Roy Nelson's Contract Issues Affect Brock Lesnar's Octagon Return

Everyone is sick of the idea that Lesnar and Frank Mir III may face off for the third time in Lesnar's seven-fight career and Mir's last six fights. Having half of the UFC's two top-tier heavyweights' recent fights be against each other doesn't say much about the UFC heavyweight division, doesn't say much about Frank Mir III, and it doesn't say much about Brock Lesnar.

A third match between the two may be warranted in due time, but now is not that time. Brock Lesnar is coming off a devastating loss to current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, and after the poor display of striking defense by Lesnar, fans want to see Lesnar come back against a guy who can hit hard and stay on his feet.

As for Frank Mir III, Frank knocked Mirko Cro Cop out in one of the more uneventful fights of 2010. Frank Mir III doesn't deserve a big draw main event after his performance in that fight.

Judging by his inability to bring Cro Cop into his zone, which is on the ground, it looks like Frank will have to work hard on his wrestling before facing Lesnar again. If Frank Mir III comes into a Lesnar fight with the wrestling he has showcased in the past, fans could probably expect to see a repeat of UFC 100.

Dana White has been paying attention to his twitter account and addresses it in his conversation with mmajunkie.com.

"People have been saying on my Twitter that they're not happy with that fight, It's something I need to rethink."

This was Dana's response to being asked about the possibility of a Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir III Round Three. Despite tossing the idea of that fight up in the air this past Friday at the UFC 122 Q&A session, it looks as if the UFC president may have other plans.

Frank Mir needs another win, and he'd better do it soon in dominating fashion. The fight that makes the most sense for Frank right now is a rematch with Antonio Nogueira or a match against current up-and-comer Brendan Schaub.

Even Frank Mir III himself feels the rematch with Brock Lesnar is probably premature.

“Right now I’m coming off a win of Mirko, I would maybe like to see me get another win and Brock himself redeem himself, so that way it’s more relevant to the division. Not just having the third fight for the sake of having the third fight. But having it to where it actually has some substance so that whoever wins will position themselves for a title shot. I think it has a lot more meaning that way.”

                 -Frank Mir III, MMASucka.com.

The fight many fans have been calling for is Brock Lesnar against Ultimate Fighter winner and mixed martial arts veteran Roy "Big Country" Nelson. Despite Roy Nelson's robustness, a Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt is in his possession, and he has displayed knockout power in his previous fights, having knocked out fellow castmate Brendan Schaub and heavyweight prospect Stefan Struve.

Nelson recently put his chin on display. Despite losing a three-round battle with the dangerous striker Junior Dos Santos, Nelson showed the world that he can take a licking and keep on ticking.

The reason Roy Nelson appears to be a good matchup for Brock Lesnar is that Roy has the striking to make Brock Lesnar work, the takedown defense to keep the fight standing and the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to compete should the fight hit the mat.

As reported by Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer, apparently Brock Lesnar even asked for a fight with Roy Nelson. But according to Dana White this past weekend, there is no truth to Brock having asked for Nelson at all.

Whether Lesnar asked for Nelson or not, Nelson may not be able to compete in the UFC for what could be a long time, due to contract issues with another organization. The new light shed on Nelson's situation might also explain why the fighter was removed completely from UFC 125 after his opponent Shane Carwin dropped out.

According to Dana White, Roy Nelson signed a bad contract for himself. White wasn't eager to let out too many details, but he did have the following to say to mmafighting.com,

"These guys go out and sign with these rinky-dink little promotion companies and sign these bad contracts, and let's just say Roy Nelson is involved in a bad contract right now that he had before, There's a couple of different organizations out there that do it."

Dana White isn't one to mince his words when talking about other promotions, and he certainly didn't hold back when talking with mmafighting.com. White went on to say the following about Nelson's contract with another promotion,

"There's organizations that are locking these guys up to the old-school boxing contracts, The contracts that King and those guys were doing back in the 60s, 70s and 80s where they have options on top of their options – so your contract never ends with these guys."

White continued, lashing out at the internet media and bloggers who are quick to defend the smaller promotions and attack the UFC,

"These are the kinds of contracts that some of these guys are signing in these other organizations out there that some of these MMA websites go, 'Oh, stick up for these guys, they're the small guys.' The small guys are the guys that are really [expletive] the fighters."

Some fans may be wondering whether or not to take White's statements to heart or not, but Roy Nelson's statements on twitter didn't point to anything different.

"Trying to do some non-MMA related work just in case this fighting stuff doesn't work out," he wrote on Nov. 12.

"I need to start the James [Toney] thing, just pick fights, and then get paid then have the IRS looking to my independent contract status."

For all intents and purposes, it looks like Roy Nelson may be out and out for a while.

What does this mean for Brock Lesnar? Who will Brock Lesnar fight next?

There aren't too many options out there. The best matchup would probably be the Shane Carwin rematch. Unfortunately, Carwin is rehabbing after necessary back surgery that pulled him from UFC 125. Carwin could be back as early as March, but it really is indeterminate. That being said, Carwin vs. Lesnar II would be the test Brock needs and a great comeback fight for Carwin.

With Carwin out, the only other option for Lesnar that might make sense is former Ultimate Fighter winner Brendan Schaub. Schaub has good hands and is well rounded. He has also displayed the ability to get up from under an enormous and powerful man, when he defeated Marcus Jones on the Ultimate Fighter.

It is a risky fight for Lesnar, and at the same time, a baptism by fire for Brendan Schaub. In any case, it would be a test for both fighters.

Other options would be Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio Nogueira, both of whom are on the backside of their careers. Cro Cop has the hand speed and striking prowess to test Lesnar and the takedown defense to possibly keep the fight standing.

The problem with this fight is that Cro Cop doesn't really merit a fight of this level after his display against Frank Mir III, and there is probably too much to lose for Lesnar in a fight with Cro Cop. A fight with Nogueira poses much the same issues as a fight with Cro Cop—a lot to lose and not much upside.

On the other hand, Brock Lesnar still has that six-month medical suspension to deal with, pending medical clearance. If Brock has to serve this suspension out, a lot of guys who are down in the division right now might be available for Brock's comeback in the octagon.

Maybe Brock should take the full six months to work on that striking defense and tune up his game, so that he can come back better than ever against a worthy opponent.