In a strange development in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight division, it appears Roy Nelson may not fight Daniel Cormier next after all.
Following Nelson's first-round knockout of Cheick Kongo at UFC 159 last Saturday (April 27, 2013), UFC President Dana White announced at the event's post-fight press conference (watch it here) that he was interested in setting up a fight between Nelson and Cormier, or Nelson and Mark Hunt.
Before the press conference had ended, Cormier responded to the news via Twitter, saying he would be honored to mix it up with "Big Country" in the near future. From there, it seemed like a Nelson vs. Cormier fight had made itself and the only hold-up was putting pen-to-paper on a pair of fight contracts.
That is until Ariel Helwani reported on Tuesday's (April 30, 2013) edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV that Nelson's manager, Mike Kogan, plans to advise The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 winner against taking a match up with "DC."
"I spoke to Nelson's manager, Mike Kogan, and he told me he's not interested in this fight," Helwani said in his report. "He doesn't think it makes any sense for Nelson. He wants Roy to fight either Antonio Silva if he loses to Cain Velasquez, or Junior dos Santos or Mark Hunt."
The decision can be viewed as perplexing to say the least. According to the official UFC rankings, Cormier is the No. 2-ranked contender in the heavyweight division, while Nelson sits three slots behind him at No. 5.
Dos Santos is the only fighter ranked ahead of Cormier, and on top of the fact he already handed Nelson a brutal beating at UFC 117, "Cigano" will reportedly receive a title shot with a win over Mark Hunt at UFC 160.
It wouldn't make sense for Nelson to face Antonio Silva or Hunt if they lose their respective fights, so a fight with Cormier seems like the most logical.
Nelson's management appears to think otherwise, however, most likely because of Cormier's uncertain future in the division.
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