Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs. Alistair Overeem
Now it should be said that I LOVE Roy Nelson. Big Country is a good fighter and a really entertaining character but this is a tough fight for him. He has an iron chin and doesn’t give up easily but sometimes it’s those same tools that leave him to take a beating. Alistair is a world class kickboxer and basically just a huge dude but he has been knocked out before and Roy is going to look to catch him with that big overhand right and put him to sleep.
Alistair is looking to use his kickboxing experience to keep the distance, and land some of those devastating kicks and knees. Also what’s up with people from the Netherlands and disco dancing? Bas Rutten is a notorious dancer and Alistair comes out to some of the same music. Seems to be working though so maybe I’ll hit up a discotek after this thing ends.
This is one of those toss-up fights where anything could happen.
Round 1
Alistair lands a Jon Jones style oblique kick to open the fight but Roy eats it and moves on. They feel each other out for a bit before Alistair lands a jumping knee to Roy's chest. They clinch for a bit and move away. Roy lands a signature big right over the top and the look in Overeem’s eyes says he knows he can’t stick around for too many of those. Overeem lands a hard right leg kick and spins Roy around with it. They’re both being careful to start. Roy throws a 1-2 jab cross over the top as Overeem backs away. Overeem lands another big jumping knee before Roy backs him to the cage. Alistair covers up really well and avoids taking damage from Roy and you can tell he worked a lot on that in camp. He circles off the cage and they exchange some more. Alistair lands a huge right kick to Roy’s knee as Roy moves forward and knocks his leg out from under him. As Roy stands, Alistair rushes in with a knee to the mid section. There’s now a huge welt on Roy’s left calf but it doesn’t seem to be bothering his movement too much right now or Roy is playing it off really well. Overeem is being selective with his shots and is landing more than he usually does. I think he learned a lot from his loss against Bigfoot.
The round ends with another left kick to Roy’s body. Alistair takes that one 10-9
Round 2
Roy has a welt on the right side of his body to start round 2 and he immediately starts to check those kicks to his left calf. They seem to have made an effect on him. He’s still moving forward looking to land that big right but Alistair is doing a good job of avoiding it so far. Alistair moves in close with what looks to have been a knee but Roy times it perfectly and lands a stiff right to the chin hurting Overeem. Alistair avoids the shots while clearing the cobwebs and recovers while throwing some more to the leg. Roy catches him in an odd angle and Alistair ducks and runs away while this Texas crowd boos in response. Alistair is mixing up his strikes well going from kicks to punches and high to low really well and is softening the body of Roy. Nelson catches Alistair against the cage again but Alistair covers up well avoiding any real damage. The last ten seconds of the fight show the same thing with Roy becoming frustrated and sinking down for a takedown as the bell rings.
Roy landed the biggest shot of the round but the accumulation from Alistair probably wins him that round 20-18.
Round 3
The third round starts with Alistair taking a few deep breaths. His conditioning has been a problem in the past but he’s also paced himself a lot better in this fight. He lands a jab as he moves back to avoid the left cross from Roy. They separate and Roy catches Alistair with a right jab again as Alistair drops his hands to throw a flying knee. This one doesn’t do the damage that the first one did but it’s gotta give Roy some confidence knowing he can land that bomb. Roy throws a kick as Alistair lands a knee right to the cup and picks Roy up off of the ground with it. Roy takes some time to recover from the unintentional low blow but Alistair got to recover as well. Alistair lands a few shots and Roy gets a good angle on him but once again Alistair ducks and runs this time trying a spinning elbow as he runs away. Dallas TX certainly doesn’t like this AT ALL. They go back to the center of the cage with Roy pressing constantly. Roy throws a jab uppercut combo that hurts Alistair and once again Alistair covers up well so Roy goes down low for a takedown. Alistair gets the underhooks and survives as they go back to the center. Roy lands another left as we pass the midway point of the third. Alistair lands a big high kick to the head and has Roy hurt but chooses to back off and go to the center of the cage. Roy is backing up now but goes for a single leg left hook combo that misses and Alistair takes off again. Roy is wincing in pain and looks to have caught a finger to the eye somewhere. Alistair resets again and lands more to the body while Roy stalks him for that right hand. Alistair gets caught again in no man’s land and takes off running to the center of the cage..this is a bit ridiculous now. The crowd is really letting him have it now. Roy lands a slow leg kick as he stalks Alistair once again. Last 30 seconds Roy throws a faint right to the body and comes over the top with a BIG left hook dropping Overeem to the canvas. He tries to finish but Alistair kicks him off and goes back to his feet covering up as Roy unloads trying to finish the fight. Alistair is covering up well and Roy drops down for a takedown with only a few seconds to go in the fight. Alistair hold on to stay on his feet and wastes the last 5 seconds before the ball rings signaling the end of the fight.
I think Roy should’ve went harder on Alistair to try to finish that fight. Alistair was hurt really badly and Roy can definitely put you out with a shot. I think he was frustrated with not being able to land early in the fight when Alistair covered up and just decided to try to get him back down to do some damage and maybe put him out. Whatever the plan was it didn’t work as the second fight goes to the judges scorecards.
All 3 judges give it to Alistair 30-27 and I agree with that one.