Roy Nelson Seems to Be Stirring the Pot Once Again

Roy Nelson Seems to Be Stirring the Pot Once Again

With Roy Nelson's long anticipated debut on FX "TUF 16" in September, the energy is being ramped up between him and UFC president Dana White. Currently filming "The Ultimate Fighter 16" in Las Vegas, Roy has been quoted that there is a significant rift between him and White, which Dana does not dispute. The three-time UFC winner and former IFL champion still wants to be a fighter, something Dana White is sure will not happen.

Dana's Side

The situation between Roy and Dana is only just beginning to escalate. White will also be a part of the show on FX, meaning they will be spending a lot more time together, then at present. White says that words coming out of Roy’s mouth are only slightly bearable when taken in little dosages. Now that they will be in such close proximity to each other, tensions are bound to intensify.

A Higher Standard

Nelson makes no apologies for his words. He is quoted as saying his efforts are an attempt to "further MMA to the next level". That his words and actions are his ardent desire to hold journalism, fights, promotions, athletic commissions and even the fans to a much higher standard than at the present time.

However, White believes the rift between the two is much simpler than any contention with Roy, in that Nelson is simply "an annoying person". Along with his annoyance, Dana believes that any word that comes out of Roy's mouth simply makes no sense.

The meeting of the minds between White and Nelson over the last four months of this year will be an intense situation for sure. With the live FX finale on air in December, I am sure all of us fans will have a front row seat just how bad the situation has become between the two of them.

Bisping Ready to Take on Challengers

Talking trash is certainly nothing new in the world of mixed martial arts and Michael Bisping is ready to take on the fighters wanting to challenge him, according to a recent interview in Fighters Only.

Alan Belcher is among the fighters that have been wanting to take on Bisping and who have been none too subtle in expressing their desire to do so. In the interview, Bisping dismisses the challenges and essentially says that Belcher has only demonstrated an ability to win in matches against people who are purely jujitsu practitioners.

Again dismissing a challenge by another fighter, Chris Weidman, Bisping offers a mix of insulting remarks about Weidman's haircut and manages to insult Mark Munoz—whom he calls "fat"—at the same time that he throws insults at Weidman.

In fact, according to Bisping, he would have no reservations about taking on all three of the fighters that have been challenging him in the media recently – Brian Stann is the third – in the same night, if necessary. The display of confidence may stem a bit from the fact that Bisping has become so noticeable that other fighters are lining up to take a shot at him and, sometimes, have ended up taking a few personal shots at him in the process.

Bisping said in the interview that all of the fighters who have been wanting to take him on lately, with the exception of Belcher, seem like "nice guys".

Bisping is slated to take on Stann at UFC 152 in September of 2012, according to a press release. This will be the same night that the UFC Flyweight title match will be fought, with the event being held in Canada. The title match for the evening will be Andre Winner vs. Rob Sinclair and tickets have already gone on sale for the event.

UFC President White Believes Edgar Should Become a Featherweight

UFC president Dana White is expressing an interest in seeing if Frankie Edgar's might move down to featherweight for a better shot at the title. After the August UFC 150 bout at Denver's Pepsi Ctr., Edgar suffered a disappointing defeat against Benson Henderson, in a split decision not accepted by many spectators in the audience. With Edgar experiencing the second consecutive loss to Benson, it is Dana’s belief that maybe Frankie needs to take the time necessary to determine his future in the sport.

Maybe a Featherweight?

White announced that Edgar has always been able to prove that "he can stay at 155," however Frankie has long been told that it might be better for him to be a featherweight. As a highly ranked former lightweight champion, Edgar believes he is more comfortable staying where he is.

Bold Claims

Dana makes bold claims that Edgar is "not good enough" … "not tough enough" … "not talented enough" … and "not even big enough" to be a fighter at 155 pounds although
“he’s a monster” at 145 pounds.

White has great respect for Edgar and his passionate desire to win the UFC 150. In reflection, it appears as though Frankie believes wholeheartedly that he did everything he needed to do to claim his victory in this headliner event. However, with the judges left to make the decision, they simply did not agree with his assessment.

When pushed for a response, White was unwilling to reveal his opinion on who he thought actually claimed the UFC 150 victory, except to say he believed they were both even just before the final round. At that point, he announced that Nate Diaz would step up as the next contender in a title bout against Henderson. As for Frankie, only time will tell if he makes a decision to drop the featherweight, a position that might be better suited for a win.       

Doping Test Brings Controversy for UFC 152

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BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald were both approached by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) to participate in testing before their fight, according to an article in MMA Torch. While both of them agreed to go ahead and participate in the program, one of the procedures of the program has now raised the ire of Penn, who is quoted in the article as feeling like the policies of the VADA are putting the fight in danger.

Penn wanted the results of the test withheld until the fight was over, according to the article. THE VADA, however, wants to have the results released before the fight, which Penn says puts the fight in danger of not happening at all. Citing the tremendous amout of training the fighters engage in pre-fight and the millions that are required to market an MMA event, Penn claims that the policy of VADA is unacceptable.

How determined is Penn to have the results released post-fight? So determined that he has already said that he would pay for all of the testing if VADA would concede to his demand.

Doping and Controversy

MMA has had its share of issues with steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, as have other sports. The VADA is likely to not back down on the requirement that the results be released before the fight, according to analysts, as the point of the program is to disqualify athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs.

MacDonald and Penn, according to the article, hashed out the idea on Twitter and decided that they'd go ahead and participate in the VADA testing before UFC 152. At present, however, Penn seems adamant—to the point of offering his own money to cover the testing—to have the results released after the fight. VADA, however, will not withhold the results of its testing once it has performed them, according to the same article.