Does Roy Nelson Have a Chance at the Title?

Roy Nelson has come out on the top at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale. He has proven that he was the best fighter in the house, arguably because of his large amount of experience compared to any of the other fighters. In the preliminary round Nelson finished fan-favorite Kimbo Slice in the second round by technical knockout. In the quarter-finals Nelson defeated Justin Wren in a controversial majority decision that many felt should have gone to a third round. His semi-final fight against James McSweeney ended in a technical knockout This fight led up to Roy Nelson's fight in the finals against Brendan Schaub where he managed to knockout Schaub in the first round.

Previously, fighters that have won The Ultimate Fighter have gone on to become big name title challengers including Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, and most recently Diego Sanchez who will be challenging B.J. Penn for the Lightweight Championship this Saturday at UFC 107. But does Roy Nelson have the chance to add his name to this list and become a serious challenger for the Heavyweight title?

Roy Nelson definitely has very strong credentials, previously being the IFL Heavyweight Champion and defending the title twice before the IFL was officially closed. It has been argued many times that these credentials may be a little too strong to be featured on The Ultimate Fighter and that Nelson instead should have been directly signed by the UFC. Regardless of how he got in the UFC, Roy Nelson is now in it and is most likely looking for his next fight.

His next fight will probably be the loser of the Frank Mir and Cheick Kong fight at UFC 107. I am having a very hard time picturing Roy Nelson beating either of those fighters. Nelson may have been great in IFL but the UFC is a completely different level of competiveness. I don't believe that Mir will ever hold the Heavyweight title again, but I think that he would be able to beat Roy Nelson with relative ease.

So, no, I do not believe that Roy Nelson will have a shot at the Heavyweight title, and I definitely do not believe that he will ever hold the title. But I have been wrong before, and I might be wrong this time.

Sources:
Sherdog, "Roy "Big Country" Nelson." Sherdog.com
NewsTeam, "Roy "Big Country" Nelson." Roy Nelson.com
Sherdog. "TUF 10 Finale Results and Live Play-by-Play." Sherdog.com
UFC "UFC 107 PENN vs SANCHEZ." UFC.com