| Gunnar Nelson | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 28, 1988 Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Nationality | Icelandic |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 169 lb (77 kg; 12.1 st) |
| Division | Welterweight |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Gōjū-ryū Karate |
| Fighting out of | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Team | Renzo Gracie Academy |
| Rank | black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in Gōjū-ryū |
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 9 |
| Wins | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 5 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Website | http://www.nelson.is |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Grappling | ||
| IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship | ||
| Silver | 2009 | Middleweight (brown)[1] |
| IBJJF Pan American Championship (Gi) | ||
| Gold | 2009 | Middleweight (brown)[2] |
| IBJJF Pan American Championship (No-Gi) | ||
| Gold | 2009 | Middleweight (black)[3] |
| Silver | 2009 | Absolute (black)[3] |
Gunnar Nelson (born July 28, 1988) is an Icelandic professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.[4][5]
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Nelson played both football and ice hockey in his childhood years. At the age of 13, he started training in Gōjū-ryū Karate and won the Icelandic Juvenile Kumite Championship title in 2003. He retained the title consecutively for 3 years, winning it again in 2004 and 2005. He took home medals in every karate tournament he participated in over the years of 2003 to 2005. In 2005 he was chosen Iceland's most promising up-and-coming karate talent of the year at 16 years of age. He soon gave up karate to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling, then aged 17. Gunnar's father is of American and Icelandic descent, his mother is Icelandic[6]
In 2009, Nelson received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Renzo Gracie,[7] earned with an outstanding performance that year, which includes a silver in the 2009 Mundials brown belt category,[1] gold at the 2009 Pan American Championship (Gi),[2] gold and silver (open class) in the 2009 Pan American Championship (No-Gi)[3] and of course the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship where Gunnar took 4th place in the absolute category.[8][9] Nelson also has a grappling victory over touted BJJ Black Belt Jeff Monson[10]
He splits his time between Reykjavík, where he is an instructor at the local MMA club Mjölnir, and New York City, where he trains at the Renzo Gracie Academy.
In May 2007, Nelson fought in mixed martial arts for the first time, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The fight was against the more experienced Danish fighter, John Olesen, who is considered by some as one of Denmark's top prospects. The Danish judges ruled the fight a draw.
After this, he won five fights in-a-row in Ireland, England and Denmark before taking a break from the sport for almost two years. He returned at BAMMA 2: Roundhouses at the Roundhouse in February 2010 and defeating his opponent Sam Elsdon via submission in the first round. He also won his next fight before returning to BAMMA later that year at BAMMA 4: Reid vs. Watson in September where he faced previously unbeaten British prospect Eugene Fadiora. He won the fight by yet another submission, in the first round.[11]He currently has MMA career on hold due to him accepting an invite to ADCC 2011.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 9 matches | 8 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 0 |
| By submission | 5 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 8-0-1 | Eugene Fadiora | Submission (neck crank) | BAMMA 4 | September 25, 2010 | 1 | 3:51 | Birmingham, England | |
| Win | 7-0-1 | Danny Mitchell | Submission (rear naked choke) | Cage Contender VI | August 28, 2010 | 1 | 2:51 | Manchester, England | |
| Win | 6-0-1 | Sam Elsdon | Submission (rear naked choke) | BAMMA 2 | February 13, 2010 | 1 | 2:30 | London, England | |
| Win | 5-0-1 | Iran Mascarenhas | KO | Adrenaline 3 - Evolution | September 6, 2008 | 2 | 3:22 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| Win | 4-0-1 | Barry Mairs | TKO | AM - Ready for War | December 9, 2007 | 1 | 3:38 | England | |
| Win | 3-0-1 | Niek Tromp | Submission (punches) | COT - Cage of Truth | November 24, 2007 | 1 | 1:50 | Dublin, Ireland | |
| Win | 2-0-1 | Adam Slawinski | TKO | UFR 10 - Ultimate Fighting Revolution 10 | October 6, 2007 | 1 | 2:30 | Galway, Ireland | |
| Win | 1-0-1 | Driss El Bakara | Submission (armbar) | CR - Contenders | September 29, 2007 | 1 | 3:46 | Dublin, Ireland | |
| Draw | 0-0-1 | John Olesen | Draw (split) | Adrenaline Sports tournament | May 5, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Copenhagen, Denmark |