Could Roy Nelson be the next man to hold the UFC heavyweight title?
If he gets a shot at the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva currently set for UFC 160, it would be a huge move for The Ultimate Fighter alumnus.
Still, Nelson made a solid case for his top ranking, stopping Cheick Kongo cold in the first round of their bout at UFC 159 on Saturday night.
After some extended grappling against the fence that saw the Frenchman thoroughly out-muscled and out-positioned by Nelson, a few feet of space on a break-up sealed his doom.
“Big Country” wasted no time in finding his range, hammering Kongo with a huge overhand right and dropping him to the mat.
One follow-up uppercut put Kongo out of commission while he was still on the ground, with Nelson cocking his fist as the referee dived in for the stoppage.
That bout sealed Nelson’s first three-fight winning streak since joining the UFC.
He’s now on a 6-3 stretch in the promotion, which doesn’t include his three wins in Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, where Nelson made a statement by shutting down Kimbo Slice before winning the show’s tournament and prized contract.
According to the official UFC rankings, Nelson is currently the No. 6 heavyweight in his division, with some stiff competition ahead of him in Velasquez, Silva, Junior dos Santos, Daniel Cormier, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem.
Nelson may be unlikely to fight for the title after beating the lower-ranked Kongo, but the right mix of injuries and opportunity could see him get a title shot.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.
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