Former International Fighting League Heavyweight Champion Roy “Big Country” Nelson is a grizzled MMA veteran who is looking to earn a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. Nelson made a lasting impression of MMA fans during his time on the UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter.” Nelson defeated all of his opponents on the show, including a memorable one punch knockout over Brenden Schaub to earn the six figure contract. During his next UFC bout, Nelson defeated tough, up and coming Dutchman Stefan Struve. The Las Vegas, Nevada native suffered a disappointing unanimous decision loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 117 in his third fight however. He has since put the loss behind him, and he is now looking for a win that will bring him one step closer to accomplishing his goal of becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Nelson is a unique fighter who trains out of his house in Las Vegas. The untraditional approach has brought him much success however, and he said that he does not have plans to change his training method.

“I’m still training out of my house,” said Nelson. “I occasionally go to a couple gyms to get some sparring in and whatnot.”

Since his departure from the IFL in 2008, Nelson has been looking for similar success in the UFC. Nelson is no stranger to tough competition. He said that the competition in both organizations has been equally tough.

“Competition wise, I’d say that they’re roughly the same. You could probably go a little bit deeper in the UFC just because they have bigger dollars. I say about fifty percent of the talent that came from the IFL is still in the UFC.”

The seasoned and experienced Nelson won “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2009, and he said that the opportunity to fight on the show was a part of his strategic plan to get into the UFC.

“Pretty much going on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ show was like a PR stunt; a PR stunt that worked out in my favor. It was my way of introducing myself to the UFC fans faster than competing ten times in the UFC.”

Nelson was undefeated in two fights in the UFC until he crossed paths with UFC heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos. Although Nelson put forward a valiant effort, he came up short and endured his first UFC loss.

“I think that there were a couple of opportunities that I didn’t capitalize on because I thought they were going to come back around. Next time I’m also going to try to be a little bit healthier. Basically I needed to punch him more than he punched me. I just needed to throw more combinations. Every time I threw one shot he threw a few. Anytime that I threw two shots he wouldn’t throw anymore. I knew I was doing OK when I turned a striker into a wrestler.”

Nelson is scheduled to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir at UFC 130. Although his division rival, Shane Carwin, requested to fight Nelson, he opted to take another route in hopes of getting the UFC Heavyweight gold.

“Normally it wouldn’t make a difference, but I’d say that Frank’s more of a legend in the UFC compared to Carwin. Plus he’s coming off of a win.”

“I’ll fight him (Carwin), but if it’s not for the belt or anything… there are a couple other fights that I would want. I would like to fight Nogueira. I would like to fight Brock. I would like to fight Velasquez because he has the belt. If dos Santos has the belt by the time I get around to it then I would like to fight dos Santos again. My ultimate goal is to beat whoever is in front of me. I’ll fight McCorkle if I have to; to get to the belt. I don’t really care.”

“I’m not fighting for money. I need to fight for the belt. I have a short amount of time, and I just need to get there. Once I get there then I can dictate everything else.”

Nelson said that he will return to his roots to prepare for his upcoming fight against Mir.

“You know, I’m actually going back to what made me IFL champion. I’m not going to prepare for anybody special. I’m going to be the best that I can be at anything. Then, if you’re better than me, then you’re better than me. I can live with that.”

“Right now fighting is purely to get to the belt. I’d like to become a millionaire one day. There are some other aspirations, but the main thing is to focus, and get to where I need to go. Whoever I have to beat up to get there, then I’m more than happy to do that.”

Nelson is determined, tough, and experienced which makes him a serious threat to anyone that faces him. Although he has only been in the UFC for a short amount of time, Nelson believes that he has a short window to achieve his goal to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. He will be looking to get one step closer to that goal when he faces Frank Mir at UFC 130.