UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson now is a restricted free agent and is negotiating with the promotion on his next contract, according to his rep.

Manager Mike Kogan today indicated that a deal should get done before Nelson’s exclusive negotiating period ends at the end of August, when he may entertain offers from other promotions.

“The length of his exclusive negotiating period isn’t really a factor right now,” Kogan told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “We’re actively talking. I’m sure it’s not going to take a few months to make a deal, if there is a deal to be made.”

Specifics of the negotiations remain a closed-door conversation. Kogan wouldn’t say whether pay-per-view points are part of the deal, as they are with several top draws in the UFC, but said the deal mostly hinges on payouts for Nelson’s fights.

“We’re not there yet, but we’re not out of the ballpark, either,” he said. “Their offer is reasonable, and there’s some things that Roy wants in there, and that’s why it’s called a negotiation.”

After the 37-year-old’s lopsided loss to Stipe Miocic (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 161 this past month, which was the final bout on his previous contract, MMA fans speculated that the round-bellied heavyweight might have lost his leverage at the negotiating table, particularly in light of his rocky relationship with UFC President Dana White.

White’s respect for Nelson frequently is mixed with exasperation at his public persona and appearance, which the fighter touts as the source of his everyman popularity.

Kogan, though, said that isn’t a factor at the negotiating table.

“I think people put so much stock into whether Dana likes you or not,” Kogan said. “They automatically assume if he hates you, your life’s over and you have nowhere else to go and he doesn’t want to see you again. That’s not true.

“The truth of the matter is, you look at somebody like Tito Ortiz, he’s done way worse stuff than Roy has, and he had a very prosperous career. UFC’s a very professional organization. It doesn’t matter if they like you or not. As long as you’re performing and the fans like you, it’s good enough.”

Former champ Ortiz’s bad blood with White, his former manager, once led to a television special being filmed for a fight between the two. Several years later, the mended fences. Ortiz then enjoyed a prosperous post-title career despite his flagging fortunes in the octagon.

Nelson and White’s ties aren’t nearly as deep, and yet following the heavyweight’s loss at UFC 161, White dismissed the idea that the promotion would treat Nelson any differently than other fighters negotiating a new deal.

For Kogan, that means getting the promotion to see his value and pay Nelson accordingly.

“We try to have an open conversation with the UFC and see how they measure his value,” Kogan said. “I don’t have the data that the UFC has to be able to measure it. I don’t have the true ratings numbers, the four-hour ratings numbers if he’s fighting on TV, (or) pay-per-view numbers from all the events. All I have is the fact that people love to watch him fight. I’ve been around this game long enough to know that doesn’t automatically mean he gets millions of dollars. But it does have a value. At the end of the day, if the fans are blowing the roof off every time he comes out to fight, and then spend the whole fight on their feet yelling and screaming – if that’s not worth anything, then how do you measure anybody’s worth?

“Measuring somebody’s worth is not a science. The UFC has more numbers and can come to more of a scientific approach than we do. But you’re worth what somebody’s willing to pay for you.”

For complete coverage of UFC 161, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Roy Nelson)