Last week, the UFC announced the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 16 coaches would be Heavyweights Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson. Carwin will be returning after an extended lay off due to back surgery following his UFC 131 loss to Junior Dos Santos. “Big Country” Roy Nelson is also trying to re-establish himself. He’s coming off a quick first round knockout of Dave Herman at UFC 146, but is only 2-3 in his last 5 fights.
Obviously, the UFC hopes to feature the conflict between Roy’s big personality and Carwin’s more reserved nature. It seems like that may pay off, since the two fighter’s immediately clashed on Twitter. Now, Carwin is calling out Nelson again via his own website:
I am going to representing for the REAL Country folk. The people that know life is about providing for your family through hard work… I know Roy likes to be the UFC’s Jester but he better know this is not a joke for me. He can keep striving for being average, I am pushing myself and those around me to find the American Dream. The dream that comes from lots of hard work and sacrifice, no gimmicks necessary.
TUF 16 will return to the original pre-filmed format with shooting starting in August for a September season premiere. This season also marks an interesting move away from featuring top contenders or championship fights.
Is Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson a relevant enough match for The Ultimate Fighter? Will their rivalry help drive the numbers?
After the jump, Carwin also comments on the opportunity to become a coach.
I cannot thank the UFC and you the fans enough for this amazing opportunity. I have a dream of coaching so this is kind of like that dream coming true. While Roy Nelson and I do not get along, I am going to make sure that the focus of the season is to put at least one Team Carwin member in a position make it to the finals. If we can get two of our guys in the finals that would be even better. We have already begun working on a great coaching staff that will go beyond what you have seen in the past. The guys that made the show can fight or they would not have made it. My goal will be to help them win. Our entire season will be on building that winning attitude and staying positive when you don’t win. We want to prepare our team to be the best. There can only be on TUF 16 Champion but we will develop a team of future Champions too.