Roy Nelson
19 UFC Fights | 47% Win Rate | 8 Finishes (89%)
Roy Nelson UFC Record & Pro MMA Record
Roy Nelson is 9-10 in the UFC across 19 fights, with 8 wins by knockout and 1 by decision. The full pro MMA record is 24-20, 15-10 of it outside the UFC. Nelson competes at heavyweight as an orthodox complete fighter, standing 6'0" with a 73" reach at 50 years old. The last bout was a loss to Alan Belcher by split decision in Nov 2023.
Best attribute: knockdown power (knockdowns scored per fight) — 86th percentile among 166 heavyweight fighters (0.47/fight).
Roy Nelson's UFC win rate is 47% (9 of 19 fights), and 89% of those wins came by finish. Nelson averages 0.8 takedowns per fight at 30% accuracy and stops 65% of opponents' takedown attempts.
- Pro MMA Record
- 24-20
- UFC Record
- 9-10
- Height
- 6'0"
- Reach
- 73"
- Age
- 50
- Stance
- Orthodox
- Last Fight
- L vs Alan Belcher · Decision (Split) · Nov 2023
Pro record from Sherdog (snapshot 2026-07-03) plus every UFC bout since; UFC record from UFCStats.
Roy Nelson's Last 5 Fights
Nelson is 2-3 in the last five UFC fights.
- Loss vs Alexander Volkov · Decision · R3 5:00 · UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis · Apr 2017
- Win vs Antonio Silva · KO/TKO · R2 4:10 · UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg · Sep 2016
- Loss vs Derrick Lewis · Decision · R3 5:00 · UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez · Jul 2016
- Win vs Jared Rosholt · Decision · R3 5:00 · UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs Thompson · Feb 2016
- Loss vs Josh Barnett · Decision · R5 5:00 · UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs Nelson · Sep 2015
Striking
Fighter Profile
Offensive Output
Defensive
Strike Targets
Position Breakdown
Grappling
Takedowns & Control
Win Methods
Finish Probability by Round
Round-by-Round Output
Sig. Strikes Landed per Round — Roy Nelson vs Average
Roy Nelson lands 9.4 strikes in R1 but 10.4 in R3+ — output increases in later rounds.
Roy Nelson's UFC Fight History
19 UFC fights on record (9-10), most recent first.
| Result | Opponent | Method | Rd · Time | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L | Alexander Volkov | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis | 2017-04-15 |
| W | Antonio Silva | KO/TKO | R2 · 4:10 | UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg | 2016-09-24 |
| L | Derrick Lewis | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez | 2016-07-07 |
| W | Jared Rosholt | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs Thompson | 2016-02-06 |
| L | Josh Barnett | Decision | R5 · 5:00 | UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs Nelson | 2015-09-26 |
| L | Alistair Overeem | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC 185: Pettis vs Dos Anjos | 2015-03-14 |
| L | Mark Hunt | KO/TKO | R2 · 3:00 | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs Nelson | 2014-09-20 |
| W | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | KO/TKO | R1 · 3:37 | UFC Fight Night: Minotauro vs Nelson | 2014-04-11 |
| L | Daniel Cormier | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC 166: Velasquez vs Dos Santos 3 | 2013-10-19 |
| L | Stipe Miocic | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC 161: Evans vs Henderson | 2013-06-15 |
| W | Cheick Kongo | KO/TKO | R1 · 2:03 | UFC 159: Jones vs Sonnen | 2013-04-27 |
| W | Matt Mitrione | KO/TKO | R1 · 2:58 | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale | 2012-12-15 |
| W | Dave Herman | KO/TKO | R1 · 0:51 | UFC 146: Dos Santos vs Mir | 2012-05-26 |
| L | Fabricio Werdum | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC 143: Diaz vs Condit | 2012-02-04 |
| W | Mirko Filipovic | KO/TKO | R3 · 1:30 | UFC 137: Penn vs Diaz | 2011-10-29 |
| L | Frank Mir | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC 130: Rampage vs Hamill | 2011-05-28 |
| L | Junior Dos Santos | Decision | R3 · 5:00 | UFC 117: Silva vs Sonnen | 2010-08-07 |
| W | Stefan Struve | KO/TKO | R1 · 0:39 | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Gomi | 2010-03-31 |
| W★ | Brendan Schaub | KO/TKO | R1 · 3:45 | The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale | 2009-12-05 |
How Nelson Ranks at Heavyweight
Percentile among the 166 heavyweight fighters in our database (higher is better; absorbed strikes are inverted).
Recent Opponents
More Heavyweight Fighters
Simulate a Fight with Roy Nelson
Pick any opponent from 1,811 UFC fighters. Our engine runs a full simulation using real statistical data — round-by-round results, scorecards, and finish probabilities.
Launch Fight Simulator