Roy Nelson Has Left UFC To Sign For Bellator

Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson has been unveiled as the latest high-profile UFC fighter to head over to rival promotion Bellator.

Nelson’s deal with the UFC came to an end in April after a unanimous decision to Alexander Volkov, who coincidentally is a former Bellator heavyweight champion.

The 40-year-old Nelson had lost seven of his last 10 fights in the Octagon,no longer featured on the top 15 heavyweight rankings and has always had a rocky relationship with UFC President Dana White, so it appears that the promotion didn’t put up a fight to keep him.

The portly fighter has always been something of a fan-favourite however, so Bellator will be happy to welcome him aboard to bolster their heavyweight roster, which includes two fighters he has previously defeated in the UFC, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo, along with the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Bobby Lashley and Sergei Kharitanov.

Nelson is the latest in a steady stream of notable UFC fighters who have jumped ship to Bellator in recent times, including the likes of Rory MacDonald, Phil Davis, Ben Henderson, Lorenz Larkin, Josh Thomson, Michael McDonald and the aforementioned Matt Mitrione.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.