Daniel Cormier: Roy Nelson Can’t Score A Takedown On Me, Are You Crazy?
Next weekend’s huge UFC 166 event from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas will feature a pivotal co-main event showdown between heavyweights Daniel Cormier and Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
The No. 2-ranked Cormier has only had one fight in the Octagon, a lackluster decision win over Frank Mir at UFC on Fox 7 this April. He’ll look to rebound strong with a win over an established veteran like Nelson, who was upset by Stipe Miocic at June’s UFC 161.
The two fighters had a much-publicized spat in the media leading up to the signing of the bout, and Cormier recently appeared in a UFC interview to address his polarizing opponent:
“You can talk, and you can talk s***, but at the end of the day, we get to go into a cage and hit each other in the face. My wrestling advantage is the biggest advantage in the fight, hands down. You can say whatever you want, you can dislike me, you can call me whatever you want, but at the end of the day, you’ll respect me what I can do. He can’t score a takedown on me. C’mon. Are you crazy? I’m gonna beat Roy Nelson because I’m better than him.”
If Cormier does beat Nelson handily, there’s really not anywhere else for him to go but towards a title shot. It’s widely known that Cormier won’t fight good friend and training partner Cain Velasquez, so the only scenario where Cormier would fight for the 265 –pound crown would be following a Junior Dos Santos win.
On the other hand, it’s rumored that DC has already begun the process of cutting down to light heavyweight in order to face dominant champion Jon Jones. We’ll see what kind of shape he shows up in at UFC 166. Nelson has also released a photo of himself looking to have lost a ton of weight.
It’s going to be quite the interesting co-main event at UFC 166. Does the No. 9 Nelson have a chance to derail Cormier’s hype train, or will a DC win cause a huge mess at the top of the UFC heavyweight division?
