The last time he got in the octagon he had four days to get ready.
May 4th in Ottawa, Kyle Nelson of Huntsville will have had a few months to prepare for his next step up the UFC ladder. He takes on 7-2 Matt Sayles at the Canadian Tire Centre as part of his four-fight deal with the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promoter.
Nelson, nicknamed The Monster, lost his first fight on December 8th as a short notice fill in for UFC 231 in Toronto, but caught the eye of matchmakers. This will be his first shot since the second round loss to Brazil’s Carlos Diego Ferreira. He now has a record of 12-2 and admits it was not the best way to begin his climb through the UFC ranks, but it did pay off in the end.
“I can’t imagine a worse scenario especially for my first fight in the UFC,” he chuckles. “Going in and getting it done and impressing the UFC and the matchmakers and some of the fans. It wasn’t all for nothing and then we got a second fight out of that.”
He has been training since the December fight, having to wait out a 30-day medical suspension all fighters must go through post-fight. He has gotten down to his ideal weight of 145 pounds and more importantly, he has shed a couple of part-time jobs. He was working overnights at Home Depot and driving a school bus to help pay for his training.
“It’s not like what some NHL players are getting paid but it’s enough to get me by to the next fight camp. As long as I can fight regularly then I’ll be fine,” he says confidently.
“It can be pretty expensive with travel and a lot of the supplements I have to take,” Nelson explains.” And nutrition, training gear and extra medical costs for injuries and different things.”
He does have some local professional help in his corner designing a diet and workout routine that makes for a lot less cutting of weight approaching a fight.
“One of my sponsors is The Sport Lab in Huntsville,” Nelson says proudly. “They basically do all the science for it. Before when I did it and how some other fighters do it. There isn’t really a science to it. You just don’t eat a lot of food. And you try and sweat it out. You run lots and you kind of do it. It’s almost like torture.
“But now we have a really good system set up where I can still eat lots of food. We just time it specifically towards my workouts so we make sure we burn off all the food.”
He tells a story of his early days in fighting where he had to cut 40 pounds in two weeks, going from 183 pounds to 145.
“I don’t think anyone would recommend it that’s for sure,” Nelson says with a laugh.
You can tell in a conversation with him, that being in the UFC stable has changed his life quite a bit.
“Now that I am a little more experienced my weight doesn’t bounce up and down that much anymore,” Nelson explains. “I’m a little bit more professional about it now that I am in the UFC. I don’t have to work as many side jobs so I can put a little more time and effort into staying in shape and into my diet and stuff like that.”
He is off to Las Vegas at the end of the month for a solid month of training at the UFC Fight Institute.
The 27-year-old knows how important this next fight is for his future.
“With this fight getting this win is going to really catapult me up into getting some better air time for my next fights,” he says.