Former IFL Heavyweight Champion and Ultimate Fighter 10 winner Roy "Big Country" Nelson gets his chance to solidify himself in the promotion's Heavyweight division with a victory over Junior dos Santos in the co-main event of the upcoming UFC 117 event on August 7th in Oakland, CA with a future title shot on the line. Nelson has won both of his Octagon appearances against Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve and has earned two straight Knockout of the Night bonuses.
Unfortunately for Nelson, dos Santos is just as powerful and just as deadly on the feet with a 5-0 mark inside the Octagon that has seen "Geronimo" score four TKO's and one verbal submission. Nelson spoke to
UFC.com about how this titanic Heavyweight tussle came about and how he was basically the last option when it came to finding a fight for the Brazilian slugger;
"Anybody that actually follows the sport who actually knows my style and knows what I can do doesn’t underestimate me. I may not be a Greek god, or what people think a fighter looks like, but I’m definitely a fighter. Dos Santos is the pinnacle of guys in the UFC. He’s the number one contender for sure in the heavyweight division. Nobody wants to fight him in the UFC, hence why I’m here fighting him. I pretty much got an email from Joe Silva asking if I wanted to…actually, not even asking me if I wanted to, but telling me that I was fighting Dos Santos next, and here I am."
Nelson and dos Santos have a combined seven submissions and sixteen TKO's in their twenty-six career victories, meaning that this one is likely not making it to the judges' scorecards. When you add in the high stakes of a number one challenger spot for the winner, it makes it seem next to impossible that this one will go the full fifteen.
