UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson credits self-investment for current win-streak

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight Roy Nelson is on his longest win-streak in nearly five years and he credits one person for it: himself.

"Big Country" is riding high with consecutive knockout victories over Dave Herman, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo and appears to finally be hitting his stride as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who competes at the highest level.

Despite being 36 years old, Nelson (19-7) appears to be getting increasingly dangerous with each passing fight and he believes it is all a product of self-investment.

"You know what I've just taken that money that I've kind of earned with these bonuses and just kind of reinvested in myself," Nelson said on Friday's (May 10, 2013) edition of "Inside MMA" on AXS TV. "Because all the other times I didn't have that money to like form a team around me."

Upon entering the UFC after winning The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 10, Nelson was famous for training in the "Country Club" gym that resided in the garage of his house.

As time has gone on, though, Nelson has decided it's best to surround himself with a real camp and has trained under Jeff Mayweather in Las Vegas, among others.

With an improved quality in training comes better results and Nelson is getting the best type of results anyone could hope for. All three wins in his current streak have come by first-round (technical) knockout in a total of five minutes and 52 seconds.

Moreover, Nelson received "Knockout of the Night" honors in two of those fights, boosting the total number of times he has earned the award to four -- the second most in UFC history behind middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Nelson has some of the heaviest hands in the sport and he actively pursues the knockout not just because it makes for a quick and painless night, but also because he knows it's what the fans want to see.

"The fans love the long ball and everyone loves the knockout it's like why everyone wanted to see Mike Tyson fight," he said. "Everyone just loves to see someone get knocked out."

Up next for Nelson could potentially be a showdown with Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier; however, nothing has been confirmed at this time.