Gunnar
Nelson has a new opponent at
UFC
286.
The promotion recently announced that
Bryan
Barberena will replace
Daniel
Rodriguez and face the Iceland native in a welterweight bout on
March 18 at the O2 Arena in London. A reason for Rodriguez’s
withdrawl was not given. UFC 286 is headlined by a welterweight
title rematch between
Leon
Edwards and
Kamaru
Usman.
Barberena had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last
outing, as he suffered a second-round submission loss to
Rafael dos
Anjos at UFC on ESPN 42 on Dec. 3. Prior to that, “Bam Bam” had
earned successive victories over the likes of
Darian
Weeks,
Matt Brown
and
Robbie
Lawler.
Nelson returned following an absence that lasted more than two
years at UFC Fight Night 204, where he defeated
Takashi
Sato via unanimous decision in March 2022.