Live Blog: Las Vegas fighter Roy Nelson wins UFC contract

By Brett Okamoto

Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009 | 5:55 p.m.

Las Vegas native Roy Nelson is the newest champion of "The Ultimate Fighter".

Nelson weathered a number of strong blows from opponent Brendan Schaub during their heavyweight bout at "The Ultimate Fighter" Finale at The Pearl at The Palms before responding with a big overhand right that knocked Schaub out the second it hit him.

Nelson, who graduated from Cimarron-Memorial High School in 1994, earned a six-figure contract with the UFC for winning the fight.

"I feel good," Nelson said after the fight. "As far as what's next it's whatever Dana White gives me. I'm ready to step in with any of the heavyweights we have."

On the show, Nelson polarized fans and UFC president Dana White with his sarcastic, self-assured nature. Although Saturday was his first fight in front of a UFC crowd, his personality and big belly has earned him plenty of attention.

Nelson had been considered the favorite of the competition since the beginning, as the 33-year-old fighter is a former International Fight League champion and had already had 17 professional fights on his record.

"I was definitely the favorite coming in but I'm just a fat guy, so it's OK," Nelson joked.

Main Card:

Brendan Schaub v. Roy Nelson

Round One: Schaub sticks with the jab to start the fight and Nelson quickly goes for the takedown. Schaub defends it, throws Nelson against the cage and tags him with a string of hooks that had him dazed. Nelson regains his composure and takes Schaub to the ground. Nelson passes guard and moves to side control. Schaub is using small bursts of energy to try and throw Nelson off but he's unable to move him much. Now he creates space and gets back to his feet. Both fighters swing and miss badly but Schaub sticks with it and lands a straight right at the end of the exchange. Nelson is loading up and throwing that right hand with a lot of force. Good jab by Schaub lands. Anotehr good right hook by Nelson, but Schaub takes it well and responds with a combination. And another big right from Nelson. Schaub has got to keep his hands up and protect his left side, that thing is doing major damage. And just like that, another huge right hand from Nelson knocks out Schaub.

Matt Hamill v. Jon Jones

Round One: Huge upkick by Jones goes whizzing by Hamill's face. That one would have hurt. More kicks land for Jones. Back kick misses from Jones but he follows it with a straight right. Hamill shoots his first takedown of the night. He comes close, but Jones uses the fence and stays on his feet. Fighters get into Muay Thai clinch and Jones lands a nasty trip that puts Hamill on his back. Jones is immediately in mount and all Hamill can do is cover up. Jones is going wild from the mount, throwing elbows and punches that Hamill is defending but he hasn't been able to even make a move to try and get Jones off him. Jones looks up a the screen to see how much time is left and now referee Steve Mazzagatti stops the action for intentional illegal elbows. Now Mazzagatti calls it off because Hamill is badly hurt. He's got a huge gash on the bridge of his nose. Because of the illegal blows, Jones is disqualified and Hamill receives the win.

Kimbo Slice v. Houston Alexander

Round One: Alexander circles while Kimbo waits in the middle. Alexander continues to circle, he must be on lap five. Neither fighter has thrown a thing and we're over a minute in. Kimbo now drops his hands and motions to Alexander to come forward. Alexander throws a leg kick finally that connects and Kimbo counters with a straight left. Now Alexander puts him in the Muay Thai clinch and Kimbo just punches his way out of it. Kimbo comes forward and throws a few hooks, good body movement by Alexander causes him to miss and he looks for the Muay Thai clinch again. Pact goes back to turtle mode. Alexander lands a good leg kick. Round ends with Kimbo staring down Alexander and shaking his head at the non-action.

Round Two: Round two starts same as first, with Alexander circling the Octagon. Kibo winds up and throws a huge right hook but Alexander ducks it and scampers away. Even though Kimbo isn't necessarily pushing the action a ton, it is more Alexander that seems to be reluctant to exchange. With three minutes left, Kimbo lands a left jab that staggers Alexander and now Kimbo takes him down. Alexander quickly back up. Alexander slips on a kick and Kimbo goes after him but Alexander defends. Now from the clinch, Kimbo with a great suplex to take Alexander down again. Kimbo works to mount and lands some hard shots. Now Alexander gives up his back and Kimbo slips in a choke? Are you serious? It's not very tight and this one isn't going to end by submission. After a little more ground and pound, Alexander is able to get away and back to his feet. Round ends with another body slam from Kimbo.

Round Three: Two straight jabs from Alexander land and it starts a big exchange from both fighters. They may be making up for the first round as they just stood and threw there for a five-second stretch. Good jab from Kimbo knocks Alexander back. There's definitely less bounce in Alexander's step right now, he seems ready to go if he takes much more. Good jab from Alexander answered by a counter uppercut from Kimbo. Great straight right from Alexander and Kimbo puts his hands down and nods his head. Big leg kick from Alexander sweeps Kimbo off his feet and he was definitely hurt there but Alexander doesn't go after him. Kimbo latches onto Alexander's leg and takes him down again. Two minutes left and the two are up against the fence with Kimbo in Alexander's half-guard. Referee Josh Rosenthal has seen enough of the ground game and stands the fight up with a minute left. Alexander throws a few leg kicks and gets no reaction from Kimbo who takes them and doesn't fire back. Alexander lands a punch from a broken clinch to end the fight and both fighters kneel over in exhaustion. Kimbo wins by unanimous decision.

Frank Edgar v. Matt Veach

Round One: Veach shoots on Edgar early but its defended. Few jabs from Veach and then another shot but Edgar stuffs it. Now Veach picks Edgar off the ground, carries him to the center of the Octagon and throws him down with force. Edgar gets back to his feet and breaks away. Edgar looks to put a combination together but Veach throws back and Edgar's nose gets bloodied in the exchange. Edgar is trying to use feints to get Veach open but Veach is proving to be a very accurate striker. Veach goes for a superman punch but Edgar ducks under.

Round Two: Veach right back to work in the second round, landing a jab and then shooting in on Edgar. Edgar stuffs it and gets away and comes forward with a nice combination. Edgar starting to find his rhythm on his feet and a nice counter right hook puts Veach down hard. Edgar is all over him immediately. He lands some more shots, moves to full-mount, takes his back and secures the rear naked choke. Really impressive finish for Edgar.

Marcus Jones v. Matt Mitrione

Round One: Two fighters go into an immediate clinch and the overpowering Jones throws Mitrione to the canvas. Mitrione able to work his way to feet and break away. Mitrione lands a good knee when Jones looks for the takedown again. Fighters break off the clinch and Mitrione stumbles forward after missing a takedown attempt. As he fell he was vulnerable to the guillotine and Jones put the choke on but Mitrione was able to break it. Mitrione allows Jones to get back to his feet. Jones lands a left hook but Mitrione comes forward with two of his own that knock him back.

Round Two: Jones comes aggressively forward to start the second round and walks right into a straight right hand from Mitrione that puts him out. Referee Steve Mazzagatti stops the fight just 10 seconds into second round.

Prelims:

Darril Schoonover v. James McSweeney

Round One: McSweeney comes out the aggressor, letting his hands loose and landing some knees from the Muay Thai. Schoonover finds himself in early trouble as McSweeney lands a flying knee with Schoonover's back to the cage. Schoonover goes into survival mode, moving into the clinch where McSweeney looks for a guillotine but doesn't secure. Schoonover works into top position and then side control where he lands a few elbows. McSweeney with a great reversal as he put his arm around Schoonover's neck and rolled over top of him. Now McSweeney moves to full-mount and then takes Schoonover's back. McSweeney showing good ground work from a heavyweight. But Schoonover works to his feet and strings together a few hooks that clearly had McSweeney dazed for a moment. Action-paced first round.

Round Two: McSweeney throws a big right hook that knocks Schoonover down. McSweeney goes to work from his guard, landing shots to Schoonover's face and midsection. Schoonover goes for an arm bar attempt but McSweeney breaks it off. Schoonover is spending a lot of time in the curled up position, just trying to defend himself from McSweeney's shots. End of the round McSweeney moves to full-mount and again takes Schoonover's back but can't quite finish.

Round Three: Fighters exchange strikes early before McSweeney takes Schoonover down and establishes side control. Schoonover has had a lot of trouble staying off his back and he's had few offensive opportunities because of it. McSweeney knows he's ahead but he's still looking to finish the fight, constantly working to improve his position. Referee Josh Rosenthal stands the fight up and Schoonover lands a nice right hook. Schoonover is badly winded though, you can see it in his strikes. Now McSweeey lands a flying knee out of nowhere and Schoonover can't recover. He stays on his feet and eats a few more shots but a final right hook gets him to cover up and go to the ground. McSweeney wins by TKO at 3:20 of final round.

Jon Madsen v. Justin Wren

Round One: Bad exchange early for Wren, as Madsen catches him with two counter hooks in the opening 20 seconds of the fight. Wren is already bleeding from a cut near his right eye. Wren gets his first big shot in, landing a straight right hand that knocks Madsen back a step. Wren lands another two straight punches as Madsen misses with a hook. It looked like Wren rocked him but Madsen appears unfazed and his face is unmarked. Now Wren using a little showboating as he puts his hands down and points to his face, asking Madsen to hit him. Madsen answers by gesturing to wren to come forward. Madsen lands another combination in final 10 seconds of the round.

Round Two: Good jab from Wren starts second round. Another good counter from Madsen as Wren comes forward. The counter shots have definitely been Madsen's strength so far this fight and he seems to be relying more and more on Wren coming to him. A big hook from Madsen lands but Wren raises his arms to show he's still good. Wren throws some wild haymakers at end of round. He's showing heart but it seems he's a little frustrated as Madsen's countering abilities are dictating the fight.

Round Three: It appears Wren is looking for the one perfect shot that could finish Madsen, as he's definitely needing a knockout here at this point to win the fight. Madsen mostly playing defense here. Wren throws a few hard hooks that seemed to crash through and put Madsen against the fence but only for a moment. Huge swing and miss from Wren and Madsen doesn't even go after him. Wren acknowledges Madsen has stopped fighting by throwing his hands up and backing away. Madsen lands good combination in final moments of fight and wins by split decision.

Brian Stann v. Rodney Wallace

Round One: Wallace leads off with a double-jab and then shoots and gets the takedown after Stann looks for a kick. Good wrestling by Stann as he's able to throw off Wallace who had worked into side control off the takedown. Stann move Wallace into a clinch against the cage and lands two good knees, but Wallace answers with right hook as the clinch breaks. Again Wallace gets a takedown but Stann makes good use of the fence and works back to his feet. Great feint and then leg kick from Stann. Now Wallace shoots and lands a very athletic body slam with Stann slung over his shoulder, but again Stann throws him off and gets to his feet.

Round Two: Wallace still looking to get the fight to the ground in the second round. Less than a minute in he lands the takedown but is unable to keep him there. Now Stann is able to put Wallace on his back for a change, and Stann is capitalizing on it more than Wallace has. He's throwing an effective mix of elbows and punches and it looks like the effort Wallace made in the first round to take Stann down has emptied his gas tank. Wallace rolls into a knee bar attempt but Stann's corner is telling him he's in no rel danger. Good second round for Stann.

Round Three: Wallace does a good job of catching a leg kick from Stann and putting him on his back. In between rounds, Wallace looked extremely tired, we'll see if it affects how he's able to wrestle with Stann in the final round. Now Wallace takes Stann's back, but Stann's wrestling is just superior and he gets out of it and works back to his feet. Both fighters land hard shots before Wallace looks for a takedown that's stuffed by Stann and puts them in a clinch against the cage. With 25 seconds left, Wallace catches a kick again but is unable to take Stann down off of it. Ten seconds left and they stand and trade to end the fight. Stann wins by unanimous decision.

John Howard v. Dennis Hallman

Round One: Howard shoots to start round two but Hallman defends it easily and ends up taking Howard down instead. Now Hallman moves to side control. Howard makes a move to get up but he briefly exposes his back and Hallman takes advantage. Hallman looking to slip in the choke now. Howard is doing a nice job of defending and his corner is yelling to Rosenthal to stand the fight up but he's not buying it. Another round ends won by Hallman.

Round Two: Hallman wastes no time shooting for a takedown but Howard stuffs it. Hallman continues pushing though and body slams Howard to the ground. Hallman lands a few elbows from top position but nothing significant. Howard does great job defending himself and Josh Rosenthal stands them up with 2:45 to go. Howard now works for the body slam on Hallman but he reverses it an nearly catches Howard in an knee bar but Howard's able to break free from it. Hallman gets another takedown and remains in top position for the rest of the round.

Round Three: Howard comes out needing to finish the fight in the final round. After a clinch towards the center of the Octagon, Howard lands a takedown. He's in top position but his corner is yelling at him that he needs a finish and the clock is running. Howard lifts Hallman off the canvas for another slam. Now Howard is in full mount and he's looking to posture up to try and finish the fight with two minutes left. Hallman works a great reverse on Howard, rolling over backwards to put Howard's back on the mat.Now the fight is stood up with very litle time left. Howard's corner is yelling he needs the knockout and he delivers a huge left hook that puts Hallman down and another left to put him out. Amazing comeback win for Howard, he gets the knockout at 4:55 of final round.

Mark Bocek v. Joe Brammer

Round One: Both fighters getting their shots in to start the fight. Bocek lands a straight punch before clinching Brammer against the cage. Clinch breaks. Bocek catches Brammer off-guard with a takedown, but Brammer uses the fence and works to his feet. Bocek body slams him back to the canvas though and now takes his back. Bocek looks to be in a great position to finish this fight with three minutes still to go in the round. Brammer is actually able to get to his feet but Bocek still has his back and now puts the choke on. Bocek wins by rear naked choke at 3:36 of first round.

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].