Ahead of UFC Fight Night 52, Roy Nelson insists there is no 'greatest MMA heavyweight of all time'

For all intents and purposes, Fedor Emelianenko is widely-considered to be the greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight fighter of all time.

Just ask this UFC champion.

The former PRIDE FC heavyweight titleholder ran roughshod over the competition during his reign as division champion from 2003 -2006. In the midst of his dominating run, Fedor was riding a 27-fight win streak, before hitting a rough patch and dropping three straight under the Strikeforce banner.

Still, despite his consecutive losses, Fedor's body of work up until that point was more than enough to label him the best of all time, despite the fact that he never competed inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon.

Getting him to proclaim himself as the best, though, was a challenge in and of itself.

But according to Roy Nelson, there's no such thing as the "greatest heavyweight of all time" -- not even Fedor. Because at the end of the day, styles makes fights and you can either have a good day and dominate, or a bad day and get dominated.

He explains to FOX Sports:

"I don't think there's actually a greatest heavyweight. I think with every heavyweight there's a style that makes for a different fight with different fighters. Styles always make fights and everybody always has a number. Sometimes you have a bad day, sometimes you don't. The best example would be (Junior) Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. The first time they fought, Cain got flattened. There's another two times where Cain made up for it, learned from his mistakes, had a bad day. In our business when you have a chance to fight a guy twice -- I'll let you get one on me but the second time I guarantee I'm going to beat you."

With Fedor now retired, UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is the favorite to eventually steal the title of GOAT from "The Last Emperor."

Still, "Big Country" isn't ready to pass the invisible torch over to Cain, even though he only has one loss on his otherwise mint record and has looked unstoppable since losing three years ago. Because in a heavyweight division filled with plenty of heavy hitters, the king of the mountain can drop to the bottom in the blink of an eye.

And as Nelson gears up to take on Mark Hunt in the main event of UFC Fight Night 52 on Fight Pass, which is scheduled for Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Sept. 20, 2014, he knows all too well the dangers the heavy-handed New Zealander brings into the cage with him.

It's a fight Roy is very much looking forward to because "Super Samoan" embodies what a true fighter is, not one who looks to do just enough to walk out with a win. It's all a part of that mentality Hunt, among others, brought with him to the Octagon after fighting in PRIDE.

"That was the best part of the PRIDE guys -- they'd go out and entertain. They'd either get knocked out or knock somebody out, they were always trying to finish the fight. I think nowadays some of the decline in our sport is fighters trying to be fighter/athletes which are point fighters versus just being fighters. He is definitely a fighter. Anybody that was from the old PRIDE days is a fighter."

And when Hunt and Nelson start letting their fists fly in "The Land of the Rising Sun," it's safe to say someone will be going to sleep.

Speaking of Fedor, he recently echoed Roy's sentiments about the current crop of combatants, specifically the UFC roster (video here); saying that aside from a few select fighters, he isn't too impressed with the rest of the field.

How about it Maniacs, do you agree with Nelson, or are his comments downright blasphemous?