"Bigfoot" Silva makes UFC debut against Roy Nelson at UFC 146 this May

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

For the second straight fight, Roy "Big Country" Nelson will welcome a former Strikeforce heavyweight into the Octagon, as the UFC announced on Wednesday that Nelson will take on Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva at UFC 146 this May.

Nelson fought Fabricio Werdum in his last bout at UFC 143, losing for the third time in four fights in a brutal battle. Though he had some success in the bout, Nelson was bruised, battered, and cut open by Werdum throughout the three-round fight.

"Bigfoot" makes his UFC debut off a loss to Daniel Cormier in his last bout, a definite setback loss after his biggest career win over Fedor Emelianenko last February. "Bigfoot" is 9-2 in his last 11 fights over the last five years, with his only other loss besides the Cormier bout also coming by decision against Werdum.

UFC 146 is headlined by the Heavyweight Championship bout between Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos on May 26 in Las Vegas.

Penick's Analysis: This is an interesting heavyweight fight. Nelson has shown an ability to take a lot of punishment, but hasn't been able to do much more than that as of late. "Bigfoot" has been dropped a few times in his last several fights, and though he's going to have a big size and strength advantage, he's got a chin that Nelson can exploit. This is a "must-win" fight for both of them - probably more for Nelson - but it makes for a solid heavyweight fight for "Bigfoot's" debut, and a chance for Nelson to get a big win to rebound from his recent run.

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