Kyle “The Monster” Nelson – “The UFC only calls once”
After an unsuccessful debut, Kyle Nelson returns to the UFC and this time with more than three days to prepare.
In December 2018 at UFC 231, Kyle “The Monster” Nelson from Huntsville, Ontario, made his long-awaited debut in the UFC. Nelson received a phone call requesting him to compete at the event just three days prior. Before even knowing who the fight was against and being asked to fight at a higher weight class, Nelson did not hesitate to accept.
Nelson recently appeared on MMA Power Hour show on FITE TV for an interview with Colin Crandall. When asked if he had any hesitation in accepting the bout Nelson replied, “The UFC only calls once, if you say no that’s kind of it so I jumped on the opportunity.”
Unfortunately, Nelson was unsuccessful in his matchup but displayed incredible skill and athletism. Demonstrating constant forward pressure proved nerves were not an issue for “The Monster.” His opponent, Carlos Diego Ferreira, displayed his superior ground game finishing the fight via TKO. After witnessing this fight, I am not surprised Nelson received another opportunity.
On May 4, Nelson will take on Max Sayles in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and with the event only being a two hour drive away, Nelson will surely be the fan favorite.
During his interview on MMA Power Hour, Nelson was asked what he knows about his opponent and does he watch any pre-recorded tapes in preparation?
“I have watched some tape on him. I also let my coaches watch some tape on him and the rest of the team, so we build the game plan around that. He has fought on the Contender Series and one fight in the UFC so there’s a bit of footage on him. We know he trains with Dominick Cruz and those guys so we know the style of gym he’s coming from and from the footage that we have seen we can make up a pretty good game plan” Nelson confidently replied.
This time, Nelson will be competing at his preferred weight class with a full training camp behind him.
He began his combat sport career at a relatively young age. When asked how he initially became interested in competing, Nelson explained how when he was five years old, he saw a film called “Rocky” and ever since then he was inspired to be a boxer. Due to Nelson living in a small town in Canada, the options for boxing clubs were sadly very scarce. He explained that when he was 14 years old he actively began looking for boxing gyms, however, he eventually found a small gym training Kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu.
Nelson began training both disciplines the gym had to offer and during this time, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 was airing on local television. He explained how he had never heard of the UFC or MMA but figured what he witnessed was vey similar to what he was currently training.
He decided after watching the TUF series that MMA is what he wanted to do.
At the age of 19, Nelson fought as an amateur, eventually turning pro at 20 years old.
Canada has provided some of the greatest MMA fighter of all time such as the Ryan Jimmo, Georges St-Pierre and Rory Macdonald. With an incredible attitude towards training and his opponents, Kyle Nelson has the potential to follow in the footsteps of his fellow Canadians.
Watch Full Interview Below:
