When Should We Consider Roy Nelson a "Contender"?

by Anthony Pace on Apr 1, 2010 8:20 PM EDT in News

Roy Nelson's emphatic KO of up-and-comer Stefan Struve at Ultimate Fight Night 21 last night has caught everyone's attention, that is, if his drubbings of Brendan Schaub and Kimbo Slice hadn't. Struve was Nelson's most legitimate competition since his UFC arrival and Big Country absolutely trucked him, continuing his climb up the heavyweight ladder.

A lot of clamor is being made about a Roy Nelson-Junior dos Santos fight while the Brock Lesnar/Shane Carwin/Cain Velasquez situation sorts itself out, and I'm all for it. I think a win by either fighter solidifies their credentials for title-contention, and it sure would be a fun fight. Personally, I'd love to see Nelson at a serious, elite camp and go from there, but he's gotten by so far working out of his basement. But I'm also of the opinion that we will eventually see Nelson's named mentioned for a title shot no matter what. What do you guys think?

Poll

When should Roy Nelson be thrown in the mix for a shot at the heavyweight title?

Right now.

45 votes

After a fight with a top-fiver, like dos Santos

251 votes

He'll never seriously contend for the title.

32 votes

328 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I love the

Roy Nelson-Junior dos Santos fight. Good fight for both fighters. For Roy he can test his hands and wrestle with JDS. And for JDS we can see how far his BJJ has come. Great fight make it happen

by Erich Vowell on Apr 1, 2010 8:29 PM EDT reply actions

We need to see Roy against some stiffer competition before he can be considered a contender. Put him in with Mir or Gonzaga next, imo.

Some people are like Slinkies... not really good for anything, but you still can't
help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs...

by villin on Apr 1, 2010 8:33 PM EDT reply actions

Mir-JDS works for me. I don't know if beating Roy Nelson puts JDS closer to a title shot.

A match against Mir would works best for JDS. Roy Nelson vs Cheick Kongo or Gabriel Gonzaga is a better fit to me.

by E-ROC on Apr 1, 2010 9:35 PM EDT reply actions

I would be cool with JDS/Nelson

He needs a win like that before he can say anything about a title shot though.

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by Kelvin Hunt on Apr 1, 2010 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Considering he’s an experienced dude who’s been around for a while, he should be fast tracked to a title shot. One more win against a top 5-7 guy and he’s ready for a title shot after Carwin, Cain and JDS.

wanderlei ::: shogun ::: bj penn ::: fedor ::: mir

by cauliflower_ears on Apr 2, 2010 12:50 AM EDT reply actions

The ufc matchmakers def need to challenge him next with a step up in competition. A fight with either Mir, Congo or Nog would make sense and would be fairly easy to promote.

by Raver on Apr 2, 2010 4:32 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Roy Nelson is two and two in last four fights

Junior Dos Santos is of a different class than anyone Mr. Nelson has ever beaten – his latest victims are Gabriel Gonzaga, Mirko Filipović, Fabricio Verdum, Struve, and Gilbert Yvel – all KOs from punches. Nelson should fight a couple solid journeymen before he is tossed in as cannon fodder for Dos Santos. He should, prehaps, fight Verdum or Yvel or Gonzaga – he really has not shown yet, that he can compete with that stratum (again, having lot to Arlovski and Monson within his last four fights).

by Dante99654 on Apr 2, 2010 5:05 PM EDT reply actions