Gunnar
Nelson may have been gone for a time, but he has certainly not
been forgotten.
“Gunni” will cross the threshold into the Octagon for the first
time in two years, five months and 19 days when he locks horns with
Sanford MMA’s
Takashi
Sato in a
UFC Fight Night 204 welterweight feature on Saturday at the O2
Arena in London. Nelson, 33, owns an 8-5 record in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and enters the cage on the heels
of back-to-back losses. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 160,
where he dropped a unanimous decision to
Gilbert
Burns on Sept. 28, 2019.
As Nelson makes final preparations ahead of his three-round battle
with Sato at 170 pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have
helped shape his career to this point:
Nelson remained undefeated and passed the most significant test of
his career when he captured a unanimous verdict over the former
Sengoku
champion in a UFC on Fuel TV 7 welterweight showcase on Feb. 16,
2013 at Wembley Arena in London. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and
30-27. Santiago enjoyed some success with knees from the clinch and
occasional right hands, but Nelson kept him off-balance with his
awkward karate-based standup style. The
Renzo Gracie
protégé turned the tide in his favor with a dominant second round,
where he struck for a takedown and scored with standing-to-ground
punches and elbows before ultimately mounting his fellow Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt. Nelson did a number on Santiago with
uppercuts in Round 3, but the Brazilian refused to stand down.
Though weary, Santiago lashed out with lefts and rights, the last
one of which caught Nelson clean on the chin in the closing
seconds. Those efforts, however, went for naught.
The onetime Brave Legion pillar utilized volume punching, leg kicks
and superb defensive wrestling in seizing a split decision against
Nelson in the UFC Fight Night 53 headliner on Oct. 4, 2014 at the
Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. Judges
Mark Collett
and
Paul
Sutherland sided with Story by 49-46 and 50-44 counts, while
Jim Bergman cast a head-scratching nod in Nelson’s favor. Story
frustrated the Icelandic star with his output and tireless work
rate. For every punch Nelson delivered, Story offered two, three
and sometimes four in return. More importantly, he diversified his
attack by mixing in leg kicks and investing in punishing punches to
the body. The Tacoma, Washington, native floored Nelson with a left
hook on the chin in the fourth round and backed it up with
standing-to-ground punches. When it became clear a finish was not
going to materialize, Story invited the
SBG Ireland representative to stand and picked up where he left
off. An accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, the previously
unbeaten Nelson failed to pull the fight to the ground for any
significant period of time. Trapped on the feet, he was often
reduced to throwing one right hand at a time, and though he caused
significant damage to Story’s right eye, he fought a losing battle
with the numbers game.
The 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World
Championships gold medalist humbled Nelson with shocking ease when
he cruised to a unanimous decision in their UFC 194 welterweight
attraction on Dec. 12, 2015 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Scores were 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25. Nelson never had a chance. Maia
got in on his legs at will, initiated scrambles and deftly advanced
to top position against the longtime
Renzo Gracie
protégé. He achieved full mount twice, transitioned to the back on
multiple occasions and battered Nelson with an endless stream of
ground-and-pound. By the time it was over, Maia had connected on
193 total strikes while absorbing only seven of them in return.
Nelson submitted the Black House-trained action hero with a
guillotine choke in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 107
co-main event on March 18, 2017 at the O2 Arena in London. Jouban,
who had never before been submitted, conceded defeat 46 seconds
into Round 2. Nelson was in charge from start to finish. The
Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Goju-ryu karate black belt delivered a
first-round takedown, slid to side control and climbed to full
mount, as he made the strongest of opening statements. Early in the
middle stanza, he staggered Jouban with a straight right, followed
it with a head kick when the stricken Lafayette, Louisiana, native
retreated to the fence and then clamped down in the fight-ending
guillotine, moving to a mounted position to force the tapout.
The former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion rode
a near-finish in the second round to a split verdict over Nelson in
their UFC Fight Night 147 co-feature on March 16, 2019 at the O2
Arena in London. Judges Anders Ohlsson and Andy Roberts struck
29-27 and 29-28 scorecards for Edwards, while Howard Hughes saw it
29-28 for Nelson. After a closely contested first five minutes,
Edwards made his move in Round 2. He floored Nelson with a counter
elbow at close range, swooped into top position and unleashed short
punches, elbows and hammerfists. The Icelandic grappler withstood
the assault but emerged with a massive hematoma near his right eye.
Nelson showed his resilience in the third round, where he followed
a straight right hand to the face with a takedown and climbed to
full mount. Edwards managed to stay calm while pinned beneath a
world-class grappler and denied the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
the finish he needed.