Fear the beard.

Daniel Cormier will have no other choice but to overcome overgrown, unkept and unsightly Roy Nelson facial fur when the Heavyweight pair collide in the co-main event of UFC 166, which takes place this Saturday night (Oct. 19, 2013) at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

"Big Country," according to a report earlier this evening on "UFC Tonight," will be allowed to keep his trademark hillbilly muttons et al., which Cormier claimed was an "unfair" advantage. That's right, even though Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White backed Cormier, describing it as "ratty," "ridiculous" and "disgusting," the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation claimed that it does not regulate matters of personal hygiene.

Request denied!

Remember, not too long ago, Jorge Masvidal shared a similar concern prior to his UFC on Fox 8 showdown against Michael Chiesa, suggesting that he could catch ring worm, herpes or some other "nastiness" (seriously). Like Nelson, the Washington State Department of Licensing did not compel Chiesa to cut, trim or even braid his beard. And it didn't seem to play much of a factor in the final outcome, with "Gamebred" finishing "Maverick" with a brabo choke in round two.

Who knows, though, perhaps the whiskers provided much-needed strangling traction, ultimately working in Masvidal's favor when all was said and done.

Regardless, Nelson is free to rock his beard in "The Lone Star" state on fight night and Cormier has the green light to hit it as many times as possible in 15 minutes to find the buried expiration date.