Roy Nelson says the UFC became ‘smoke and mirrors’ to him

Roy Nelson will face his first battle in the Bellator cage when he takes on Javy Ayala at Bellator 183. The heavyweight discusses his departure from the UFC, why Bellator’s structure makes more sense to him and talks about evolving his style with his head coach Brother Fareed.

Fareed also talks about how he came to work with Nelson for this fight. In preparation for Ayala, he says he isn’t trying to change what the heavyweight does in the cage. Instead, he hopes to improve his fundamentals.

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal will corner Nelson when he faces Ayala. Lawal, who has worked with Nelson throughout his career, says Ayala will have to pick which way he wants to lose. However, he isn’t predicting the fight to go the distance.

Bellator 183 will take place at the SAP Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Sept. 23.

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Contact Heidi Fang at hfang@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HeidiFang on Twitter.