UFC: Roy Nelson looking to fight for the belt in either HW or LHW division

UFC 166 is just a little over two weeks away, but the buildup to it is starting to gain more momentum. The entire card is a quality affair, but the heavyweight match-up between Roy Nelson and Daniel Cormier might just be the most interesting one of all. There is also a great possibility that the winner will be aligned for a title run, which adds another facet to the bout.

Monday morning, during a Sherdog interview, Nelson released a photo of himself via Facebook that really got MMA fans and media talking. He's obviously shed some weight, and is looking extraordinarily fit. Cormier has made no secret that this fight is a stopping point on his way down to 205, but are we seeing a similar play by Big Country?

I spoke to Roy yesterday, who verified that he has indeed been shedding the pounds and had a few things on his mind regarding the reasoning behind it. When I asked him if he plans to keep his new, lighter frame, he acknowledged that he does indeed intend to keep his physique at a lower weight. He won't say the exact number of pounds he's dropped, advising that fans will need to watch the weigh-ins to find out for sure, and jokingly stated, 'I've never seen so many men that want to see me naked.' Here's what he had to say in a little more detail:

Weight Loss Implications

I figure that I'll get down to 205 faster than Daniel. If I beat Daniel, wouldn't I get a title shot? My goal is just to beat Daniel. My goal is to fight the champ. Right now, Daniel is in front of me, so I'm trying to beat him...in everything he does. I'm hearing that if he beats me, he's supposed to get a title shot at 205; he gets to jump to the front of the line. I'm all about jumping to the front of the line. My mode of thinking is that he's number 2, and if I beat him, my next step after that would be to fight for the belt, in either division.

Beard Talk

He has to deal with what the bosses like. He's just being the mouthpiece of the boss. I've already trimmed it some, when I had to do some pictures a couple weeks ago. I took quite a bit of it off, but I'm still me.

You can follow Roy via his Twitter account, @RoyNelsonMMA

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