Roy Nelson planning 'revenge tour' after Josh Barnett tilt at UFC Fight Night 75

Some of Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) most remarkable combatants perform in the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion's Heavyweight division.

While division mainstays Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos still have some time before retirement rumors take the place of title shot whispers, time is one luxury that 39-year-old Roy Nelson (20-11) just doesn't have.

The former International Fight League (IFL) Heavyweight champion and winner of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 has put together a mediocre 7-7 UFC record over the last six years.

Nelson is currently ranked No. 11 in UFC's official rankings and faces 37-year-old former UFC champion Josh Barnett (33-7) at UFC Fight Night 75 in Saitama, Japan inside Saitama Super Arena on Sept. 27, 2015.

"For myself, personally, as long as I'm still competitive, I want to fight. My goal is to fight for the championship and fight for the UFC belt. I just need the opportunity to actually fight for the belt," Nelson told AXS TV. "After the Josh fight, I just think I'm going to go on a revenge tour and just go after all my losses and then try to get the belt."

First things first, however, and that means tending to "The Warmaster" in front of him before he can get to the likes of Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt and current 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier.

Barnett hasn't competed in nearly two years after being trounced in the first round by perennial heavyweight contender Travis Browne at UFC 168 in Dec. 2013, after which he took an extended hiatus from the sport to commentate for New Japan Pro Wrestling, film movies and compete in Metamoris.

When it comes down to their fight, the Las Vegas-based Nelson sees Barnett playing to his strength and avoiding the punishing overhand right of the former.

"I think Josh, personally, will try to be wherever he thinks the fight is going to be best for him," said Nelson. "The safest would probably [be] to try to work for submissions, but everybody lately that I've been fighting is they play the tag game and run. Just kind of like the last UFC fight where no one is trying to play the finish game, they might just try to play the tag game and run and just win the rounds versus win the fight."

Nelson is referring to the UFC 191 pay-per-view (PPV) Flyweight championship main event between the pound-for-pound best Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson (highlights here).

He also took time to comment on the recent heavyweight exchange between fellow longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) veterans Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir at UFC 191 last weekend (Sept. 5, 2015).

Needless to say, like the rest of us, Nelson wasn't all too happy with their performances. He also intends on doing just the opposite when he tangles with Barnett in just a couple of weeks.

"I know they played it a little bit safe and for me, I want to give the fans what they want to see," Nelson said. "Arlovski is known for being a heavy hitter so he needs to swing for the fences and then Frank needs to go for submissions when he actually takes someone down."

It's too bad those takedowns didn't occur ...

For more on the UFC Fight Night 75: "Barnett vs. Nelson" fight card click here.