Ask your average MMA fan how intrigued they are by a rubber-match between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir at this point in time and you’re likely to get an earful of unkind words regarding the match, regardless of how marketable it may be.
UFC President Dana White received the same earful after revealing plans for the last installment of the Lesnar-Mir trilogy at a Q&A session a few Fridays back just prior to UFC 122 in Germany. White’s twitter immediately became flooded with fans voicing their disappointment at the match-up. The outcry was so significant that White stated only two days later that he is reconsidering the fight and mulling over different opponents for the recently-dethroned HW champ.
Now, ask your average MMA fan who they feel would make a more appropriate opponent for Brock Lesnar and you’re more than likely to get Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson as a response. The TUF 10 winner is known for his larger-than-life personality, abdomen, and possession of a dangerous set of skills that most feel make a legitimate test for Lesnar. It has been reported that Lesnar himself has voiced his disinterest with the Frank Mir fight, like many fans, and wants to test himself in a fight with Nelson.
As luck would have it, Roy Nelson currently has no fight lined up following Shane Carwin’s withdrawal from their scheduled match-up and has made it abundantly clear that Nelson, like the fans and Lesnar himself, wants the newly-proposed fight. It appears that the gods looked favorably on this match-up and it pleases all parties involved. How could anything derail this fight that so many are clamoring to see?
Well it turns out that Square Ring, Inc. (SRI), owned by boxer Roy Jones Jr., claims that Roy Nelson has yet to fulfill contractual obligations to them. This is relatively old news, first reported by Robert Joyner here at MMAFA , but has resurfaced as an explanation for Nelson’s indefinite suspension from the UFC. Dana White broke the news just this a few weeks back that Nelson could be sidelined for a year or more because of the dispute.
According to Robert Joyner’s report, UFC VP Marc Ratner is claimed to have met with top-dogs at SRI and became aware of the fact that Roy Nelson was under contract with them. The same report claims that Ratner met with Nelson separately, only later engaging in negotiations. SRI was allegedly never allowed to see and potentially match the offers made by Zuffa which they claim is a right granted to them in their contract with Nelson. Nelson is now exclusively signed with the UFC and Zuffa has a lawsuit on their hands as a result. SRI is seeking punitive damages in excess of $10,000.
What is so curious about the whole situation is that officials at Zuffa were allegedly aware of the potential legal dispute from as early as May of 2009, just before the filming of TUF 10 began. Despite Roy Nelson’s unique circumstances, Zuffa went ahead with filming. Nelson ended up being one of the centerpieces of the show as well as the season winner.
Not only did Roy Nelson’s circumstances fail to deter the UFC from including him in TUF 10, allowing him the opportunity to continue on and win the series along with a multi-fight six-figure contract with the UFC, but it also failed to put the brakes on his later fights with Stefan Struve and Junior Dos Santos. Recall that Nelson was also scheduled to fight Shane Carwin before a necessary surgery forced Carwin to withdraw. Nelson’s legal dispute had already been brought to court by the time he faced off against Struve in the octagon, being physically filed on 3/16 and electronically filed on 3/18 of 2010.
Interestingly, If Roy Nelson had beaten Junior Dos Santos it is speculated that SRI could have sued for an even larger sum given Nelson’s surge in value as a PPV commodity. Furthermore, the win would have put him in contention for the UFC Heavyweight Title.
Yet none of this gave the UFC pause.
Only when there was mounting pressure to have Brock Lesnar, UFC’s biggest PPV draw by a significant margin, fight the dangerous Roy Nelson was there any concern shown by Zuffa regarding the disputed contract. Some speculated that SRI received an injunction in their legal battle with Zuffa which forced Nelson to bow out for the time being. According to Justin Klein, better known as the Fight Lawyer, this is doubtful given that SRI never sought injunctive relief on a temporary basis or a permanent basis and were never granted one.
So what changed, exactly?
“This whole thing is eight months old. Just now the press is doing their homework” said Roy Nelson in a personal interview, quipping that, “one moment we’re talking about Shane Carwin’s name on a list and the next we’re talking about Urijah Faber and an ice cream cone. Nobody even paid attention to the case to begin with.”
Now that Roy Nelson is indefinitely sidelined and the match with Brock Lesnar has been scrapped, the press is finally paying attention. Nelson knows that it was a fight that fans wanted to see.
“It’s the most exciting fight you can see right now. The fans know that. I am going to see if I can lobby for the next 30 days to be the next ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ coach. I’m going to see if Brock can be the other coach.”
This is definitely a useful way for Nelson to use his time off and build even more celebrity and name recognition, but what about the proposed match-up between Nelson and Brock going south so quickly? Nelson shortly reflected on it.
“I know. Everyone wanted it. Even Brock wanted the fight, apparently. You know what? It shouldn’t be like boxing where people pick and choose who they fight. That’s what promoters do. That’s not how MMA works. For me, whoever you put in front of me, I’ll fight them. The UFC usually goes with what the fans want.”
But Nelson noted that in the case of the rubber-match between Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, the fans aren’t getting exactly what they want.
“It doesn’t make sense from a fan’s standpoint. [Brock has] had seven fights and he fighting the same guy 3 times. Half of his fights are with Frank. I thought everyone was supposed to fight everyone and then you see where you stand. That’s why I like tournaments so much.”
But the UFC is a business first and foremost. Nelson understands financial considerations as much as anyone, including a fighter’s need to rebuild their brand after a high-profile loss.
“From the financial stand point, it’s better to keep celebrities high and mighty. It’s the same thing as Urijah [Faber] dropping down to 135 lbs. after he got his ass whooped by Jose Aldo. It makes financial sense because he can get a win, be marketable again, and make a lot of money. Same thing with Brock… he needs a win now.
“You can’t be a celebrity and be a loser. I don’t think Brock can’t do that. There are only a couple of people in the sport who can do that. I can. I will gain more fans despite losing because of who I am, how I fight, at the end of the day it’s about entertainment, relating to the fans, and I get that. But most people can’t say the same thing.”
Contact with both Zuffa and SRI was made in an effort to shed light on the Nelson’s curious legal predicament and sidelining but both refused to comment.
“Candidly, I don’t know what changed since the lawsuit was filed on March 18, 2010.” The FightLawyer Justin Klein says, “He fought twice after the complaint was filed and, in fact, his fight with Dos Santos was in August—over three-months after Zuffa filed its answer and cross-claim against Nelson according to the docket.” Klein went on to speculate that “it could be that in the course of discovery Zuffa became aware of documents supporting Square Ring’s claims and so it has now elected to avoid any further use of Nelson until the dispute is resolved” but we have no way of currently knowing this. Klein also speculates that benching Roy could be part of a settlement.
Roy Nelson claims he still has no idea as to what changed and why he is currently benched.
“I don’t know why. I’ve heard 12 different stories. I am going with the one that sounds the best: ‘The UFC cares so much about me that they want me 100% healed-up and ready to go’. You know what? I am just like a fan. I am waiting for what the press to tell me everything. Like which guy I’m fighting next, or what’s going on with this.”
However, Nelson is certain of one thing: his chances against Brock Lesnar.
“I think it’s just a stylistic dream for me. The thing is, with Brock, he’s a strong wrestler. You have to have good strong wrestling base. That’s the first thing, and that’s one of my fortes: wrestling and jiu jitsu. I’m a striker second. Shane Carwin wrote the book on beating Brock and [Cain] Velasquez just implemented it. The way to win is there. I can do that.”