The UFC has confirmed a heavyweight fight between Roy Nelson and Alistair Overeem will be on the March 14 UFC 185 card scheduled for Dallas, Texas.
Incredibly, the UFC seems to be sticking by Alistair Overeem, who will probably be a favorite when this line opens. Overeem won his last outing in mid-December, taking out Stefan Struve in the opening round of their fight. Prior to that, he had lost to Ben Rothwell and that was coming off an unimpressive win over Frank Mir. For Overeem, Nelson fits the bill for the type of fighter he has been beating.
Nelson has been slowing down, and it has shown over his last few outings. His last fight is memorable as it was a slug fest with Mark Hunt that saw him KO’d for the first time in his career. Hunt is a brutal striker, but he is not known for his speed, and Nelson was still a step behind. The more than six months of down time Nelson is getting may help him be fresher. Prior to the Hunt fight, he knocked out the equally old Antonio Noguiera, but prior to that he had dropped two in a row against Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic. In both of those fights, nelson was faced with a fresher body that got off first. His offense was slow and never materialized.
For all of Overeem’s deserved criticism, he should be able to outpace Nelson over the long haul. A big burst to try and take nelson out in the first round could be very telling. If Nelson gets taken out early, it would be a further sign of his decline. If Nelson survives the first round and Overeem tires out the output, Nelson may actually have a shot at pulling the fight out late. Though his punches have been whiffing on his opponents as of late, all he will need to dois find Overeem’s weak chin once.
Here is a video of Roy Nelson‘s full fight against Stipe Miocic, for your review. In this bout, Miocic went on to a unanimous decision win over Nelson, who appeared a step slow. This ended Nelson’s three fight winning streak. See for yourself:
