VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Kyle Nelson has experienced ups and downs in his MMA career, but right now he says he’s the highest he’s ever been.
At UFC 289 on Saturday, Nelson (14-5-1 MMA, 2-4-1 UFC) defeated Blake Bilder (8-1-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) on home soil. The post-fight feelings had never felt so good.
“I believe that’s the highlight of my career so far,” Nelson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “To be able to perform like that in front of Canadian fans and with my fiancee in my corner, I can’t think of anything better until I get that championship belt.”
Consistency is key and Nelson has realized that. He’s found a method that works for him and integrated his fiancee, Claudia, as a nutritionist. She cornered him during Saturday night’s fight.
“Staying at 145 is not a problem,” Nelson said. “It’s just if I take a year off and I’m not able to get a fight, then it’s hard for me to get back down to 145. When I stay active like this, especially my fiancee has been in my corner now and she takes care of my food for me. So before, maybe I’d go on little binges here and there. But with her in my corner, 145 is not a problem at all.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.
Kyle Nelson: UFC 289 victory was ‘the highlight of my career so far’