Roy Nelson

Compare with another fighter

Roy Nelson

Nickname“Big Country”

Record

24-20

Streak

L1

Age

50

Date of birth

Jun 20, 1976

Fighting out of: Las Vegas, Nevada
Born: United States
Camp: Country Club
Weight class: Heavyweight
Height: 6'0" · 183 cm
Reach: 73" · 185 cm
Stance: Orthodox
Last fight: Apr 15, 2017

UFC fight history

ResultOpponentMethodDetailEvent

Alexander Volkov

#11Alexander Volkov

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis · Apr 15, 2017

UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis

Antonio Silva

#15Antonio Silva

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head At Distance · R2 · 4:10

UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg · Sep 24, 2016

Punch to Head At Distance

UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg

Derrick Lewis

#12Derrick Lewis

Heavyweight · Decision · Split · R3 · 5:00

UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez · Jul 7, 2016

UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez

Jared Rosholt

#12Jared Rosholt

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson · Feb 6, 2016

UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson

Josh Barnett

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R5 · 5:00

UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson · Sep 26, 2015

UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson

Alistair Overeem

#9Alistair Overeem

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos · Mar 14, 2015

UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos

Mark Hunt

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head In Clinch · R2 · 3:00

UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson · Sep 20, 2014

Punch to Head In Clinch

UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

#8Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head At Distance · R1 · 3:37

UFC Fight Night: Minotauro vs. Nelson · Apr 11, 2014

Punch to Head At Distance

UFC Fight Night: Minotauro vs. Nelson

Daniel Cormier

#2Daniel Cormier

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3 · Oct 19, 2013

UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3

Stipe Miocic

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson · Jun 15, 2013

UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson

Cheick Kongo

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head At Distance · R1 · 2:03

UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen · Apr 27, 2013

Punch to Head At Distance

UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen

Matt Mitrione

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head At Distance · R1 · 2:58

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale · Dec 15, 2012

Punch to Head At Distance

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale

Dave Herman

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head At Distance · R1 · 0:51

UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir · May 26, 2012

Punch to Head At Distance

UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir

Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio Werdum

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit · Feb 4, 2012

UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Mirko Filipovic

Mirko Filipovic

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punches to Head From Back Control · R3 · 1:30

UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz · Oct 29, 2011

Punches to Head From Back Control

UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz

Frank Mir

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill · May 28, 2011

UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill

Junior Dos Santos

Junior Dos Santos

Heavyweight · Decision · Unanimous · R3 · 5:00

UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen · Aug 7, 2010

UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen

Stefan Struve

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head At Distance · R1 · 0:39

UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi · Mar 31, 2010

Punch to Head At Distance

UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi

Brendan Schaub

Heavyweight · KO/TKO · Punch to Head At Distance · R1 · 3:45

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale · Dec 5, 2009

Punch to Head At Distance

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale

Outside the UFC

15-10across 25 bouts · 12 promotions · wins by 8 KO · 4 sub · 3 decIFL · Bellator · Bodog Fight · ROTR · GFC 6 +7

Res	Opponent	Outcome	Finish	Rd	Time	Promotion	Date
L	Alan Belcher19-9	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	GFC 6	Nov 10, 2023
W	Dillon Cleckler11-2	KO/TKO	Punch	R1	3:24	GFC 4	May 5, 2023
L	Valentin Moldavsky15-4	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	Bellator	Aug 21, 2020
L	Frank Mir19-13	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	Bellator	Oct 25, 2019
L	Mirko Filipovic38-11-2	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	Bellator	Feb 16, 2019
L	Sergei Kharitonov35-8	KO/TKO	Knees and Punches	R1	4:59	Bellator	Oct 12, 2018
L	Matt Mitrione13-9	Decision	Majority	R3	5:00	Bellator	Feb 16, 2018
W	Javy Ayala11-8	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	Bellator	Sep 23, 2017
L	Jeff Monson60-26-1	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	SRP	Mar 21, 2009
L	Andrei Arlovski34-24	KO/TKO	Punch	R2	1:46	EliteXC	Oct 4, 2008
W	Brad Imes13-7	KO/TKO	Punches	R1	2:55	IFL	May 16, 2008
W	Fabiano Scherner11-11	KO/TKO	Punches	R1	3:20	IFL	Feb 29, 2008
W	Antoine Jaoude8-3	KO/TKO	Punch	R2	0:22	IFL	Dec 29, 2007
W	Bryan Vetell4-3	KO/TKO	Punches	R3	1:01	IFL	Nov 3, 2007
W	Shane Ott3-3	Decision	Unanimous	R3	4:00	IFL	Jun 16, 2007
L	Ben Rothwell39-14	Decision	Split	R3	4:00	IFL	Apr 7, 2007
W	Mario Rinaldi11-5	KO/TKO	Punches	R1	2:38	Bodog Fight	Feb 17, 2007
W	Vince Lucero22-26-1	KO/TKO	Punches	R1	1:55	IFL	Jan 19, 2007
L	Josh Curran3-0	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	Bodog Fight	Dec 16, 2006
W	Jerome Smith6-10-1	Submission	Arm-Triangle Choke	R1	4:13	FF 2	Jul 22, 2006
W	Jason Godsey16-16	Submission	Rear-Naked Choke	R1	4:42	FF 1	May 6, 2006
W	Michael Buchkovich11-5-1	Submission	Rear-Naked Choke	R1	0:56	WEF 17	Apr 1, 2006
W	Ray Seraile8-9	KO/TKO	Submission to Punches	R2	3:41	PXC 3	Aug 28, 2004
W	Jerry Vrbanovic6-7-1	Decision	Split	R3	3:00	ROTR	Apr 17, 2004
W	Bo Cantrell10-10	Submission	Hammerlock	R3	2:52	ROTR	Apr 17, 2004

Non-UFC bouts (regional/other promotions) — shown for context only, excluded from Schedule Score, striking/grappling rates, and every UFC-scoped metric.

Career striking

OverallC46th

36%439 / 1,176

Striking accuracy

46%

Striking defense

Sig. strikes / min-2.61 differential

Landed2.18

Absorbed4.79

56%str + td

Defensive rating

Striking edge

-18%accuracy vs opp. landing

worseevenbetter

Strike maps

Sig. strikes by target

Head78%42nd341
Body12%30th53
Leg10%40th45

Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes

Sig. strikes by position

72%Standing

Standing72%315
Clinch19%83
Ground9%41

Striking zones

Per-15-minute breakdown — where this fighter lands, and where they get hit.

UFC only

Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson

Landed per 15

Head

D

38th

25.3

38th

Body

F

20th

3.9

20th

Leg

D

35th

3.3

35th

Ranks are division percentiles — e.g. 90th = top 10% of the weight class. Higher is always better: on “absorbed” rows the rank is inverted, so a high rank means they get hit less.

Absorbed per 15

Head

F

20th

47.4

20th

Body

F

11th

17.6

11th

Leg

C

42nd

8.0

42nd

Ranks are division percentiles — e.g. 90th = top 10% of the weight class. Higher is always better: on “absorbed” rows the rank is inverted, so a high rank means they get hit less.

Career totals — landed / attempted

Landed (career total)

Zone	Per 15	Landed	Attempted	Accuracy
Head	25.3	341	1,048	33%
Body	3.9	53	74	72%
Leg	3.3	45	54	83%

Absorbed (career total)

Zone	Per 15	Landed	Attempted	Accuracy
Head	47.4	640	1,402	46%
Body	17.6	237	293	81%
Leg	8.0	108	115	94%

UFCStats career rates, per 15 minutes. Percentiles vs the division; absorbed is inverted so higher is better.

Pace & fade

Round-by-round work rate, and whether they fade.

UFC only

Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson

19 UFC bouts (per‑round) · 203 min

98%

R3 pace · 11 bouts

Nelson fades (-9% per round through round 3). Within fights that reached round 3, Nelson sustains 98% of round-1 output by round 3 (11 bouts).

Roy Nelson

Nelson ▼ FADESOutput / min

Faded points are drawn from a single bout that reached that round, so they’re less reliable than the solid points averaged over many fights.

Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.

Full per-round breakdown

What drives the pace · per round

The composite output line above blends these three inputs — splitting them out shows whether the work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control, and which input fades.

Sig. strikes landed

Roy Nelson

Nelsonlanded / min

Takedown attempts

Roy Nelson

Nelsonattempts / min

Control time

Roy Nelson

Nelson% of round

Round	Output / min	Sig landed / min	Sig absorbed / min	TD att / min	Control	Bouts
R1	4.2	2.3	4.2	0.28	28%	19
R2	3.3	2.0	5.0	0.26	14%	13
R3	3.6	2.2	5.4	0.25	15%	11
R4	3.1	0.8	7.8	0.40	27%	1
R5	5.2	3.6	5.0	0.20	24%	1

Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length.

Schedule Score

Opponent quality, ranked across the UFC. Recent fights weighted heavier.

UFC only

Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson

19 resolved UFC bouts · 10 ranked at the time

Schedule Score

57/ 100

0255075100

Schedule strength

A+

92nd

70%

92nd

Win quality

F

23rd

31%

23rd

Opponent quality distribution

Every UFC bout, grouped by who the opponent was at the time.

3

8

5

ChampionHeld the title in this weight class at the time
Top-5Ranked #1–#5 at the time
Ranked 6–15Ranked #6–#15 at the time
Contender-level8+ UFC wins entering the bout, ≥.55 win rate
Building3+ UFC fights, ≥.40 win rate
UnprovenFewer than 3 fights, or sub-.40 win rate

Tier	Bouts	Record	Win rate
Champion	3	0-3	0%
Top-5	8	1-7	13%
Ranked 6–15	5	5-0	100%
Contender-level	1	1-0	100%
Building	1	1-0	100%
Unproven	1	1-0	100%

Highest-quality opponents

Toughest opponents on the scheduleScore, scored at the time of the fight.

All bouts — opponent quality bout-by-bout

Res	Opponent	Tier	Score	Date
L	Alexander Volkov#11	Top-5	80	Apr 15, 2017
W	Antonio Silva#15	Top-5	74	Sep 24, 2016
L	Derrick Lewis#12	Top-5	79	Jul 7, 2016
W	Jared Rosholt#12	Ranked 6–15	65	Feb 6, 2016
L	Josh Barnett#8	Top-5	76	Sep 26, 2015
L	Alistair Overeem#9	Top-5	83	Mar 14, 2015
L	Mark Hunt#7	Top-5	78	Sep 20, 2014
W	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira#8	Ranked 6–15	73	Apr 11, 2014
L	Daniel Cormier#2	Champion	96	Oct 19, 2013
L	Stipe Miocic#9	Champion	90	Jun 15, 2013
W	Cheick Kongo	Contender-level	45	Apr 27, 2013
W	Matt Mitrione	Ranked 6–15	53	Dec 15, 2012
W	Dave Herman	Unproven	8	May 26, 2012
L	Fabricio Werdum	Champion	71	Feb 4, 2012
W	Mirko Filipovic	Building	18	Oct 29, 2011
L	Frank Mir	Top-5	72	May 28, 2011
L	Junior Dos Santos	Top-5	69	Aug 7, 2010
W	Stefan Struve	Ranked 6–15	53	Mar 31, 2010
W	Brendan Schaub	Ranked 6–15	44	Dec 5, 2009

Per-bout quality scoring: champion = 100; same-division ranks 1–5 = 90 → 78 linear; ranks 6–15 = 75 → 60 linear; cross-division champion = 78; cross-division ranked = 45; title-fight challenger (no rank signal) = 50, bumped to 65 when opp had an elite career UFC record at the time. Unranked opponents are scored on UFC record-at-time (long-tenured vet 60, contender-level 45, established 30, building 18, unproven 8). P4P top-10 at time adds +5; top-3 adds +8 (capped at 100). The Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) and quality wins (35%), then is held toward a rookie baseline for fighters with limited UFC experience so a thin résumé reads honestly low.