 2009 2:57 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I diasgree about Roy gassing
Roy’s cardio is as good as most of the better heavyweights out there; granted on the show nobody seemed to last long but please look at some of his older fights, his cardio isn’t bad.
"I call this here Clark Kent. Just sniff this, right here. It’s good, huh?! You smoke this s**t and you just wanna rip your clothes off in a phone booth and fight crime"
Roy is actually pretty well renowned for his cardio. He has had a bunch of fights go the distance and he has almost always been the fresher man in the third round.
My only problem with Roy is that, as good as cardio is with the belly, just imagine the kind of cardio he would have if he weren’t hauling around a 30 pound spare tire. Getting in better shape and eating healthy are never a bad thing for an athlete’s career, but Roy refuses to give up his Whoppers and Snickers bars.
Pretty even fight IMO
The thing about Roy is that he’s not like Fedor- who is undersized for HW but can compensate by being extremely fast, by hitting like a ton of bricks, and having great takedowns/ a well rounded game.
Roy isn’t particularly fast, doesn’t hit very hard, doesn’t have great takedowns, etc. I know that he loves to eat, and that his physique hasn’t really negatively affected his cardio at all, but the fact remains that he probably will never be anything more than a B+ level fighter at HW. He needs to eat like a real athlete, and make the cut to LHW- where he would be very big and strong, and would be able to use his grappling without being at a huge reach/ strength disadvantage.
I think Nelson could easily drop 30-40 lbs of straight fat, and then just cut like 10 lbs the week of the fight. Fedor is a once in a lifetime kind of athlete, Nelson is not. He just has very good grappling, which is not enough to compete at the truly elite level.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
Ummm... Roy CUTS to 265
Even if he dropped the 50 pounds as you suggested, he’d still be around 225.
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