Roy Nelson: I’ve Always Been At The Top Of The Food Chain

UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson has been on a roll as of late, earning first round knockouts in his last three fights. While those wins have put him into outside talk about a title shot, Nelson is notoriously on Dana White’s bad side, which could end up haunting him should he keep winning. And while it’s no secret that White and Nelson are not the best of friends, the UFC president insists Nelson will get his shot when he truly earns it:

“Roy loves to say I’ll never give him a title shot. But dude, beat someone and then I’ll give you the shot. Roy is knocking off these guys ranked six through 10, but when he gets to fighting the top five guys, he can’t do the same thing. You’re not going to get a title shot for beating No. 6 and No. 8. You have to beat the top guys.” -via Yahoo! Sports

White may have a good point here, as Nelson has fought the cream of the UFC heavyweight division in the past, only to fall short and begin another climb back up the ladder. His fights with Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum come to mind. Nelson has recently said he has invested in himself and his training camp, something that was missing in years past:

“You know, I’ve always been at the top of the food chain. What’s different now is my demeanor. After having long talks with [UFC CEO] Lorenzo [Fertitta] and Dana, it’s put my mind more at focus.”

While that definitely appears to be the case, it still remains to be seen if Nelson can best a top five heavyweight. We won’t find out anytime too soon either, as Nelson will face off with Stipe Miocic, a talented but largely untested prospect, at UFC 161 this month. A win kind of keeps him hovering around his current #5 ranking, but a loss would be devastating. Still, if he extends his win streak to 4, White may have no choice but to answer when ‘Big Country’ comes knocking.