Reiss Nelson has given a personal interview to the Arsenal fanzine, revealing his love for Mixed Martial Arts and Conor McGregor, admitting he would be open to the idea of entering into the trade at a later date.
The 17 year-old is expected to play a part in tonight’s Europa League tie in Serbia, where we will be taking on Red Star Belgrade, and he may well be set to make his first senior outing in his favoured attacking role.
Nelson has previously been fielded as a makeshift wing-back, but has been exploding onto the scene with the youth sides in a more advanced role, and many fans will be excited to see what he has to offer in is more natural position.
Despite the excitement surrounding the future star, he has given an interview giving his view on something outside his current sport, revealing his interest in MMA fighting.
“I watched the McGregor fight,” Nelson told the Arsenal Magazine. “And for the first couple of rounds I felt he was doing really well and he had Mayweather on the back foot, so I was confident that it would be a good fight and he might win, but then as the rounds went on he got pretty tired.
“I knew that from his previous UFC fights that he may tire out, like he did against Nate Diaz, and that’s what happened. Mayweather had his way in the last couple of rounds.
“I was backing McGregor all the way. I’m a really big UFC fan. I think his aura and his personality are really great. I like to watch a lot of his documentaries and his vlog, and I think he’s just come up from nothing really. He was a plumber before he became a fighter, he’s worked really hard and his story is great.
“In some ways, I look up to him as a sportsman. His work rate and the effort he puts in is immense.
“I like Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone a lot too. He’s a very good fighter, very versatile and uses a lot of kicks in his style. I really like the flying knees and all of that, but no one really does that sort of thing anymore, people tend to grapple much more, but I love that style.
“MMA is something that I may want to get into after football. I spent some time over the summer doing a lot of kickboxing and I just felt that it was something I enjoyed doing a lot.”
Would it be a shock to see a footballer move into MMA after their career? Is it strange to hear a youngster talking non-football amidst the expectations on his shoulders?
Pat J