Four of Hunt's past five opponents were 1.93m tall, while Dutchman Stefan Struve - the tallest man in the UFC - stood a towering 2.13m.
What this means is Hunt's preparation for tomorrow's five-round blockbuster at the Saitama Super Arena, near Tokyo, has been different to his previous bouts.
Against taller men, Hunt had to loiter like a predator as he let them work their range, while waiting for a chance to get inside and land his trademark left hook.
American Nelson also likes to be patient with his punches as he searches for a spot to land his favoured overhand right.
"We just need to try to adjust to that," Hunt's hands coach Lolo Heimuli said.
"Roy's more accurate because Roy's not just shorter [than Hunt's previous opponents], he actually stays low as well when he fires shots."
Few men possess the punching power of Nelson (20-9), while he also has an iron chin with only one of his nine career losses coming via knockout.
"It's going to be a tough fight. Both fighters have very deceiving speed, power and timing," Heimuli said.
"They both have a similar style and people like them because they knock people out.
"But in most cases they catch people by counter-punching and they're both amazing at it."
Hunt's last fight was against Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva, when the two fought to a majority draw at UFC Fight Night 33 in Brisbane last year. Hunt suffered a badly damaged left hand, which put him out of training for six months.
Nelson is also returning from a broken hand that he suffered when he knocked out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Abu Dhabi in April.
Hunt and Nelson suffer from commonly held myths, largely based on their portly builds.
Hunt's head trainer Steve Oliver said Nelson's under-rated ground game - he holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has five submission wins in his career - dispelled the theory he was just a big puncher.
"He's much more agile than Bigfoot, even though he doesn't look like it," Oliver said of Nelson.
"He's much more explosive. So my take on it is I think he'll be trying to put Mark down and he'll be dangerous on the ground."
Hunt (9-8-1) showed surprisingly resilient cardio during his five-round epic against Silva, while the perception around Hunt being prone to submissions is a thing of the past.
The Super Samoan has the second-best takedown defence in the UFC's heavyweight division at 84 per cent. He hasn't lost a fight via submission in nearly four years.
In a thin heavyweight division, both men are on the cusp of a title shot and a strong performance tomorrow night could put them one bout away from a match with champion Cain Velasquez.
Tomorrow's fight will be Hunt's 19th professional MMA contest and his 14th in Japan where he holds virtual rock-star status from his days on the once-popular K-1 kickboxing circuit.
Auckland featherweight Dan Hooker (11-4) will open the Japan card when he meets Venezuela's Maximo Blanco (10-6-1, 1NC).
Keys to the fight
Mark Hunt
Keep active. Nelson's counter-punching style means he can fall out of favour with the judges if he can't land a knockout blow due to his low workrate.
Take it deep. Nelson has never fought more than three rounds in his career. Hunt showed great endurance in the fourth and fifth rounds in last year's draw with Bigfoot Silva. Those two frames could be crucial.
Roy Nelson
Get it on the ground. Hunt has sound takedown defence but Nelson is the superior wrestler and has great jiu-jitsu; if he can take it to the floor, Big Country will be a threat.
Show intent. In two of his past three fights, Nelson didn't look interested. This fight is on the big stage and there's a lot on the line.
