This is Pure Violence… Gunnar Nelson Announced His Return to the Win Column With a Bloody Victory Over Charles Oliveira…
Gunnar Nelson is one of the most respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in Northern Hemisphere MMA. The Icelandic fighter has established a strong cult following thanks to his stoic Viking-like demeanour and ability to wreak carnage in the octagon.
Despite being very close friends with Conor McGregor, Nelson has managed to establish his own identity and personality in the UFC. After a tough, controversial loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio back in 2017 – he was poked in the eye twice – Nelson finally came back to the fold.
And in what style. Nelson decided to do his fight camp back at Mjolnir MMA in Iceland, instead of SBG Dublin and we’ve never seen him look better. He absolutely tore the insanely tough ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira apart. Watch the carnage below. Warning: there’s a lot of blood. This one definitely isn’t for the faint of heart.
Brutal
This was a very violent fight and a tale of two rounds. ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira probably took the first one. He ate Nelson’s leg with a vicious kick and ended up on top after being taken down by the Icelandic fighter. He beat down on Gunni with some hardcore ground-and-pound, but the Mjolnir product wasn’t backing down.
Nelson came out strong in the second, with that classic karate-style stance that he uses. He managed to split ‘Cowboy’s’ head with a savage elbow. The Brazilian might need a blood transfusion after this one because it was gory. Red liquid poured forth like a bottle of wine had been smashed against the wall.
Then Nelson was able to get hold of ‘Cowboy’s’ back and sink in the rear-naked choke. And that was all she wrote. It was an impressive return to form for the Icelandic fighter, who hopes that he can maintain the consistency to mount a title challenge.
#Damn #GunnarNelson what a comeback, wow🔥🔥🔥#ufc231 #whatafight pic.twitter.com/oMBNG5mwUN
— ☆OluwaSt•Gabriel♤ (@oluwast_gabriel) December 9, 2018
Frustrating
Nelson admitted that he’s had a very frustrating year. He’s been camped on the sidelines with a knee injury and was unable to help Conor McGregor to prepare for his massive fight with Khabib Nurmagamedov that he would ultimately lose. He told reporters:
“It was very unfortunate. Obviously, I couldn’t join the camp because of my knee. I could’ve maybe done some right at the end, but he had everything planned out and he had his guys there. But it was a little bit difficult to see, and I think for the next one – and I believe there will be another one at some point – I’ll be there in his camp, for sure.”
https://twitter.com/betmybookie/status/1071625637834579968
Return
The Icelandic fighter firmly believes that McGregor is capable of making the adjustments to stake more of a challenge to Khabib the next time that they fight. He said:
“Yeah, definitely. I’m sure he can, as well. And John, obviously our coach. I think there was a bit too much chase in this fight. You don’t want to sit in his world, and guys tend to do that a little bit. We saw Al Iaquinta; he did actually pretty well, I thought. He was able to tweak his strategy a little bit and he did well. But guys seem to get caught in his world.”
Hopefully, we’ll see Nelson back sooner rather than later. It’s upward from here for the big Viking.
