UFC
Dana White not happy with "terrible" performance from Roy Nelson at UFC 130; gives Frank Mir credit after initial disappointment
May 29, 2011 - 3:30:16 PM Dana White not happy with "terrible" performance from Roy Nelson at UFC 130; gives Frank Mir credit after initial disappointment

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC President Dana White isn't very happy with Roy Nelson after his co-main event loss to Frank Mir at UFC 130 on Saturday night.

White berated the performances of both Mir and Nelson at the post-fight press conference, with most of his distaste for the fight being aimed towards Nelson. Though he initially got after Mir, he has since changed his tune on that performance, but that doesn't change how he felt about what Nelson brought to the cage.

"I think I was a little harsh on Mir," White said in a Sunday interview with MMAJunkie.com. "He came into that fight with the perfect gameplan, and he nailed Roy with some big shots. Mir dominated that fight from start to finish, and he deserves some credit for that."

"The main event and co-main event just didn't really wow that crowd, and you know how I get. I think I was just a little frustrated last night that we didn't end on a high note, and I was probably too hard on Mir."

As for Nelson, White didn't pull any punches, calling his performance "terrible" and "embarrassing" on multiple occasions. He even cast the TUF 10 winner's future in doubt, saying he would be meeting with him later in the week to discuss his future, and adding he didn't know what that future woule be. He expanded on his thoughts somewhat as well in an interview with Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com.

"I thought 'Big Country' looked terrible tonight," White said. "He sat up here [at the post-fight press conference] talking about he got out-wrestled. He looked terrible tonight. He needs to make some serious career decisions."

There have been calls from some fans to see Nelson try to lose his gut and make a move to 205 lbs., a thought that was echoed by Joe Rogan on commentary during the pay-per-view. But White says it doesn't need to be as drastic as that, and makes it clear that Nelson's schtick has grown tiresome in his eyes.

"People talk about him making 205 [lbs.]," White said. "That would be a huge life change and a tough thing to do. How about 240? Let's make 240, Roy. The fat thing was funny for a while, it's not funny anymore.

"It's not funny when you're the co-main event in a big fight like that and the fight looks the way that it did tonight."

Penick's Analysis: I had a better opinion of Nelson heading into UFC 130 than I left the event with. His limitations in this division were made abundantly clear in that fight with Mir, and after getting out-struck and gassing in the first, he found himself constantly being put on his back and being unable to do anything. I'm glad to see that White changed his initial opinion on Mir's performance, as while he did get a little tired, he was nowhere near the level of terrible that he was in September against Mirko Cro Cop. He blasted Nelson with a ton of knees and punches in the first round, then took over and used a great gameplan the rest of the way to take the one-sided decision. He fought very well, and I think White was simply in a bad mood after the way the main event went down and how Nelson looked. But Nelson has definitely not made himself any fans after that fight. He just did not look good in exhausting himself in the first round, and it came off as if he just didn't care, whether that opinion is fair or not, that's what impression was given off, and that clearly didn't sit well with White.

[Roy Nelson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]