Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson to serve as co-main event of UFC 166

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Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson have lobbied to fight each other at UFC 166 in October, and the UFC has made the fight. Cormier (12-0, 1-0 UFC) and Nelson (19-8, 6-4 UFC) will meet in the co-main event at UFC 166, which takes place in Houston, Texas.

The Houston Chronicle reported the fight on Monday evening.

Nelson recently saw his UFC contract expire following a loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 161 in June, but after some speculation he might test the open market and negotiate with other fight organizations, Nelson has opted to re-sign with the UFC and continue his effort to make a run at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Nelson was in title contention following three straight first-round knockout wins, but after taking a short notice opportunity to add some star power to UFC 161, Nelson is looking to get back into the win column and back into the title picture.

Cormier is undefeated in his 12-fight career. He had a long stint with the Strikeforce promotion, and following the merger of Strikeforce and the UFC, Cormier made his UFC debut at UFC On FOX 7 in April. He defeated Frank Mir by decision at that event, and while his future in the UFC may be as a light heavyweight, an opportunity to fight Nelson is enough to keep Cormier in the heavyweight division for one more fight. Cormier wanted to be on the UFC 166 card, as he will fight alongside teammate Cain Velasquez, and the event is just three-and-a-half hours from Cormier’s hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Cormier and Nelson have gone back-and-forth over the last several weeks on Twitter, even going as far as writing an informal bout agreement on pieces of paper, and each man signing it.

UFC 166 takes place on Oct. 19 from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The night’s main card airs on pay-per-view while preliminary card bouts air on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook. The UFC Heavyweight Championship is on the line in the main event as Cain Velasquez defends against Junior Dos Santos in a trilogy bout.

The current UFC 166 fight card shapes up like this:

  • Cain Velasquez(c) vs. Junior Dos Santos (UFC Heavyweight Championship)
  • Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson
  • Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez
  • Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt
  • Tony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio
Ryan Frederick has been a diehard mixed martial arts fan since he saw UFC 1 at the age of 7. Since then he has yet to miss a show. He also has loves for football, baseball and fine whiskey. He fell in love with covering MMA after having also covered baseball and football, both professional and college, while working towards a journalism degree at Texas Christian University. His work has been seen on FOXSports.com, InsideFights.com, WrestlingObserver.com, Bleacher Report and ToughTalkMMA.com.