No. 9-ranked UFC heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson has been a bit of a snide lately, losing two straight bouts to talented opposition in Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic.

Prior to the downswing, Nelson had amassed three straight knockout victories and was even on the outside of title talks. The always-entertaining “Big Country” may have lost much of his relevancy, but he continued to make headlines by applying for the vacant NSAC Executive Director position.

Overall, “Big Country” is going to do what he does best, and that’s knocking fighters’ heads off with his thunderous right hand.

Nelson has a main event against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira coming up at April 11’s UFC Fight Night 39 from Abu Dhabi, and he thinks he hits harder than former Pride heavyweight champion “Minotauro.” While he concedes the edge in jiu-jitsu, Nelson appeared on tonight’s edition of “UFC Tonight” to talk about another outspoken character in his training camp:

Roy Nelson says he’s trained for Big Nog with…the 209’s own Nick Diaz. — UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) March 26, 2014

Diaz has of course been calling for a title shot while heckling welterweight champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 in Dallas. Although the polarizing bad boy has been appearing in the news a lot lately, nothing has been confirmed for his return.

You can bet that a blockbuster announcement will be coming soon, however, and with No. 2-ranked welterweight Rory MacDonald allegedly headed for a date with surging No. 4 contender Tyron Woodley, Diaz could be talking his way into another title shot. Hendricks will be out recovering from his recent surgery until October, so the MacDonald vs. Woodley tilt could also be a No. 1 contender’s bout.

As for Nelson, we’ll see if Diaz’s knowledge leads him onto a win, because he needs one. UFC President Dana White has never been a huge fan of “Big Country,” and a three-fight losing streak usually puts any fighter on very thin ice.

The knock on Nelson lately is that he has has looked predictable, telegraphing his big right hand repeatedly while getting outclassed. Will he get back into the win column against Nogueira?

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