Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Nelson made his professional mixed martial arts debut at a tournament on April 17, 2004. Nelson won both of his fights, winning the Rage on the River Heavyweight Tournament. Nelson compiled a record of 6–1 before being signed by the IFL.
IFL
As a member of Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den,[12] Nelson was asked to become a member of the IFL's Nevada Lions in 2007, and made his promotional debut at IFL: Oakland on January 19, 2007, against veteran Vince Lucero. Nelson won via TKO in the first round.
In the 2007 IFL World Grand Prix, Nelson became the Heavyweight Champion,[13] defeating Antoine Jaoude on December 29, 2007. Nelson successfully defended his title twice, before the IFL ceased operations.
Post-IFL
After the IFL ceased operations Nelson took a fight with EliteXC on 10 days' notice against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Roy Nelson lost via KO in the second round; however, controversy broke out over Nelson being stood up by the referee in the first round from side control, while staying active and working on a kimura.[14][15]
He then went on to fight for Roy Jones Jr.'s Square Ring Promotions against Jeff Monson. This fight also ended in a controversial loss for Nelson. According to the TV commentators and most MMA media, Nelson won the bout. However, Monson was awarded a unanimous decision.[16][17]
The Ultimate Fighter
Nelson was one of the sixteen fighters in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.[18] He provided commentary on the show for multiple websites, including weekly Q&A sessions about each individual episode for USA Today's Fighting Stances[19] and a blog for SpikeTV.com.[20]
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.[21] The broadcast was the highest rated MMA show in U.S. history with a 3.7 rating. The fight itself had 6 million viewers.[22]
In the quarterfinals, Nelson defeated Justin Wren in a two-round majority decision. In the semi-finals, Nelson defeated James McSweeney via strikes in the first round again utilizing the crucifix position. He defeated Brendan Schaub at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale to become the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights. In the finale, Nelson knocked out Schaub at 3:45 into the first round with a right hook to Schaub's left temple and then hit Schaub on the ground with one punch to the face before the referee pulled Nelson off Schaub. With the win, Nelson earned a six-figure contract with the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Nelson was scheduled to fight Cheick Kongo, though the bout was cancelled after Kongo withdrew.[23] Nelson instead faced Junior dos Santos at UFC 117[24] in a bout to determine the #1 contender (after Cain Velasquez) to the UFC Heavyweight Championship.[25] Nelson lost by unanimous decision, but was able to withstand the varied attacks of dos Santos, as he was becoming the first man to take dos Santos to a decision.[26] Nelson was scheduled to face Shane Carwin at UFC 125.[27] Carwin, however, had to pull out of the fight due to a back injury. Nelson was pulled off the card altogether.[28]
On November 14, 2010, UFC President Dana White announced that Nelson's UFC career would be on hold due to Nelson being contractually bound to another fight promotion. White declined to specifically name the promotion, but sources close to Nelson confirmed that Roy Jones Jr.'s Square Ring Promotions claimed to have Nelson tied down.[29] 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 faced Frank Mir on May 28, 2011, at UFC 130 and lost by unanimous decision. UFC president Dana White criticized Nelson's performance after the fight for Nelson's lack of conditioning. Nelson blamed a bout with the flu for his poor performance.[31] Nelson indicated that he has plans of cutting weight and fighting in the light heavyweight division at some point in the future.[32]
Nelson faced Mirko Cro Cop on October 29, 2011, at UFC 137 and won by TKO in the third round.[33]
Nelson next fought the returning Fabrício Werdum at UFC 143 on February 4, 2012.[34] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. The back and forth action earned Fight of the Night honors.
Nelson was scheduled to face Antônio Silva on May 26, 2012, at UFC 146, but Silva was moved up to fight Cain Velasquez.[35] Nelson was then briefly expected to face Gabriel Gonzaga.[36] However, Gonzaga himself was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Dave Herman,[37] who Nelson knocked out in 51 seconds. He earned Knockout of the Night honors due to his performance. Joe Rogan said on the live broadcast that "When Herman sat down on his ass, he had no idea where he was".[38]
It was announced on July 12, 2012, that Nelson would be coaching on the show, The Ultimate Fighter, against fellow heavyweight Shane Carwin,[39] with the two expected to face each other on December 15, 2012, at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale.[40] On November 14, it was announced that Shane Carwin injured his knee and wouldn't be able to fight. On November 15, it was reported that Nelson would face Matt Mitrione at the TUF 16 Finale.[41] Nelson defeated Mitrione via first-round TKO.
Nelson faced Cheick Kongo on April 27, 2013, at UFC 159.[42] Nelson won the fight by knockout at 2:03 of the first round. The win also won him his fourth Knockout of the Night bonus award.
Nelson faced Stipe Miocic on June 15, 2013, at UFC 161.[43] Miocic defeated Nelson via unanimous decision. There was speculation about his MMA future because his contract was expiring, but Nelson renewed it soon after.
Nelson faced Daniel Cormier on October 19, 2013, at UFC 166.[44] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Nelson faced Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on April 11, 2014, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 39.[45] After dropping Nogueira several times with punches in the first round, Nelson finished the fight via knockout with an overhand right.[46][47] The win also earned Nelson his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[48] Nelson broke his right hand during the fight for which he required surgery in order to repair.[49]
Nelson next faced Mark Hunt on September 20, 2014, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 52.[50] Nelson lost the fight via knockout in the second round. It was his first loss by knockout and his first finished fight outside round 1 in a scheduled 5-round fight.
Nelson faced Alistair Overeem on March 14, 2015, at UFC 185.[51] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
After working as a coach on Road to UFC Japan, Nelson faced Josh Barnett on September 27, 2015, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 75.[52] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Nelson faced Jared Rosholt on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82.[53] He won the fight by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28).[54]
Nelson faced Derrick Lewis on July 7, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 90[55] Even though breaking his personal record of most takedowns in a fight with 7, Nelson lost via split decision.[56]
Nelson faced Antônio Silva on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95.[57] He won the fight by knockout in the second round.[58] After the fight, out of frustration with what he thought was a late stoppage, Nelson push-kicked referee John McCarthy.[59]
Nelson faced Alexander Volkov on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24.[60] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[61]
Bellator MMA
In May 2017, it was announced that Nelson's contract with the UFC had expired in April[62] and that he had a signed multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.[63]
In his debut Nelson faced Javy Ayala at Bellator 183 on September 23, 2017.[64] He won the fight by unanimous decision in what was his first non-UFC related match in nearly 8 years.[62]
Nelson faced Matt Mitrione in the quarterfinal round of the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament at Bellator 194 on February 16, 2018.[65] He lost the fight via majority decision.[66]
Nelson was expected to face Mirko Cro Cop in a rematch at Bellator 200 on May 25, 2018. However, the bout was scrapped during the week leading up to the event as Cro Cop pulled out of the fight citing an injury.[67]
Nelson faced Sergei Kharitonov in the Bellator 207 co-main event on October 12, 2018.[68] He lost the fight via knockout in round one.[69]
The rematch against Mirko Cro Cop eventually took place on February 16, 2019, at Bellator 216.[70] Nelson lost the fight by unanimous decision.[71]
Nelson faced Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 244 on August 21, 2020.[72] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[73]
On October 27, 2020, it was revealed that Nelson had been released from his Bellator MMA contract.[74]
Gamebred Fighting Championship
Nelson headlined Gamebred FC 4 in a bare-knuckle MMA bout against Dillon Cleckler on May 5, 2023.[75] He won the fight via knockout in round one.[76]
Nelson faced former BKFC Heavyweight Champion and UFC veteran Alan Belcher for inaugural Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweight Championship at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 6 November 10, 2023.[77] He lost the fight via split decision.[78]
