Gunnar Nelson will be coming back soon.
Nelson, who last fought in September of 2019 where he lost to Gilbert Burns, has not been heard from for over two years. There has been little talk of his next fight, but the Icelandic fighter announced on social media he has inked a new multi-fight deal with the UFC. He also teased a fight announcement.
“New multi-fight contract signed with the @ufc. Hopefully a fight announcement coming soon,” Nelson wrote on social media.
Before the loss to decision loss to Burns at UFC Copenhagen, he suffered a split decision loss to Leon Edwards at UFC London in March of 2019. Before the back-to-back setbacks, he picked up a submission win over Alex Oliveira in a violent fight at UFC 231.
Nelson has been in the UFC since 2012 and is 8-5 inside the Octagon, including headlining a card against Santiago Ponzinibbio, where he was knocked out in the first round. He does hold notable wins over Alan Jouban, Zak Cummings, Omari Akhmedov, and Albert Tumenov.
Part of the reason why Nelson has not fought is due to injuries and back in December, he opened up about it to MMAFighting’s MMA Hour.
“It takes a long time, and it can be so crippling,” Nelson said of the back-to-back rib injuries that have now kept him out of the cage for over two years. “They’re just terrible. It was at the top here, so the top ribs, so it affects the shoulder, it affects the breathing, it affects everything.”
At this time, it’s uncertain the 33-year-old when he will fight again and who it will be against. However, the UFC London card serves as a likely date for Nelson to make his return back in Europe.
Who would you like to see Gunnar Nelson fight in his return?
