Gunnar Nelson seeks more activity after two-year layoff

LONDON – It’s been two years since Gunnar Nelson last competed.

Nelson (19-5-1 MMA, 10-5 UFC) returns against Kevin Holland (26-13 MMA, 13-10 UFC) in a welterweight bout on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 255 main card at The O2 (ESPN+).

Thre most recent octagon appearance for Nelson came in March 2023 when he submitted Bryan Barberena in the first round to notch his second-straight win. Nelson explains that his layoff wasn’t injury related, and teased more activity moving forward.

“I’ve just been focusing on other things in life,” Nelson told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at UFC Fight Night 255 media day. “Coaching our gym back home, my family, and stuff like that. With time, you start putting yourself into second place, into third place, into fourth place.

“We’ll see, maybe I’ll get a little bit busier. I feel great, my body feels great, and I’m still improving. This camp was very good. Of course I’m 36 and you can definitely feel everything in your body, but if I compare this camp to the last one, I think this one was even better and even better on my body. It’s weird.”

Nelson, 36, takes on the very active Holland, who has lost four of his past five, most recently a submission to Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311. Holland has historically struggled with elite grapplers, and with 13 submission wins to his name, Nelson definitely sees a blueprint to beat him.

“In that fight and a couple of others, you could definitely see ways or like holes in Kevin’s game,” Nelson said. “But, I’m sure he works on his weaknesses and stuff like that so, there’s definitely some situations there that you could try and capitalize on for sure.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 255.