Roy Nelson Reveals Timeline For His Retirement From MMA

Heavyweight veteran Roy Nelson has given a timeline for the rest of his career in MMA.

He’s slated to take on Matt Mitrione in a Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal bout as the main event of Bellator 194.

Bellator 194 is set to take place on Friday, February 16, 2018, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on Paramount Network at 9:00 PM EST.

Nelson recently told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting during Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that he plans to win the tournament and become the new heavyweight champion then fight another two years.

“At least one or two defenses, so at least a year and a half. At least 18 months,” Nelson said during an appearance on The MMA Hour on Monday when asked if he was thinking of retiring soon. Pressed further, he extended the deadline: “I’ll give you two [years].”

“If anything, I wish I could go get that same mentality that I had then that I should have now,” Nelson said. “The younger you are, the easier it is to fight because you don’t have a care in the world… When it’s just you, you’re like, ‘Dude, I can sleep in a gutter. I can do this, I can do that, I can suffer through.’

“But life goes on, you start building your family and everything else up, then you start thinking about all the other stuff that they could take away or what you can’t get, so it’s easier when you’re younger.”

Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Derek Campos in a lightweight bout will be the co-main event. Rounding out this five bout card is Liam McGeary vs. Vadim Nemkov in a light heavyweight bout, Heather Hardy vs. Ana Julaton in a women’s flyweight bout, and Tywan Claxton vs. Jose Antonio Perez in a featherweight bout.