Roy Nelson walked into a hostile arena on Saturday night the enemy and walked out still the enemy but also the victor.
“Big Country” fought ex-title challenger Antonio Silva on the main card of UFC Fight Night 95, which took place live from Brasilia, Brazil. The first round was dead-even and rather lackluster and was probably given to “Bigfoot,” who had success kicking from range.
After the first five minutes, Nelson knew he couldn’t let the judges have control of the bout’s result.
In the second round, Nelson eventually landed a brutal right uppercut followed by some perhaps unnecessary ground-and-pound until referee John McCarthy intervened.
What was the highlight of the fight?
Considering Silva’s losing streak, I was pretty surprised that he found any sort of success at all. So that was intriguing to watch. But the highlight of the fight is the same highlight as many heavyweight bouts — the finish. After landed a few shots early in second round, Nelson landed a heavy uppercut that knocked Silva down and followed up with a handful of ground-and-pound blows. Controversy surrounded the finish, however. Nelson was visibly upset with McCarthy’s possibly-late stoppage and subsequently kicked the veteran referee while he was tending to the recovering Silva.
Where do these two go from here?
Nelson may be disciplined for his post-fight actions. That could range from being fined, to being suspended, all the way to being released from the UFC. It should be noted that Jason High was cut from the promotion for pushing a referee after a stoppage loss to Rafael dos Anjos in 2014. Therefore, it’s difficult to say when Nelson will return to the cage. But if he doesn’t face severe discipline, he’ll be back sooner rather than later and should fight the winner of Stefan Struve vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (UFC 204).
I’ve been calling for Silva’s retirement for over a year. I really don’t think it’s safe for him to compete inside the cage and continuously suffer devastating stoppage losses. He has nothing left to offer. After the loss to Nelson, I hope he agrees and steps away from the sport.
Watch now, later or never?
The fight was actually quite interesting before the finish. And it also included a knockout finish. So you should watch right away.