The wisecracking Roy Nelson is back.

The 6-foot, round-bellied winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 10" has a tall order in front of him – literally – tomorrow when he faces 6-foot-11 Stefan Struve in the Spike TV-televised co-headliner at UFC Fight Night 21 in Charlotte, N.C.

So how do you prepare for that?

"The only thing I've been doing is trying to pick fights on the basketball court," Nelson (14-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently. "I called [Shaquille O'Neal] a couple of times, and I think he injured his hand or something."

Yesterday at the event's open workouts, Nelson joked about having his coach stand on a chair so he could practice punching at Struve's height.

Seriously, though, it's the biggest height disparity he's faced in six years of fighting. The closest he's come is Brad Imes, a 6-foot-8 finalist on "The Ultimate Fighter 2." Nelson stopped him with strikes in less than three minutes at a May 2008 IFL event.

But it's not a match-up that screams favoritism.

"On paper, he should beat the crap out of me," Nelson said of Struve. "He's got a 10-inch reach advantage. That's a whole foot. I have to get past that and hopefully either take it to the ground or keep it standing."

Nelson jokes the Struve fight is for the UFC's "European belt" – a strap held together with a baguette – and French fighter Cheick Kongo could be next in line. He wants Joe Silva to show him the belt in Charlotte.

A fight is never too important to joke about for Nelson.

That sardonic style hasn't always jived with his current employer. Nelson made headlines after his appearance on "TUF 10" when he suggested that contestant Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson was favored during filming, to which UFC president Dana White called him "an idiot."

Nelson drew the kind of attention many would say is negative in a company in which one bad performance can earn you a pink slip. He's perhaps a little wiser with his words now, but he said he's not going to change too much.

"I think I'm the company man who will always keep it real and call shenanigans when I see shenanigans," Nelson said.

He's fine with White but doesn't feel a pressing need to make nice.

"I think our personalities are still going to clash and (we'll) still have the good drama that comes between president and employee, but as long as I'm putting on a show, we have an understanding that I'm OK," Nelson said.

In that way, the match-up with Struve makes perfect sense. The 22-year-old Dutch fighter has won three of his four UFC fights but hasn't used his reach to play it safe like many other tall fighters. He's aggressive inside the cage and jumps right into the fight. In his most recent performance, he leaped at the 6-foot-2 Paul Buentello and got plucked out of the air with a punch that nearly put him out. He's got youthful bravado.

Nelson has four fewer fights than Struve but has a decade of life experience on his side. It's the kind of experience that keeps him from taking unnecessary risks.

Like his fight with Kimbo Slice, Nelson hints that the easiest path to victory is the one he'll take against Struve.

"Maybe like the (Junior) Dos Santos match-up," Nelson said of Struve. "That's where I'm hoping it can go—maybe keep him standing so I can push the pace so I get him up against the fence so he can't use his reach."

But in the end, Nelson said the fight is about who's hungrier to win. Struve is a fighter with time to grow; Nelson is on his last run at success in mixed martial arts.

While the UFC heavyweight class has more talent than ever, it remains the division with the shortest path to the top. Nelson estimates he could be there within a year – if he continues to put on exciting fights.

"My goal is to fight the best in the world, which means whoever has the belt," Nelson said.

Pretty serious for a wiseguy.