Gunnar Nelson is back.
The veteran is set to return from a two-year hiatus to compete at UFC London on March 22, where he welterweight faces Kevin Holland in a welterweight bout.
Both fighters have verbally agreed to meet, but contracts are yet to be signed, multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin following a report from KrazyKevMMA.
UFC London is headlined by former welterweight champion Leon Edwards taking on Jack Della Maddalena at O2 Arena.
Nelson (19-5-1) hasn’t fought since tapping Bryan Barberena in the first round of their UFC 286 bout in London, back in March 2023.
“Gunni” has won his past two in the UFC over Takashi Sato and Barberena, his two appearances since a decision loss to Gilbert Burns in September 2019.
Holland (26-13, 1 NC) is quite the contrast, as he gears up for his 21st UFC bout over the same period of time.
Holland scored big wins over the likes of Ronaldo Souza, Joaquin Buckley, Anthony Hernandez, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michael Chiesa since 2019, but now has his back against the wall after going 1-4 in his past five UFC fights, including back-to-back losses at 185 pounds.
Leon Edwards’ Potential ‘Nightmare’ Scenario
Michael Bisping posted a reaction video on his YouTube channel where he discussed Leon Edwards’ short notice fight against Sean Brady. “The Count” explained why he feels the circumstances aren’t ideal for the former UFC welterweight champion.
“This is kind of a nightmare situation for Leon Edwards,” Bisping said. “I’m not saying Leon can’t beat him, but stylistically and on short notice, this is a very, very different fight and potentially a harder fight than Jack Della Maddalena. Styles make fights.
“Leon is a sniper on the feet. Of course, he’s got great takedown defense. He was able to take down Kamaru Usman, fully mounted him and all the rest of it. We know he’s well-rounded, but when you’re training for Jack Della Maddalena and you’re focusing on boxing, pretty much a standup affair when you’re not really working on the takedown defense and defending chokes and all the variety of madness in the jiu-jitsu world that Sean Brady does offer, it’s a big mix-up.”
As Bisping alluded to, Brady favors the grappling aspect of MMA competition. While Edwards has proven to have some grappling skills of his own, he was outmatched in that area against Belal Muhammad. Brady had been calling out Edwards ever since that fight, and one has to assume that the Philadelphia native sees holes in “Rocky’s” game that he can exploit.