The winner of the 10th season of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, in the first fight on the show, Roy competed against the popular street fighter Kimbo Slice, whom he defeated. He also managed to defeat another equally popular fighter, Brandon Schaub, in the final of the program. It was after winning TUF that he began his UFC career. Nelson began training in mixed martial arts by training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie, in which he received a black belt. Big Country's overall record in mixed martial arts is 24 fights, 17 wins and 7 losses.
Roy Nelson | |
File:130633991.jpg | |
general information | |
Full name | Roy Nelson |
Nickname | Big Hillbilly Big Country) |
Citizenship | USA |
date birth |
June 20 ( 1976-06-20 ) (36 years) |
Place birth |
Las Vegas, USA |
Height | 183 cm |
Weight category |
115 kg |
Arm span | 185 cm |
Career | 2000 - present |
Team | Country Club |
Style | Kung Fu, Karate, BJJ |
Ranks | Black belt in BJJ |
Mixed martial arts statistics | |
Boev | 24 |
Victory | 17 |
knockout | 10 |
painful | 5 |
decision | 2 |
Defeats | 7 |
knockout | 1 |
decision | 6 |
Other information |
UFC career
Currently, Roy competes in the most popular MMA organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he has a record (4-3). He won his first victory in the finale of the TUF show by knocking out Brandon Schaub, the second victory over the giant Stefan Struve whom he knocked out at 4:21 in the first round, the third over the legendary fighter and Pride Openweight Grand Prix champion Mirko Cro Cop and the fourth victory over Dave Herman for which he received the "Best Knockout of the Night" award
Despite the fact that Roy has won only 2 of his last 5 fights in the UFC, he has a reputation as a good fighter with a knockout punch. Note that he lost not to newcomers, but to such fighters as Frank Mir, Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum
Nelson's next opponent at UFC 146 was supposed to be an athlete who managed to defeat a very famous fighter, but due to the fact that Alistair Overeem was caught doping, the fight card of the tournament had to be changed and Dave Herman became Roy's opponent and in the fifty-first second of the first round the fight ended in a knockout in favor of Nelson. Joe Rogan later stated on live television that when Herman stood up, he had no idea where he was.
On July 12, 2012, it was announced that Nelson was a coach on the reality show he once won, The Ultimate Fighter, his coaching camp opponent would be Shane Carwin, and their final fight was expected on December 15, 2012 at the UFC. : The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale.
Awards and achievements
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Tournament Winner
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- Knockout of the Night (Three times)
- International Fight League
- IFL Heavyweight Championship (One time; first; last)
- IFL 2007 Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion
- Most consecutive title defenses in the Heavyweight division (2)
- Tied (Ryan Schultz) for most consecutive title defenses in the IFL (2)
- Tied (Ryan Schultz) for most title defenses in the IFL (2)
- Rage on the River
- Rage on the River Heavyweight Tournament Winner
Submission grappling
- Abu Dhabi Combat Club
- 2003 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Quarterfinalist
- Grapplers Quest
- 2003 Grapplers Quest Superfight Champion
List of fights
MMA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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16 wins(9 by knockout, 5 by submission, 2 by decision), 7 defeats
|
Want to see an unbeatable fight? An extravaganza of blows, a lot of blood, the weak legs of a fighter who stubbornly continues to move forward towards the enemy? Then check out a real US Octagon warrior named Roy Nelson.
A few facts
The holder of a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was born on June 20, 1976. Roy Nelson has the nickname Big Redneck, which easily becomes clear when a person sees his non-standard appearance for a martial artist: an unkempt beard, a beer belly, and the lack of muscles that spectators are accustomed to seeing in other athletes. By the way, despite its unpresentable appearance, the titanium of the octagon moves very briskly and is quite fast on its feet, which sometimes puts opponents into a real stupor, who perceive it a little differently, until the first blow of the American flies at them, characterized by simply crazy power and capable of depriving human consciousness for a long time.
Career
Roy Nelson began his professional journey in MMA in the leading international promotion - UFC. The fighter was the winner of the tenth season of the famous show called The Ultimate Fighter. Already in the first fight, the fighter met with the very popular street fighter Kimbo Slice and won against him. In the finals of the competition, the Las Vegas native defeated mixed martial arts star Brandon Schaub.
Best fights
The most striking fights in which Roy Nelson was able to defeat his opponents were his fight with the Dutchman Stefan Struve, whom the American knocked out in the first round. Also extravagant and good-natured in everyday life, Roy defeated Mirko Filipovic and Dave Herman. For his victory over the latter, Nelson received a bonus from the organization called “Best Knockout of the Night.”
Defeats
If we talk about losses, then the fighter Roy Nelson is the man who was second only to the most famous athletes in the world. It is also important that the American is characterized as a very persistent puncher who knows how to outperform his opponent. In all his time fighting, Nelson lost only twice by knockout. The offenders who managed to defeat him ahead of schedule were New Zealander and Belarusian Andrei Orlovsky. Roy also met with the current UFC heavyweight title holder Fabricio Werdum. Their fight ended with the Brazilian winning on points. “The Big Redneck” couldn’t cope with Alistair Overeem either.
In 2009, the favorite of the American public, who never gives up in battle, married Jessie Nelson.
A country: USA
Roy Nelson (born June 20, 1976) is an American MMA fighter who competes in the UFC heavyweight division. Has a record of 22-13. He is the winner of the 10th season of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. He was the first and last IFL Heavyweight Champion and also competed in promotions such as EliteXC and BodogFIGHT. He has victories over such fighters as Brendan Schaub, Matt Mitrione, Cheick Kongo, Stefan Struve, Mirko Croco and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Nelson was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and played wrestling, football and baseball in his youth. When Nelson was 16 years old, he began training Shaolin Kung Fu. Nelson began training in jiu-jitsu in 1999 under the guidance of UFC veteran John Lewis, and 4 years later Nelson began his career in professional MMA. For a long time, Nelson trained under the guidance of Renzo Gracie, who awarded him a black belt in August 2009. Nelson also competed at the Abu Dhabi Grappling Championships.
Nelson made his professional MMA debut in April 2004. He competed in the Rage on the River heavyweight tournament and won both of his bouts. Nelson compiled a 6-1 record before signing to the IFL. Nelson made his debut for the promotion on January 19, 2007 against MMA veteran Vince Lucero. Nelson won the fight via TKO in the first round.
At the 2007 IFL Grand Prix, Nelson defeated Antoon Joud in December to become the heavyweight champion. After this, Nelson successfully defended his title, and soon the IFL ceased to exist.
After this, Nelson signed up with EliteXC and, shortly before the tournament (10 days), agreed to a fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Nelson lost this fight by knockout in the 2nd round. This was followed by a fight with Jeff Monson, which Nelson lost by unanimous decision, although it is worth noting that this decision was quite controversial.
Nelson then became a contestant on the reality show The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, and in the finale of the show in December 2009, he knocked out Brendan Schaub, becoming the winner of that season of TUF and earning a Knockout of the Night bonus.
In March 2010, Nelson knocked out Stefan Struve, simultaneously earning a bonus for “Knockout of the Night.” Nelson lost his next two fights. He lost by decision to Junior Dos Santos and Frank Mir.
Nelson returned to the cage in October 2011 and brutally knocked out Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 137, but he lost his next fight by decision, this time to Fabricio Werdum, at UFC 143.
However, after that, Nelson won 3 fights in a row, all of his victories by knockout. The heavyweight knocked out Dave Herman, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo to earn the Knockout of the Night bonus.
This successful streak was followed by two defeats in a row. Nelson lost by decision to Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic. Nelson would return to the cage in April 2014 and spectacularly knock out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round. In September, Nelson fought Mark Hunt and lost by knockout in the second round at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson.
This was followed by two more straight decision losses to Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett. In February 2016, Nelson managed to break his losing streak and defeated Jared Rosholt by decision at UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson.
In July, the heavyweight lost a split decision to Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez, and in September at UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg in Brazil Nelson knocked out Antonio Silva in the second round. After the fight, Nelson was unhappy that the referee, in his opinion, stopped the fight late, and kicked John McCarthy. For this act, the fighter received a suspension and a fine.
History of fights
Rival | Result | Date/Tournament | A comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mirko Filipovic | Defeat | 17.02.2019 Bellator 216 - MVP vs Daley |
Decision, Round 3 5:00 | |
Sergei Kharitonov | Defeat | 13.10.2018 Bellator 207 - Mitrione vs Bader |
TKO (Technical knockout), round 1 4:59 | |
Matt Matrion | Defeat | 16.02.2018 BELLATOR 194 NELSON VS. MITRIONE |
Decision | |
Jayvee Ayala | Victory | 24.09.2017 BELLATOR 183 HENDERSON VS. FREIRE |
unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 29-28, 29-28) | |
Alexander Volkov | Defeat | 16.04.2017 UFC Fight Night: Johnson vs. Race |
unanimous decision of the judges | |
Antonio Silva | Victory | 25.09.2016 UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg |
Roy Nelson defeated Antonio Silva by KO (punches), 4:10, round 2 | |
Derrick Lewis | Defeat | 08.07.2016 UFN: Dos Anjos - Alvarez |
Split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) | |
Derrick Lewis | Defeat | 07.07.2016 UFC Fight Night 90: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez |
Split decision | |
Jared Rosholt | Victory | 06.02.2016 UFC Fight Night: Thomson vs. Hendricks |
By unanimous decision of the judges | |
Josh Barnett | Defeat | 26.09.2015 UFC Fight Night 75: Barnett vs. Nelson |
Unanimous decision of the judges P5 | |
Alistair Overeem | Defeat | 14.03.2015 UFC 185 - Pettis vs. Dos Anjos |
||
Mark Hunt | Defeat | 21.09.2014 UFC Fight Night 52 - Hunt vs. Nelson |
KO (Punch) 2 round 3:00 | |
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | Victory | 11.04.2014 UFC Fight Night 39 - Nogueira vs. Nelson |
KO (Punch) 1 round 3:37 | |
Daniel Cormier | Defeat | 19.10.2013 UFC 166 - Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3 |
Decision (Unanimous) 3 round 5:00 | |
Stipe Miocic | Defeat | 15.06.2013 |
The winner of the 10th season of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, in his first fight on the show, Roy fought against the popular street fighter Kimbo Slice, whom he defeated. He also managed to defeat another equally popular fighter, Brandon Schaub, in the final of the program. It was after winning TUF that he began his UFC career. Nelson got his start in mixed martial arts by training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie, in which he earned a black belt.
UFC career
He won his first victory in the finale of the TUF show, knocking out Brandon Schaub, the second victory over the giant Stefan Struve, whom he knocked out at 21 seconds 4 minutes in the first round, the third - over the legendary fighter and Pride Openweight Grand Prix champion Mirko Cro Cop's fourth win over Dave Herman, for which he received the "Best Knockout of the Night" award
Despite the fact that Roy has won only 2 of his last 5 fights in the UFC, he has a reputation as a good fighter with a knockout punch. He lost not to newcomers, but to such fighters as Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum
Nelson's next opponent at UFC 146 was supposed to be an athlete who managed to defeat a very famous fighter, but due to the fact that Alistair Overeem was caught for doping, the fight card of the tournament had to be changed, and Dave Herman became Roy's opponent. At the fifty-first second of the first round, the fight ended in a knockout in favor of Nelson. Joe Rogan later stated on live television that when Herman stood up, he had no idea where he was.
On July 12, 2012, it was announced that Nelson was a coach on the reality show he once won, The Ultimate Fighter. His coaching camp opponent will be Shane Carwin, and their fight in the finale of the show is expected on December 15, 2012 at UFC: The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale. Even after 4 defeats in the last 5 fights, the UFC management did not even think about dismissing Nelson from the organization. Roy was able to justify the trust placed in him by his superiors, breaking his two-match losing streak by defeating Jared Rosholt on February 7, 2016 by unanimous decision. At the next tournament under the auspices of the UFC, Roy met with an unyielding striker, Derrek Lewis, and lost by a controversial decision of the judges.
Awards and achievements
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- Knockout of the Night (Three times)
- International Fight League
- IFL Heavyweight Championship (One time; first; last)
- Most consecutive title defenses in the Heavyweight division (2)
- Tied (Ryan Schultz) for most consecutive title defenses in the IFL (2)
- Tied (Ryan Schultz) for most title defenses in the IFL (2)
- Rage on the River
- Rage on the River Heavyweight Tournament Winner
Submission grappling
- Abu Dhabi Combat Club
- 2003 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Quarterfinalist
- Grapplers Quest
- 2003 Grapplers Quest Superfight Champion
Mixed martial arts record
Professional career of a fighter (result) | ||
Fights 31 | Wins 20 | Defeats 11 |
Knockout | 14 | 2 |
By surrender | 4 | 0 |
By decision | 2 | 9 |
Result | Record | Rival | Way | Tournament | date | Round | Time | Place | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 21–12 | Jared Rosholt | Unanimous decision of the judges | UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson | 02016-02-06 February 6, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, USA | |
Loss | 20–12 | Josh Barnett | Unanimous decision of the judges | UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson | 02015-09-27 September 27, 2015 | 5 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
Loss | 20–11 | Overeem Alistair | Unanimous decision of the judges | UFC 185 | 02015-03-14 March 14, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Dallas, Texas, United States | |
Loss | 20–10 | Mark Hunt | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson | 02014-09-20 September 20, 2014 | 2 | 3:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
Win | 20–9 | Rodrigo Nogueira | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson | 02014-04-11 April 11, 2014 | 1 | 3:37 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Performance of the Night. |
Loss | 19–9 | Daniel Cormier | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 166 | 02013-10-19 October 19, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
Loss | 19–8 | Stipe Miocic | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 161 | 02013-06-15 June 15, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
Win | 19–7 | Cheick Kongo | KO (punches) | UFC 159 | 02013-04-27 April 27, 2013 | 1 | 2:03 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
Win | 18–7 | Matt Mitrione | TKO (punches) | The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale | 02012-12-15 December 15, 2012 | 1 | 2:58 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 17–7 | Dave Herman | KO (punch) | UFC 146 | 02012-05-26 May 26, 2012 | 1 | 0:51 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
Loss | 16–7 | Fabricio Werdum | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 143 | 02012-02-04 February 4, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Fight of the Night. | |
Win | 16–6 | Mirko Filipovic | TKO (punches) | UFC 137 | 02011-10-29 October 29, 2011 | 3 | 1:30 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 15–6 | Frank Mir | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 130 | 02011-05-28 May 28, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 15–5 | Junior dos Santos | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 117 | 02010-08-07 07 August 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Oakland, California, United States | |
Win | 15–4 | Stefan Struve | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi | 02010-03-31 March 31, 2010 | 1 | 0:39 | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
Win | 14–4 | Brendan Schaub | KO (punch) | The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale | 02009-12-05 December 5, 2009 | 1 | 3:45 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won the TUF 10 tournament; Knockout of the Night. |
Loss | 13–4 | Jeff Monson | Decision (unanimous) | SRP: March Badness | 02009-03-21 March 21, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Pensacola, Florida, United States | |
Loss | 13–3 | Andrey Orlovsky | KO (punch) | EliteXC: Heat | 02008-10-04 October 4, 2008 | 2 | 3:14 | Sunrise, Florida, United States | |
Win | 13–2 | Brad Imes | KO (punch) | IFL: Connecticut | 02008-05-16 May 16, 2008 | 1 | 3:55 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Defended IFL Heavyweight Championship. |
Win | 12–2 | Fabian Scherner | TKO (punches) | IFL: Las Vegas | 02008-02-29 February 29, 2008 | 1 | 3:20 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended IFL Heavyweight Championship. |
Win | 11–2 | Antoine Jaoude | KO (punch) | IFL: World Grand Prix Finals | 02007-12-29 December 29, 2007 | 2 | 0:22 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Won IFL Heavyweight Championship. |
Win | 10–2 | Bryan Vetell | TKO (punches) | IFL: World Grand Prix Semifinals | 02007-11-03 November 3, 2007 | 3 | 1:01 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | IFL 2007 Heavyweight GP Semifinal. |
Win | 9–2 | Shane Ott | Decision (unanimous) | IFL: Las Vegas | 02007-06-16 June 16, 2007 | 3 | 4:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 8–2 | Ben Rothwell | Decision (split) | IFL: Moline | 02007-04-07 April 7, 2007 | 3 | 4:00 | Moline, Illinois, United States | |
Win | 8–1 | Mario Rinaldi | TKO (punches) | BodogFIGHT: Costa Rica Combat | 02007-02-17 February 17, 2007 | 1 | 2:38 | San José, Costa Rica | |
Win | 7–1 | Vince Lucero | TKO (punches) | IFL: Oakland | 02007-01-19 January 19, 2007 | 1 | 1:55 | Oakland, California, United States | |
Loss | 6–1 | Josh Curran | Decision (unanimous) | BodogFIGHT: Clash of Nations | 02006-12-16 December 16, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
Win | 6–0 | Jerome Smith | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | FightForce: Butte Brawl 2 | 02006-07-22 July 22, 2006 | 1 | 4:13 | Butte, Montana, United States | |
Win | 5–0 | Jason Godsey | FightForce: Butte Brawl 1 | 02006-05-06 May 6, 2006 | 1 | 4:42 | Butte, Montana, United States | ||
Win | 4–0 | Michael Buchkovich | Submission (rear-naked choke) | World Extreme Fighting 17 | 02006-04-01 April 1, 2006 | 1 | 0:56 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 3–0 | Ray Seraile | Submission (punches) | PXC 3: Return of the Enforcer | 02004-08-28 August 28, 2004 | 2 | 3:41 | Mangilao, Guam | |
Win | 2–0 | Jerry Vrbanovic | Decision (split) | Rage on the River | 02004-04-17 April 17, 2004 | 3 | 3:00 | Redding, California, United States | Rage on the River Heavyweight Tournament Final. |
Win | 1–0 | Bo Cantrell | Submission (hammerlock) | Rage on the River | 02004-04-17 April 17, 2004 | 3 | 2:52 | Redding, California, United States | Rage on the River Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal. |
Mixed martial arts exhibition record
Result | Record | Rival | Way | Tournament | date | Round | Time | Place | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 3–0 |
Write a review of the article "Nelson, Roy"Excerpt characterizing Nelson, RoyPierre did not pay much attention to this redoubt. He did not know that this place would be more memorable for him than all the places in the Borodino field. Then they drove through the ravine to Semenovsky, in which the soldiers were taking away the last logs of the huts and barns. Then, downhill and uphill, they drove forward through broken rye, knocked out like hail, along a road newly laid by artillery along the ridges of arable land to the flushes [a type of fortification. (Note by L.N. Tolstoy.) ], also still being dug at that time.Bennigsen stopped at the flushes and began to look ahead at the Shevardinsky redoubt (which was ours only yesterday), on which several horsemen could be seen. The officers said that Napoleon or Murat was there. And everyone looked greedily at this bunch of horsemen. Pierre also looked there, trying to guess which of these barely visible people was Napoleon. Finally, the riders rode off the mound and disappeared. Bennigsen turned to the general who approached him and began to explain the entire position of our troops. Pierre listened to Bennigsen's words, straining all his mental strength to understand the essence of the upcoming battle, but he felt with disappointment that his mental abilities were insufficient for this. He didn't understand anything. Bennigsen stopped talking, and noticing the figure of Pierre, who was listening, he suddenly said, turning to him: – I think you’re not interested? “Oh, on the contrary, it’s very interesting,” Pierre repeated, not entirely truthfully. From the flush they drove even further to the left along a road winding through a dense, low birch forest. In the middle of it forest, a brown hare with white legs jumped out onto the road in front of them and, frightened by the clatter of a large number of horses, he was so confused that he jumped along the road in front of them for a long time, arousing everyone’s attention and laughter, and only when several voices shouted at him, he rushed to the side and disappeared into the thicket. After driving about two miles through the forest, they came to a clearing where the troops of Tuchkov’s corps, which was supposed to protect the left flank, were stationed. Here, on the extreme left flank, Bennigsen spoke a lot and passionately and made, as it seemed to Pierre, an important military order. There was a hill in front of Tuchkov’s troops. This hill was not occupied by troops. Bennigsen loudly criticized this mistake, saying that it was crazy to leave the height commanding the area unoccupied and place troops under it. Some generals expressed the same opinion. One in particular spoke with military fervor about the fact that they were put here for slaughter. Bennigsen ordered in his name to move the troops to the heights. This order on the left flank made Pierre even more doubtful of his ability to understand military affairs. Listening to Bennigsen and the generals condemning the position of the troops under the mountain, Pierre fully understood them and shared their opinion; but precisely because of this, he could not understand how the one who placed them here under the mountain could make such an obvious and gross mistake. Pierre did not know that these troops were not placed to defend the position, as Bennigsen thought, but were placed in a hidden place for an ambush, that is, in order to be unnoticed and suddenly attack the advancing enemy. Bennigsen did not know this and moved the troops forward for special reasons without telling the commander-in-chief about it. On this clear August evening on the 25th, Prince Andrei lay leaning on his arm in a broken barn in the village of Knyazkova, on the edge of his regiment’s location. Through the hole in the broken wall, he looked at a strip of thirty-year-old birch trees with their lower branches cut off running along the fence, at an arable land with stacks of oats broken on it, and at bushes through which the smoke of fires—soldiers’ kitchens—could be seen. |
Roy Nelson is an athlete whose name is widely known in the world of mixed martial arts. The fighter also enters the ring under the nickname Big Hillbilly. He competes at Bellator MMA Association competitions in the heavyweight category. Nelson has repeatedly participated in UFC, IFL, EliteXC fights and holds the title of former IFL heavyweight champion.
Roy Nelson was born in the US state of Nevada, in the city of Las Vegas, on June 20, 1976. In his youth, he loved sports and was interested not only in wrestling, but also in baseball, football, and was even a member of the Las Vegas Blackjacks. Roy played for the rugby team for 2 seasons: in 2002 and 2003.
At the age of 16, the teenager began studying Shaolin kung fu, and after some time, under the mentorship of John Lewis, a former UFC fighter, he began to practice jiu-jitsu. Roy had an objective perception of reality and his own opinion on what was happening around him. Combining training with studies, he sought to make a contribution to the life of his hometown.
In Las Vegas, it is not easy for a young man to adhere to the correct moral principles. Knowing this, Nelson volunteered and gave time and attention to troubled children after school. Unlike his peers, the athlete did not use drugs and wanted to help his neighbors, not doing it in words.
In 2003, Roy made his first appearance in the professional ring. Thus began Nelson's MMA career. In 2009, he received a black belt in jiu-jitsu from the hands of trainer Renzo Gracie.
Martial arts
Roy used the knowledge gained through jiu-jitsu in his first fights with opponents in the octagon. The athlete managed to easily defeat stronger opponents. Realizing that there are different ways to get into the UFC, Nelson chose a non-trivial path. He became a participant in the popular reality show “The Ultimate Fighter”. The organizers of the program film the training and fights of candidates for entry into the UFC, and the winner of the show becomes the owner of a contract with a promotion that has fans around the world.
Roy Nelson has repeatedly defeated his opponents in the ring. Among them was Brendan Schaub. The victories brought the athlete the status of the undisputed leader of the tournament and opened up the prospect of getting into big-time sports. Nelson's next opponent in the octagon was the Dutch fighter Stefan Struve, known under the pseudonym Skyscraper.
Strike, tactics and height Struve is a legend of the promotion, but the wrestler suffered from a lack of stamina, which Nelson did not have. The first round of the meeting ended in a knockout and victory for the young opponent.
The organizers decided to pit , the strongest of the promotion’s fighters, against the Big Villager. Roy by that time did not have time to gain a sufficient amount of skills. He could not keep up with the Brazilian, and it was not so easy to fend off strong blows. Santos emerged victorious from the fight. But this fight brought Roy the love of the audience, as the fighter managed to remain undefeated until the judges’ decision.
The next battle in which Nelson was destined to find himself in the role of a victim was a meeting with. Roy was not in the best physical shape, for which he was criticized. The athlete countered the comments with answers that he was going to lose weight to move up to the light heavyweight category. This did not happen, but victory followed defeat.
Nelson managed to wrest it away in a battle with. Fans were confident that the longtime participant in the battle would emerge victorious, but in the 3rd round Nelson knocked out his opponent and unbalanced him.
The top athlete who stood in Roy's way was Fabricio Werdum, the first fighter to defeat him, and a specialist in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Nelson was unable to hold out, but the battle was so spectacular that it turned out to be the best performance of the evening. Roy Nelson entered the top 10 of the UFC, although few believed in his ability to take the champion title.
The athlete was often put up in fights to “test” contenders for the top 10 within the heavyweight category. Those who managed to survive received a ticket to the top ten UFC heavyweights. Roy's victories in the octagon were followed by defeats. He managed to defeat Antonio Rodrigue Nogueira, Cheick Kongo, but could not resist in battle against, Josh Barnett and.
By changing promotions, Roy Nelson had a chance to show a new side of himself. Having become a Bellator fighter, he decided to take the chance and show off his updated self. The athlete’s tactics have not changed, but they often bear fruit and demonstrate effectiveness. Nelson surrounds his opponent and waits for the moment to deliver an overhead kick.
At the moment of approach, the fighter makes clear and accurate blows, the response to which he withstands without damage or injury. Only a couple of fighters managed to knock out Roy. Roy Nelson's performances are memorable due to their brightness and dynamism, but the fighter never manages to enter the top 10 best athletes in his category.
Personal life
Roy's biography is closely connected with sports, and this hobby is shared by his wife Jess Nelson. The couple has been married since 2009. The athlete is happy in his personal life, and his beloved wife supports him in training with the younger generation of athletes.
Roy loves children, so in his relationship with his son he acts like a caring father. He often publishes joint photos with his family on his personal Instagram account. He loves to share with fans touching moments of spending time with his child.
Roy Nelson now
In 2018, Roy Nelson entered the octagon against Bellator 207 and was defeated. Previously, he lost in a fight with.
The fighter continues his sports career and in February 2019 will come face to face with former rival Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic. The athlete is in competitive physical shape, although analysts, when making forecasts, do not place large bets on him.
Roy Nelson is now 183 cm tall and weighs 119 kg.
Titles and awards
- Grapplers Quest Superfight Champion
- Winner of The Ultimate Fighter tournament
- IFL Championship Heavyweight Champion
- IFL Championship Heavyweight Grand Prix Winner
- Rage on the River Heavyweight Tournament Winner