Huntsville-born UFC fighter Kyle “The Monster” Nelson is back in the octagon next month.
He’ll go up against fellow featherweight Fernando “El Valiente” Padilla in Las Vegas on Sept. 16.
“I’m excited. I was in Vegas last week and I got to train with one of his former opponents, who’s also a little bit taller,” says Nelson. “He gave me some insights as to how their fight went, what he did to prepare for the fight, and all of that stuff. So, I definitely am pretty confident going into this one.”
Nelson says Padilla uses more of a boxing style, to take advantage of his height and reach advantage, focusing on chokes and armbars on the ground. However, he says he’s got a bit of an edge over Padilla when it comes to frame and muscle mass.
“I’m more of a kickboxer, a little more well-rounded on the feet,” says Nelson. “I like to mix in the knees, the elbows, the kicks and all that. So I think that’ll help me win the standup. If we do get to the ground, I’m basically at a black belt level now in jiu-jitsu, so my submission defense and all that is high-level. But I think my wrestling is going to be a fair bit better than his.”
Going into the fight, Padilla is on a three-match winning streak, but Nelson is coming off a unanimous-decision win against previously undefeated Blake “El Animal” Bilder in June.
In the leadup to the fight, Nelson says he’s ramping up training by doing two MMA sessions six days a week, on top of an hour of cardio per day and significant dieting to make the weigh-in on Sept. 15.
He says that he’s grateful for all the encouragement he’s gotten from people and businesses back home, adding that North Bay’s New Ontario Brewing Co. will soon be releasing a beer with his face on it.
“I love the support and all the messages I’m getting,” says Nelson. “Looking forward to bringing home another win for Huntsville, and for Canada.”
