Gunnar Nelson is a Fan Favourite For His Stoic Personality and Lethal Skills in the Octagon… The Icelandic Fighter Just Starred in the Most Scandinavian Commerical You Will Ever Watch…
If you want to see an example of a fighter who is able to combine being close to Conor McGregor and being a fan-favourite in his own right, then Gunnar Nelson is surely the number one role model. The Icelandic fighter is a product of his native country’s Mjolnir MMA but also trains with SBG Dublin under John Kavanagh.
A welterweight who combines Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with a karate-based striking style, Nelson is one of the most unique fighters on the roster. He’s had a stop-start career in the UFC. While he definitely possesses elite talent, he’s been unable to put together the consistency to mount a genuine title challenge so far.
His personality is beloved by fans though. A man of few words, Nelson is the epitome of Nordic stoicism. Watch the footage below of him starring in a ludicrously Scandinavian commercial.
It is an honour to feature alongside some of Iceland’s finest men in this @mottumars cancer awareness commercial. Great cause and a great campaign👍
_ _ _#mottumars #moustachemarch #cancerawareness #checkyourballs pic.twitter.com/yEBTs1OAv3— Gunnar Nelson (@GunniNelson) March 4, 2019
Hilarious
Now we don’t speak Icelandic, but this is still absolutely brilliant. The commercial stars some of the most famous men in Iceland and is to raise awareness for testicular cancer. Nelson’s moment in the spotlight is brief as he stares menacingly at another man in the sauna.
One of the things that Scandinavians are much more famous for than men from the UK and the US is their comfort with nudity in saunas. As you can see from the tweet below by Norwegian UFC middleweight fighter Emil Meek who once hilariously tweeted:
“It’s weird how little dicks I’ve seen in the US, your so private with your private parts. In Norway we just flap around.”
It’s weird how little dicks I’ve seen in the US, your so private with your private parts! In Norway we just flap around 😂
— Emil Valhalla Meek (@emilvalhalla) February 25, 2019
Training
Nelson is currently coming off the back of a gruesome win over ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira, where he split the Brazilian’s head open with a vicious elbow before submitting him. It was literally like a burst faucet as blood gushed from Oliveira’s head in gory scenes.
Now Nelson is set to fight again on March 16 in London against fellow rising contender Leon Edwards, in the co-main event of the ESPN fight night. ‘Gunni’ looks to be in fantastic shape as he made changes to his conditioning training before this one. He’s also been training frequently in his native Iceland, as opposed to Dublin. However, he still has John Kavanagh involved, as he’s been frequently making trips to the land of geysers and volcanoes.
Helping Hand
The Icelandic fighter also insists that he will be there to help Conor McGregor prepare for his next fight. When ‘The Notorious’ was preparing to fight Khabib Nurmagamedov, Nelson was injured. However, he says that moving forward he will work with his teammate, who he maintains a close relationship with. Back in December, he told the Eurobash podcast:
“Definitely, for the rematch, I will be there with Conor getting ready.”
Ditch Dillon Danis and keep Nelson in your corner. The man actually knows how to fight MMA.
