Roy Nelson (born June 20, 1976)[2] is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division.

[3][4][5] He holds notable victories over Mirko Cro Cop, Cheick Kongo, and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Nelson was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and attended Cimarron-Memorial High School, where he competed in wrestling, football, and baseball.

Nelson originally began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under UFC veteran John Lewis in 2000.

After seven years working as a substitute teacher and after-school program volunteer in Clark County,[7] Nelson began his own career in mixed martial arts.

Nelson has been a long-time student of Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Renzo Gracie, who granted him a black belt on August 26, 2009.

Nelson was known initially for his strong jiu-jitsu skills, having consistently won jiu-jitsu tournaments before his MMA career, conclusively beating Frank Mir, Brandon Vera, and Diego Sanchez in the same day to win a Grapplers Quest championship in 2003,[8][9] and competing at the ADCC World Championships the same year.

[10] Prior to Nelson's professional mixed martial arts career, he played rugby for the Las Vegas Blackjacks for two seasons (2002–2003).

In the 2007 IFL World Grand Prix, Nelson became the Heavyweight Champion,[12] defeating Antoine Jaoude on December 29, 2007.

After the IFL ceased operations Nelson took a fight with EliteXC on 10 days' notice against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski.

[17] He provided commentary on the show for multiple websites, including weekly Q&A sessions about each individual episode for USA Today's Fighting Stances[18] and a blog for SpikeTV.com.

[19] In his first fight of the show, Nelson defeated former street-fighter Kimbo Slice via TKO stoppage in the second round with repeated punches to the head in the crucifix position.

In the semi-finals, Nelson defeated James McSweeney via strikes in the first round again utilizing the crucifix position.

[28] Nelson stated on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that this is old news and that he is still able to fight in the UFC with no problems.

[30] Nelson indicated that he has plans of cutting weight and fighting in the light heavyweight division at some point in the future.

[31] Nelson faced Mirko Cro Cop on October 29, 2011, at UFC 137 and won by TKO in the third round.

[35] However, Gonzaga himself was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Dave Herman,[36] who Nelson knocked out in 51 seconds.

Nelson faced Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on April 11, 2014, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 39.

[44] After dropping Nogueira several times with punches in the first round, Nelson finished the fight via knockout with an overhand right.

[57] After the fight, out of frustration with what he thought was a late stoppage, Nelson push-kicked referee John McCarthy.

However, the bout was scrapped during the week leading up to the event as Cro Cop pulled out of the fight citing an injury.

[77] Despite possessing a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, later years saw Nelson develop a reputation for his powerful striking game, specifically his signature overhand-right.