Win-loss record. Social media presence. Ticket sales. Personality.
These are just some of the variables that the Ultimate Fighting Championship takes into consideration when evaluating up-and-coming fighters, all part of a mysterious formula that determines when and to whom they offer new contracts. It can be a daunting and discouraging prospect for the young men and women looking to compete in the largest and most recognized mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in the world, waiting for a call that might never come.
So Kyle Nelson decided to send a message of his own.
“It’s time!” Nelson yelled into the microphone after his most recent fight, a first-round knockout at the BTC 1 promotion in Toronto last month. “It’s time to get the Monster in that cage, so he can start dropping those UFC bums like that!”
A brazen statement, and perhaps a little out of character for the typically quiet Huntsville man who usually lets his fighting do the talking for him, but it’s not one he regrets.
“It was the heat of the moment, I had a lot of adrenaline going from winning the fight so fast,” said Nelson afterwards. “I had 1,500 people chanting ‘UFC’, and with so many friends and family and fans in the crowd, I got a little riled up. But I believe everything I said, and I do feel that it is time, it’s time that the UFC has taken notice and hopefully this sends the message.”
The fight went exactly as planned according to The Monster, who recorded the knockout via punches over opponent Khama Worthy a mere 1:03 into the first round for his fifth straight victory. With his professional record improving to 11-1, and several important wins coming against recognizable opponents in the MMA circuit, Nelson’s name is firmly in the conversation as one of the best – if not the best – featherweights in the country.
“I’d say they’re right,” Nelson said simply of the label as Canada’s top 145-pound fighter.
Things have been going his way since defeating fellow Canadian Justin Bourgeois by knockout in the Elite 1 MMA promotion ‘Meltdown’ in New Brunswick. It was a bounce back win for Nelson, who was coming off his only professional loss after he moved up a weight class for a short notice fight against Adrian Hadribeaj. While the defeat marred an otherwise perfect professional fighting record, Nelson was able to learn and grow from the experience.
“It educated me on some of the finer points fighting, obviously not to go up a weight class and fight somebody else in their hometown, and just to be a little bit smarter about taking silly fights,” said Nelson. “Adrian normally fights at 170 pounds and came down, then he missed weight. There were a lot of signs that told me I probably shouldn’t have taken the fight but I wanted to fight anyways so I went in and did it. I definitely learned from that.”
Nelson, who trains at House of Champions in Hamilton and Para Bellum in Oakville when he’s not at 24 Hour Fitness in Huntsville, hasn’t lost a fight since.
Despite having the momentum once again firmly in his favour, the Huntsville native is taking a cautious approach to the idea of being included on the UFC’s next Canadian card, UFC 216 in Edmonton this September. The event already features a featherweight bout between Canadian Gavin Tucker and Rick Glenn, which could have Nelson waiting in the wings for a call up should either fighter drop out prior to the match. That being said, Nelson remembers all too well the disappointment of not being included in the promotion’s last venture into Canadian territory, UFC 206 in December 2016.
“I thought back when UFC was coming to Toronto was my best shot and nothing came of that,” he recalls. “It’s so up in the air, but at least with another ’45-pound fight on the card if one of them gets injured I assume I would be the next in line. But you never know what the UFC has got in mind.”
MMA commentator and analyst Robin Black echoed the sentiment to Sportsnet reporter James Lynch after the BTC 1 fight, when asked if Nelson’s next fight should be in the UFC.
“It should be. Nelson is one of these guys, I’ve see him at the gym for years and he’s always very good, but on fight night, he’s ultra-good. He’s a game day performer,” said Black.
“I did text Sean Shelby and said, ‘Dude, he just won again in the first round,’” Black continued, referring to the current UFC matchmaker in charge of setting up the promotion’s fight cards. “If I’m Sean Shelby, I’m signing him. But there’s a million moving parts. Should Kyle Nelson fight in the UFC next? Yes, he should. Will he? I don’t know, man, there’s a lot of things going on. If he doesn’t get a call in the next two months he can go and knock out another guy and he’ll be there soon enough.”
Nelson disclosed his manager has also been in contact with the UFC matchmaker for several months, sending footage of his fights with every victory The Monster records. But until that call comes, Nelson is going to continue focusing on the other elements of the equation: training and looking for additional opportunities to showcase his skill-set, growing his social media accounts, and doing what he does best – knocking people out.
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