It’s time for Nordic’s top welterweight Gunnar Nelson to take another step toward proving he is a contender for the welterweight belt. Ranked #13 by the UFC, Gunni has put together a 12 win, 0 loss, and 1 draw record, and this Saturday the 25 year old will have his chance to improve his Octagon record to 4 wins and 0 losses.
While much of the talk of potential contenders include such names as Matt Brown, Tyroon Woodley, Robbie Lawler, and Hector Lombard, the conversation should begin to include Iceland’s Nelson as his undefeated record continues to speak for itself. In an almost comical list of short notice UFC opponents, Nelson has consistently stepped up and beaten bigger and unplanned opponents in his short UFC career : DaMarques Johnson (183 lbs) instead of Pascal Krauss in his debut, Jorge Santiago (dropped from middleweight) instead of Justin Edwards, and most recently Omari Akhmedov (dropped from middleweight).
Now (as of Monday), it is Zak Cummings in front of Nelson, instead of original opponent Ryan LaFlare, who like many others withdrew due to injuries. The American that has fought as high as light heavyweight will make for another unique test for the undersized Mjölnir / SBG Ireland fighter, that could drop down to lightweight if he ever chooses.
Nelson has been mentored by coach John Kavanagh, not to focus on gameplans or opponents, which has served the new father well in his ability to take challenges and opportunities head on when the arise.
Cummings comes into the bout at 20 wins and 3 losses, and the Nelson camp have labeled him the “big strong wrestler”. Nelson is up for the matchup, and has expressed his excitement with taking on the well rounded grappler that will be his biggest to date once the Octagon cage shuts. The Springfield Fight Club athlete is not stranger to the spotlight, as he has previously headlined Strikeforce Challengers 3, where he lost to Tim Kennedy. He has beaten his last four opponents, which include two in the Octagon. Cummings has also had a Bellator bout and was on TUF.
The American will be experiencing his first fight in Europe, while Nelson is yet to have a bout outside. If all goes well for the man voted Iceland’s “coolest”, Nelson will leave Dublin with his undefeated record intact and looking for a marquee win to propel him into the title contender talk in the welterweight division.
Check out recent interview with Nelson from content partners mmafrettir.is.
Get your UFC Fight Pass ready, and enjoy Gunni time once again.
