Veteran welterweight contender, Gunnar Nelson is set to make his return from a 2-year layoff in March, marking his return to action at UFC London, in a pairing against recent UFC 311 main card feature, Kevin Holland.
Nelson, a former ranked welterweight in the promotion’s welterweight division, has been sidelined from the Octagon since he most recently featured in a clash with Bryan Barberena at UFC 286, taking home an impressive first round armbar submission win in a Performance of the Night bonus display.
As for Riverside native, Holland, the perennial challenger makes his second walk so far this year already, having dropped a dominant opening round submission loss to former two-weight ONE Championship gold holder, Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311 in California.
Gunnar Nelson makes return at UFC London against Kevin Holland
News of Gunnar Nelson’s return to action at UFC Fight Night London against Kevin Holland was first reported by MMA Junkie reporter, Farah Hannoun following an initial report from X user, @realkevink.
In the midst of a two-fight winning run, Icelandic fan-favorite, Gunnar Nelson had previously landed a unanimous decision win over Takashi Sato at UFC London back in 2022 — snapping a two-fight losing skid against both Gilbert Burns, and former undisputed titleholder, Leon Edwards.
During his lengthy, albeit inactive run in the UFC, Nelson has racked up notable high-profile wins over the likes of Omari Akhmedov, Brandon Thatch, Albert Tumenov, Alan Jouban, and Alex Oliveira.
As for Holland, the Californian striker succumbed to his second straight defeat in his submission loss to de Ridder, following a prior corner’s stoppage TKO defeat against Roman Dolidze.
In his most recent win, Holland landed a first round technical submission win over Polish contender, Michal Oleksiejczuk with an armbar stoppage.
UFC Fight Night London takes place on March 22. from The O2 Arena in London, with a welterweight main event between former champion, Leon Edwards, and streaking Australian contender, Jack Della Maddalena set to take headlining honors.
