Gunnar Nelson isn't 'worried' about ring rust ahead of his clash against Kevin Holland at UFC Fight Night London [Exclusive]

The Veteran is going up against Kevin Holland at a familiar venue!

UFC veteran Gunnar Nelson is making a comeback after a long time at a familiar venue in London, England. Gunni is set to battle Kevin Holland this Saturday at the O2 Arena in London on the card which is headlined by London’s own former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards will battle Sean Brady.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz is set to battle Carlos Ulberg in the co-main event of the show. The event will mark the promotion’s 16th visit to London and first since UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs Tybura in July 2023.

Our #UFCLondon return gets better and better 🤩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jordan Vucenic vs Chris Duncan 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇸 Gunnar Nelson vs Kevin Holland 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/5iGFedu7Sg

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 5, 2025

This is Nelson’s first outing since March 2023, where he picked up a win via armbar in the very first round against Bryan Barberena. However, such a long break isn’t a new thing for the veteran whose second last fight was in 2022, a whole year before his 2023 outing.

Ahead of his fight on March 22, Gunnar Nelson sat down with Khel Now for an exclusive interview. Nelson revealed his plans for 2025, his pick for the UFC Welterweight title clash at UFC 315, his upcoming match, and his advantages against Kevin Holland.

Gunnar Nelson has been busy with coaching and isn’t worried about ring rust

The MMA veteran has taken time away from the octagon to focus on coaching and training, but he remains unphased by the prospect of ring rust.

“I don’t think so, I’ve done this before. This is not my first time having a big break and yeah, I mean, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. I don’t know if, I’m not too worried about it.”

Nelson took a long break after his September 2019 clash against Gilbert Burns, he made his return in 2022n when he fought Takashi Sato in March 2022.

Nelson believes the Welterweight division is weird but has high praise for the champion

When asked about the current landscape of the UFC Welterweight division, Nelson stated, “I feel like the welterweight has been kind of weird for some time. Um, it, it’s quite open, uh, and it has been for, for a good while.”

However, Gunni believes that the current Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad has a good ground game but states that anything can happen in the division.

“Bilal is a, yeah, he is a good wrestler. You know, he keeps his pace up and stuff. Um, uh, but I feel like, we’ll, we’ll see what happens in the next year or so. But yeah, I feel like anything can happen in this division.”

When asked for his pick for the main event of UFC 315 where Muhammad will defend the Welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena, Nelson stated that while Madalena has unique style Belal will pick up the win via decision.

“I think Maddalena is somebody Belal has never faced. You know, he is got a little bit of a. Different style on the feet, you know, than most guys in MMA is quite unique on the feet in MMA, I think. he’s very good, very good with his boxing and, and his takedown defense is, is quite handy as well. It’s a tough one. I don’t know. I think Belal might win by decision, but. We will see. Yeah”

Gunnar believes Kevin Holland is “a very exciting fighter”

When asked about his upcoming clash with Kevin Holland, Nelson lauded Holland stating that he is a “fun fighter to watch”. Nelson accepts that his gameplan isn’t a mystery but he will go through the feel-out process to start the fight.

“I think it’s a great matchup. Um, Kevin is a very exciting fighter and, he does a little bit of everything. You know, he’s good on the feet. He is got quite a bit of knockouts. He, he’s, uh, decent on the ground as well, or he’s a black belt, I believe. And so, and he’s, he’s somebody, it’s fun to watch, you know, he, he. It’s exciting.”

Gunnar opens up about fighting at the O2 Arena and shares details about his training camp

Nelson loves the atmosphere at the O2 Arena and is very familiar with the venue, having fought there in his last two bouts. “In O2. Yeah. I’ve fought here many, many times and yeah, we kind of, I’m very familiar with everything here and yeah, it’s nice. The crowd here is, is phenomenal.”

When asked about his current training camp, Nelson revealed that while he didn’t go to his gym (SBG Ireland) for this training camp, John Kavanagh is still his head coach.

Gunni also stated that he is currently focused on this fight against Holland and will decide his plans for 2025 afterward, “I’m just focused on, um, what’s in front of me, and then, uh, we’ll take that and then we will, we’ll see, you know, after the match.”

Nelson anticipated a great fight on Saturday and emphasized his focus on finishing the match. He also expressed gratitude for the support from his fans. “I think it’s gonna be a good fight. Like always I’m going in there to try to, to, to finish the fight, you know? And, uh, yeah, just, uh, appreciate the support. If you’re watching, if you follow me.”

Watch UFC Fight Night – Edwards vs. Della Maddalena on 23rd March 2025 at 12:30 AM IST LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu)

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