Roy Nelson made his Bellator debut Saturday night, scoring a decision victory over Javy Ayala at Bellator 183.
The 41-year-old former Ultimate Fighter winner was competing for the first time since leaving the UFC after an April loss to Alexander Volkov.
“The goal was just to go out there, get the win and work my game a little bit,” Nelson said. “It was a tough fight and Javy’s a talented fighter.
“Really, any heavyweight has power and if you connect, the other person is definitely going to get knocked out. That is exactly what these fans come to see.”
Even when he was signed to the UFC, “Big Country” was very outspoken. That hasn’t changed since he left, and even continued after his victory vs. Ayala.
“It felt good to throw some bombs for these fans in San Jose,” he said. “I had to give Bellator some footage to use, especially since the UFC doesn’t license anything out.”
