Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports


Gunnar Nelson will lock horns with Daniel Rodriguez in a welterweight bout at
UFC 286.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking on Monday. UFC 286 takes place at the O2 Arena in London on March 18 and is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

Nelson returned to action for the first time in two and a half years at UFC Fight Night 204, where he defeated Takashi Sato via unanimous decision this past March. The 34-year-old Iceland native debuted in the Octagon in 2012 and owns a 9-5 mark in UFC competition overall.

Rodriguez had a four-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, as he suffered a third-round submission loss to Neil Magny at UFC Fight Night 214 on Nov. 5. “D-Rod” has been victorious in seven of nine promotional appearances, with wins over the likes of Kevin Lee, Jingliang Lee, Mike Perry and Tim Means.

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