With all eyes firmly set on Conor McGregor, it is easy to forget that another top prospect is fighting Saturday in Dublin.
Gunnar Nelson, the unassuming Icelandic welterweight, has long flown under the radar from mainstream adulation, but his days of anonymity may well be numbered as he faces his stiffest test to date in tough-nosed wrestler Zak Cummings on Saturday.
Since the mid-2000s whispers began to spread throughout the European martial arts community about a teen with unrivaled potential. A karate champion who had suddenly and inexplicably fallen in love with jiu-jitsu and immediately began to progress at a much higher rate than his contemporaries. It wasn’t long until he set his sights firmly on mixed martial arts.
Nelson immediately made a statement by dominating all comers and training daily at the illustrious Straight Blast Gym in Dublin. But the moment when most witnessed his skills for the first time came in 2010 when the still relatively unknown Nelson was paired up against top English welterweight Danny “The Cheesecake Assassin” Mitchell. Coming into the bout, one U.K. bookmaker made the fatal error of stacking the odds heavily in Mitchell’s favour, which prompted many to bet heavily on Nelson, who would go on to win with ease in the first round. The resulting loss of money forced the major betting outlet to stop offering fight odds for a number of years.
In addition to his MMA exploits, Gunnar has also made a name for himself in the world of competitive grappling with wins over the much larger Jeff Monson and David Avellan, and reached the semifinals of the prestigious ADCC grappling tournament.
In February 2012, with a potential UFC contract looming, Nelson fought one final time on the local circuit. His opponent, Alexander Butenko, was no match for Nelson’s grappling acumen. Nelson won with a first-round submission and it did land him a UFC deal.
Nelson’s UFC tenure thus far has been impressive yet unspectacular because the gulf in talent between Nelson and his opponents has been all too obvious. He manhandled DeMarcus Johnson, and picked apart Jorge Santiago before dominating Omari Akhemedov in March. While Nelson’s stoic expression and one-line answers have amused media members and fans alike, he hasn’t built the loyal following that his skill-set warrants.
Nelson needs an impressive finish over Cummings to catapult himself up the welterweight ladder even though UFC matchmaker Joe Silva seems content to bring Nelson along slowly. Nelson needs to take a page out of his teammate McGregor’s book and talk himself into bigger fights. With former champion Georges St-Pierre no longer in the picture and Johny Hendricks yet to defend his title, the welterweight division is wide open. There is certainly room in the division for a fighter to emerge as a new fan favourite. A big win for Nelson will bring him one step closer to being that man.
Cummings is an interesting opponent. Everyone expects him to be a stepping stone for Nelson, but he is a different beast compared to anyone Nelson has faced thus far in his career. For one thing, Cummings is the biggest fighter Nelson has ever faced and he has the best MMA wrestling of any of Nelson’s opponents. Cummings is used to being the underdog and it’s a role he relishes. This isn’t the first time he has been brought in to be beaten by an up-and-coming talent. In his last appearance, he fought Yan Cabral in a bout most expected him to lose, but Cummings managed to excel on the ground with the jiu-jitsu ace. This should make him confident enough to exchange on the ground with Nelson.
Win, lose or draw, Saturday will be a good way to gauge Nelson’s potential. Will he be the next Alexander Gustafsson or just another flash in the pan? An impressive win for Nelson will surely put him on the fast track to a big fight and cement him as being on the precipice of greatness.
