By Damon Martin

Roy Nelson has been a self-professed fan of PRIDE Fighting Championships for years, but the promotion folded before he ever got the chance to fight there.

While PRIDE is dead and gone, Nelson will finally get the opportunity to compete in one of the staples of the once great Japanese promotion when he takes part in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix that will kick off next year to crown a new champion.

When he first signed with Bellator, Nelson immediately hinted at the possibility of a Grand Prix because not only does he love the format, but it also takes the politics out of earning a title shot.

This time around, Nelson knows he just has to win three fights and he'll be a champion when it's all said and done. 

"That's the thing about the tournament is being ready for those three days," Nelson told FloCombat in an exclusive interview. "Sometimes you can have a bad day or you can have four wins in a row but you still don't get a title shot. Then they tell you to get one more win and you still don't get [the shot]. You get hopeless and then you just go out there and fight without much motivation. 

"This one you can actually see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

The field for the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix contains four well known heavyweight competitors including Nelson, former UFC champion Frank Mir, Matt Mitrione and legendary PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko.

The tournament also welcomes four fighters best known for competing at either light heavyweight or middleweight including current Bellator 205-pound champion Ryan Bader, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, "King" Mo Lawal and former UFC bad boy Chael Sonnen.

Bellator still hasn't officially confirmed the opening round matchups outside of Mir revealing that he would be facing Emelianenko in April. Nelson doesn't really seem to care much about who he draws although admittedly there are some fights that he feels would almost guarantee his entry into the second round.

"My biggest thing is just trying to find what's going to be best for me," Nelson explained. "From a fighting stand point, I really don't care. I know Fedor [Emelianenko] and Frank [Mir] are supposed to fight but that's not going to happen until April because Frank can't technically fight until April because he's on a steroid suspension or whatever.

"For me, give me Chael. I'm all about taking the littlest guy and the easiest guy. Beating up a little guy is easy for me."

Sonnen will certainly be the most undersized fighter in the tournament considering his biggest wins have been at 185 pounds and Nelson clearly believes he would be the easiest path to guarantee a spot in the second round.

One person Nelson hopes to avoid until the finals, however, is part time training partner and close friend "King" Mo Lawal, who has competed at heavyweight before but primarily fights at 205 pounds.

"It would definitely be tough but for me as long as he starts off on the other side of the bracket, that's the first thing," Nelson said about potentially fighting Lawal. "Before I even came to Bellator, I said 'Mo, I know you just fought at heavyweight, you beat up "Rampage" [Jackson] but just letting you know the heavyweight division is mine. I promise I won't go down to 205 [pounds]'. Just let him know the division is mine."

Nelson is certainly confident about his chances in this tournament that will take place over the course of 2018 and whether he gets Sonnen or someone else in the opening round, "Big Country" likes his chances to wear gold by the end of the yearr. 

"When I saw the field, it was plain and simple...this is my belt," Nelson said. "There was nothing else to think about. All I cared about was the date I was going to fight and when's the second fight, when's the third fight so I can plan my vacation."