Gunnar Nelson (fighter)

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Gunnar Nelson
File:Gunnar Nelson (fighter).jpg
Gunnar Nelson
Born Gunnar Lúðvík Nelson[1]
(1988-07-28) 28 July 1988 (age 35)
Akureyri, Iceland[2]
Other names Gunni
Residence Reykjavik, Iceland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lbs
Division Welterweight
Reach 72 in[3]
Style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Reykjavík, Iceland
Team Mjölnir
SBG Ireland
Rank Black belt in Gōjū-ryū Karate[4]
3rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[5] under Renzo Gracie[2][6]
Years active 2007–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 25
Wins 19
By knockout 4
By submission 13
By decision 2
Losses 5
By knockout 1
By decision 4
Draws 1
Other information
Website gunnarnelson.com
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Gunnar Nelson
Medal record
Representing  Iceland
Grappling
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (Gi)
Silver medal – second place 2009 Middleweight (Brown)[7]
Pan American Championship (Gi)
Gold medal – first place 2009 Middleweight (Brown)[8]
Pan American Championship (No-Gi)
Gold medal – first place 2009 Middleweight (Black)[9]
Silver medal – second place 2009 Absolute (Black)[9]

Gunnar Lúðvík Nelson[1] (born 28 July 1988) is an Icelandic professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[2] He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which was awarded by Renzo Gracie after impressive results at the 2009 IBJJF Pan-Ams and the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.[10] Nelson is a member of Mjölnir MMA[11] in Iceland, and SBG Ireland.[12][13]

Background

Early life

Gunnar was born on 28 July 1988, in Akureyri in the north side of Iceland but has lived in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, almost all his life from early childhood. He played football and ice hockey in his childhood years. At the age of 13, he started training in Gōjū-ryū Karate and won the Icelandic Juvenile Kumite Championship title in 2003, and again in 2004 and 2005. He took home medals in every karate tournament he participated in from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, he was chosen as Iceland's most promising up-and-coming karate talent of that year, when he was just 16. However, he gave up karate to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling at age 17. Gunnar's father, Haraldur Dean Nelson (aka Halli Nelson), is of Anglo-American and Icelandic descent. He is also Gunnar's manager. Gunnar's mother, Guðrún Hulda Gunnarsdóttir Nelson, is Icelandic. Gunnar has one sibling, a sister named María Dögg Nelson, born in 1992 in Reykjavík.[14][15] María is an actress in their home country of Iceland.[16]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Gunnar began grappling in 2006, receiving his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) blue belt from Matt Thornton of Straight Blast Gym International. From the age of 17, he continued his tutelage primarily under John Kavanagh, one of Thornton's students. Gunnar first met Kavanagh during one of his BJJ seminars at Mjolnir,[17] and the SBG Ireland owner would remain his head coach until this day. By 2008, Gunnar had already progressed far enough for Kavanagh to award him his brown belt,[18] but with Kavanagh not being a black belt for more than six years at the time, he was unable to award Gunnar his own black belt under IBJJF rules. Gunnar subsequently spent a period at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York to advance rank to black belt. Shortly after his arrival, he had competed for their team in various competitions, winning a silver medal in the 2009 Mundials brown belt category.[7] He also won gold at the 2009 Pan American Championship (Gi),[8] along with gold and silver (open class) in the 2009 Pan American Championship (No-Gi).[9] At the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, Gunnar took 4th place in the absolute category where he defeated the much heavier and touted BJJ Black Belts Jeff Monson and David Avellan.[19] Gracie had already seen enough, and awarded him his black belt after less than a year with his academy.[20] In 2011, Gunnar was again offered a place in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship and had a good run (though not bringing home any medals), defeating the then present and twofold European Champion and multiple Finnish champion Marko Helen and the Brazilian and American champion and former World Champion Bruno Frazzato.[21]

Today, Gunnar is an instructor in his home club Mjolnir. He spends his time between there, SBG Ireland, Renzo Gracie Academy, and also SBG Mainline in Manchester.[21]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In May 2007, Gunnar fought in mixed martial arts for the first time, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The fight was against Danish fighter John Olesen. The judges ruled the bout a draw.

Gunnar won five more fights in the 16 months following his debut, in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Denmark, before taking a break from the sport for almost two years. He returned at BAMMA 2: Roundhouses at the Roundhouse in February 2010 and defeated opponent Sam Elsdon via submission in the first round. He secured another first round victory in his next fight against Danny Mitchell at Cage Contender 6 in Manchester, England before returning to BAMMA later that year. His next appearance was at BAMMA 4: Reid vs. Watson in September 2010 where he faced previously unbeaten British prospect Eugene Fadiora and won by submission in the first round.[22] In February 2012, Gunnar returned to MMA with a first round armbar submission win over Ukrainian fighter Alexander Butenko at Cage Contender 12 in Dublin Ireland. In late 2012 Gunnar signed a multi-fight agreement with the UFC.[23]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Gunnar signed a multifight contract with the UFC in July 2012.[24] He's the first fighter from Iceland to fight for the company.

Gunnar was expected to make his promotional debut against Pascal Krauss on September 29, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic.[25] However, Krauss was forced out of the bout with an injury (Rich Attonito was shortly linked to fighting Gunnar but he had weight concerns and also pulled out) and Gunnar was expected to face DaMarques Johnson at a catchweight bout of 175 lb,[26] but his opponent could not make the required weight. The fight was contested at 183 lbs (Gunnar weighed in at 175 lbs).[27] Gunnar submitted Johnson via rear-naked choke at the 3:34 mark of the first round.[28]

Gunnar was expected to face Justin Edwards on February 16, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald.[29] However, Edwards was forced to pull out of the bout citing an injury, and was replaced by returning veteran Jorge Santiago.[30] Gunnar won the fight by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27).[31]

Gunnar was expected to face Mike Pyle on May 25, 2013 at UFC 160.[32] However, Gunnar pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Rick Story.[33]

A year later Gunnar returned to the UFC and faced Omari Akhmedov on March 8, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 37.[34] Gunnar won the fight via submission in the first round. The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[35]

Gunnar was expected to face Ryan LaFlare on July 19, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46.[36] LaFlare suffered an injury and was replaced by Zak Cummings.[37] Gunnar won the fight via second round rear-naked choke. The victory secured his second Performance of the Night bonus award.[38]

Gunnar next faced Rick Story on October 4, 2014 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 53.[39] Gunnar lost the fight via split decision.[40]

Gunnar was expected to face John Hathaway on July 11, 2015 at UFC 189.[41] However, Hathaway pulled out of the bout on June 23 citing injury, and was replaced by Brandon Thatch.[42] Gunnar won the fight by submission due to a rear naked choke in round one after dropping Thatch with a left-right hand combo.[43]

Gunnar was briefly linked to a fight with Demian Maia on October 24, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 76, but the bout did not materialize for that event as Maia was sidelined with a staph infection on his left leg.[44] The bout eventually took place on December 12, 2015 at UFC 194.[45] Gunnar lost the one-sided fight via unanimous decision.[46]

Gunnar faced Albert Tumenov on May 8, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 87.[47] He won the fight via submission in the second round, and earned his third Performance of the Night bonus.[48][49]

Gunnar was expected to face Dong Hyun Kim on November 19, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 99.[50] However, on October 21, it was announced that Gunnar had pulled out due to an injury and the fight was off. Kim was rescheduled to face Tarec Saffiedine on December 30, 2016 at UFC 207.[51]

Gunnar faced Alan Jouban on March 18, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 107.[52] After rocking Jouban with a punch, Gunnar secured a guillotine choke to win by submission in the second round.[53] He was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.[54]

Gunnar faced Santiago Ponzinibbio on July 16, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 113.[55] He lost the fight by knockout in the first round.[56] At the post-fight press conference, Gunnar claimed that Ponzinibbio poked him in the eye during one of the earlier exchange and caused him see double: "And I really should have said something because I was seeing double for the rest of the fight. He caught me with a shot that I didn’t really see."[57] Ponzinibbio dismissed Gunnar's claim and stated, "I went there to knock him out and thank God it went as expected, I won by knockout. If (the eye poke) happened, of course it wasn’t intentional, but I watched the video again and didn’t see it."[58] After the fight, Gunnar appealed his loss, as the referee had failed to stop the fight due to eye pokes under the Unified Rules of MMA; his appeal was denied by UFC.[59]

Gunnar was expected to face Neil Magny on May 27, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130.[60] However, it was reported on April 28, 2018 that he was pulled from the event due to knee injury.[61]

Gunnar faced Alex Oliveira on December 8, 2018 at UFC 231.[62] He won the fight via a rear-naked choke after opening a brutal cut with an elbow in round two.[63]

Gunnar faced Leon Edwards on March 16, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147.[64] He lost the fight via split decision.[65]

Gunnar was expected to face Thiago Alves on September 28, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 160.[66] However, Alves pulled out of the fight in mid-September due to undisclosed injury,[67] and he was replaced by Gilbert Burns.[68] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[69]

As the first fight of his new multi-fight contract, Gunnar was expected to return from extended hiatus and face Cláudio Silva on March 19, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 204.[70][71] However, Silva pulled out in early March due to a knee injury[72] and he was replaced by Takashi Sato.[73] Gunnar won the fight via unanimous decision.[74]

Nelson was scheduled to face Daniel Rodriguez on March 18, 2023, at UFC 286.[75] However, Rodriguez withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by Bryan Barberena.[76] Nelson won the fight via armbar submission in the first round.[77] He was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus for the finish.[78]

View on mixed martial arts practices

Weight cutting

Throughout his career, Gunnar has never engaged in extensive weight cutting. His training weight is around 175–176 pounds, necessitating only a 5–6 pound weight cut.[79][80] He has been a big proponent of instituting strict rules against weight cutting, arguing that the practice is dangerous to the fighters and counterproductive to the UFC, as it leads to fights being cancelled or fought at catch weight.[80]

Wraps and gloves

Gunnar fights and spars without wraps on his hands and uses small gloves. He has said that he would fight without any gloves if it were possible. He maintains that minimal wraps and gloves give him a better feel of what he's doing with his hands.[81] Wraps and gloves are intended to protect fighters' hands, but Gunnar notes that he has never broken his hands.[81]

Personal life

Gunnar has two children, a son and a daughter. His son, Stígur, was born on May 30, 2014, whose mother is Icelandic artist, Auður Ómarsdóttir. Gunnar and his girlfriend Fransiska Bjork Hinriksdóttir have a daughter, who was born on October 31, 2019.[82]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Grappling

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 19–5–1 Bryan Barberena Submission (armbar) UFC 286 March 18, 2023 1 4:51 London, England Performance of the Night.
Win 18–5–1 Takashi Sato Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall March 19, 2022 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 17–5–1 Gilbert Burns Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier September 28, 2019 3 5:00 Copenhagen, Denmark
Loss 17–4–1 Leon Edwards Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal March 16, 2019 3 5:00 London, England
Win 17–3–1 Alex Oliveira Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 231 December 8, 2018 2 4:17 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Loss 16–3–1 Santiago Ponzinibbio KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio July 16, 2017 1 1:22 Glasgow, Scotland
Win 16–2–1 Alan Jouban Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson March 18, 2017 2 0:46 London, England Performance of the Night.
Win 15–2–1 Albert Tumenov Submission (neck crank) UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski May 8, 2016 2 3:15 Rotterdam, Netherlands Performance of the Night.
Loss 14–2–1 Demian Maia Decision (unanimous) UFC 194 December 12, 2015 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 14–1–1 Brandon Thatch Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 189 July 11, 2015 1 2:54 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 13–1–1 Rick Story Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story October 4, 2014 5 5:00 Stockholm, Sweden
Win 13–0–1 Zak Cummings Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandão July 19, 2014 2 4:48 Dublin, Ireland Performance of the Night.
Win 12–0–1 Omari Akhmedov Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Manuwa March 8, 2014 1 4:36 London, England Performance of the Night.
Win 11–0–1 Jorge Santiago Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald February 16, 2013 3 5:00 London, England
Win 10–0–1 DaMarques Johnson Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic September 29, 2012 1 3:34 Nottingham, England Catchweight (175 lb) bout; Johnson missed weight (183 lb).
Win 9–0–1 Alexander Butenko Submission (armbar) Cage Contender XII February 25, 2012 1 4:21 Dublin, Ireland
Win 8–0–1 Eugene Fadiora Submission (neck crank) BAMMA 4 September 25, 2010 1 3:51 Birmingham, England
Win 7–0–1 Danny Mitchell Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Contender VI August 28, 2010 1 2:51 Manchester, England
Win 6–0–1 Sam Elsdon Submission (rear-naked choke) BAMMA 2 February 13, 2010 1 2:30 London, England
Win 5–0–1 Iran Mascarenhas KO (punch) Adrenaline 3: Evolution September 6, 2008 2 3:22 Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 4–0–1 Barry Mairs TKO (punches) Angrrr Management 14: Ready for War December 9, 2007 1 3:38 London, England
Win 3–0–1 Niek Tromp TKO (punches) Cage of Truth 1: Battle on the Bay November 24, 2007 1 1:50 Dublin, Ireland
Win 2–0–1 Adam Slawinski TKO (punches) Ultimate Fighting Revolution 10 October 6, 2007 1 2:30 Galway, Ireland
Win 1–0–1 Driss El Bakara Submission (armbar) Cage Rage Contenders: Dynamite September 29, 2007 1 3:46 Dublin, Ireland
Draw 0–0–1 John Olesen Draw (split) Adrenaline Sports tournament May 5, 2007 3 5:00 Copenhagen, Denmark

[10][85]

Grappling record

14 Matches, 8 Wins (4 Submissions), 6 Losses (1 Submission)
Result Rec. Opponent Method Event Division Date Location
Loss 8-6 Brazil Alexandre Ribeiro Points ADCC World Championship Absolute September 25, 2011 United Kingdom Nottingham
Win 8-5 Brazil Bruno Frazzato Points
Loss 7-5 Brazil André Galvão Points -88 kg September 24, 2011
Win 7-4 Finland Marko Helen Points
Win 6-4 Iceland Bjarni Kristjánsson Submission (guillotine choke) Mjolnir Open Absolute September 3, 2011 Iceland Reykjavík
Win 5-4 Iceland Brynjólfur Ingvarsson Submission (armbar)
Win 4-4 United Kingdom Mike Russell Submission (rear naked choke) Health & Fitness Expo Superfight November 20, 2010 Iceland Reykjavík
Loss 3-4 United States Azunna Anyanwu Points Grapplers Quest: Beast of the East Absolute March 20, 2010 United States Caldwell, NJ
Win 3-3 United States Ronnie Mikvenski Points
Loss 2-3 Brazil Vinny Magalhães Points ADCC World Championship Absolute September 27, 2009 Spain Barcelona
Loss 2-2 Brazil Alexandre Ribeiro Submission (kneebar)
Win 2-1 United States David Avellan Submission (rear naked choke)
Win 1-1 United States Jeff Monson Points
Loss 0-1 United States James Brasco Referee Decision -88 kg September 26, 2009

Instructor lineage

Kano JigoroTomita TsunejiroMitsuyo MaedaCarlos Gracie, Sr.Helio GracieRolls GracieCarlos Gracie, Jr.Renzo Gracie → Gunnar Nelson

See also

References

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  11. Mjölnir gym
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  19. Absolute bronze « Graciemag at the ADCC Archived 2010-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Graciemagbarcelona2009.wordpress.com (2009-09-27). Retrieved on 2012-02-26.
  20. [1] Archived October 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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External links