Roy Nelson Still Confident About His Contract Ahead Of UFC 161

We’re just two days away from the UFC 161 Pay-Per-View event, live from Winnipeg, Manitoba, as the struggling UFC Bantamweight division has left us without a title fight, and instead with a co-main event that features Rashad Evans taking on Dan Henderson and “Big Country” Roy Nelson facing “Michael” Stipe Miocic. the biggest news involving UFC 161 is the contract situation of Nelson, as he wants to be paid significantly more than the $24,000 base amount that he currently receives just for showing up. Big Country’s contract is up after this fight, and the popular assumption is that UFC President Dana White stuck the No. 5-ranked heavyweight in this meaningless match because he refused to sign the extension that the UFC offered.
That, of course, led to White dubbing Nelson “the smartest guy on Earth” and a “f*cking genius”, which Nelson took as a compliment. Yesterday, Nelson also admitted that he thinks Dana White doesn’t like him for an equally flattering reason.

“I think he’s star-struck,” Nelson (19-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who has been criticized by White for everything from his ragged, everyman appearance to his negotiating tactics, told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
“Some people get flustered when a bigger star is in the room.”