Roy “Big Country” Nelson Training Camp Quotes: “Fans Are Gonna See Explosions And Fireworks Friday Night… There’s Gonna Be A Knockout”

LAS VEGAS – Hard-hitting heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson promised a memorable show this Friday night as he previewed his showdown against fellow heavyweight titan Alan Belcher which headlines Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA event from Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi and streaming live and for free on the Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA YouTube page.

“Fans are gonna see explosions and fireworks on Friday night,” said Nelson, a UFC and Bellator veteran with a 23-19 pro MMA record. “Belcher definitely tries to knock people out, and I do the same thing. There’s gonna be a knockout. And if we can’t get each other out of there, it’s gonna be a pure war from start to finish.”

A native of Las Vegas, Nelson has held camp in the fight capital throughout his career, working often out of the renowned Xtreme Couture MMA gym. As he enters this fight, Nelson believes he feels as fresh physically as he has at any other point in recent years.

“Training camp has been really good,” said Nelson. “I’m definitely ready for this fight. I feel great physically. That’s been the biggest thing in this training camp. We’re really making sure that I enter this fight healthy so that I’m at my best when it’s time to go toe-to-toe.”

Nelson made his bareknuckle debut headlining a Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA in May as he scored a sensational first round knockout of Dillon Cleckler. With a bareknuckle fight under his belt, Nelson enters Friday’s showdown with even more confidence ungloved.  

“The biggest way that bareknuckle experience helps me is in understanding distance and understanding what I can accomplish in this discipline,” said Nelson. “With bareknuckle it’s a different pain threshold. So what’s really important for me is controlling the pace and distance.”

In the showdown against Cleckler, Nelson announced himself as a problem in Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA with the dominant round one victory. As the first round ticked into the second half of action, Nelson was invigorated by a couple flush shots landed by Cleckler that inspired him to ditch his original plan and go for the immediate finish.

“I did not expect the Cleckler fight to go exactly how it did,” said Nelson. “My idea heading into the fight was to find my range, push him up against the fence and make him work, then start unloading bombs later in the fight. I didn’t expect to have that opportunity in round one. He hit me in my lip and it hurt so I was like ‘eff this’ and went all out and got the stoppage.”

In Belcher, Nelson will be faced with an opponent who’s competed four times previously in bareknuckle boxing, including winning a bareknuckle heavyweight title with victories over Tony Lopez, Arnold Adams, Frank Tate and Bobo O’Bannon. Nelson has paid attention to the run, and while he sees a similar style fighter to the one who used to fight in UFC, he recognizes he’ll be trying to beat a fighter who hasn’t tasted defeat since 2013.

“Belcher still has the same style he’s always had, he’s just bigger,” said Nelson. “He’s put on a lot of muscle and worked on his stand up more and more. That’s how he won a bareknuckle title. It’s made him unbeatable for a while now.”

With a victory on Friday, Nelson will continue looking for the biggest fights at heavyweight, including a possibility of revenge for a 2010 defeat he suffered against Junior Dos Santos, who defeated Fabricio Werdum headlining a Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA event in September.

“Any time you can avenge a loss, or rewrite history, I’m all about that,” said Nelson. “I’m fully focused on Alan right now. But after this fight, if everything comes together, I’d love to shift my focus onto Junior.”

Roberto Villa

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.