Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson

20-Jun-1976


United States


Athlete

He was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and attended Cimarron-Memorial High School, where he competed in wrestling, soccer, and baseball. Nelson began training at Ark Wong's Ng Ga Kuen Shaolin Kung Fu at the age of sixteen. Nelson worked part-time as a warehouse worker in 1999. Nelson first trained in Brazil Jiu-Jitsu under UFC veteran John Lewis in 2000. In 2002 and 2003 he had a short career in rugby, but in 2004 Nelson started his own career in the mixed martial arts. Nelson has long been a student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Master Renzo Gracie, who gave him a black belt on August 26, 2009 and has competed in the Abu Dhabi Grappling Championships. From 2010 until 2017 he fought professionally in MMA under the UFC, after which his contract expired and he started fighting under Bellator.

QUOTES BY Roy Nelson


I'm always down to give the fans what they want.

It all comes down to money. If the money is right, I'll fight anybody, any time. I'll hit my grandma in the face if the price is right.

There's some guys where I'm like, 'I won that fight and only lost because of the judges,' or I got cheated or whatever. I know I'm a better fighter.

I definitely envision myself in politics at some point.

I've always looked up to Big Nog. He's a legend in the sport and has the mentality that so many fans love, and it's what got me into fighting. He's a man's man and a real fighter.

If you're a true MMA fan, you're going to want to have Fight Pass the same way TV and movie fans have Netflix.

I made more from sponsorship than I did from fighting. I did that for the longest time.

I have plenty of sponsors, and I'm the first American that Pretorian has sponsored.

We're in a very individual sport, but they like us not to be so individual. They'd rather have you look like every other cookie cutter guy and have you believe that you're replaceable when you're really not.

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