Gunnar Nelson targeting UFC 232 return

UFC welterweight contender Gunnar Nelson may fight before the end of 2018.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen UFC welterweight veteran Gunnar Nelson inside the Octagon, and now it looks as if there’s a possibility that we will see him before the calendar flips over to 2019.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on Sunday that Nelson’s father, Halli, said that his son is healthy and ready to return to action. No opponent has been named or agreed to, but the targeted event for the Icelandic submission specialist is UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 on December 29th.

The last time Nelson (16-3-1) fought was way back in July 2017, when he was controversially knocked out by Santiago Ponzinibbio in the UFC Glasgow main event. Nelson and his team unsuccessfully appealed to have the result overturned, as replays showed that Ponzinibbio poked him in the eye in the lead-up to the knockout.

The 30-year-old was scheduled to fight Neil Magny in the UFC Liverpool co-main event in May, but withdrew due to a knee injury. Surgery soon followed and put him on the shelf for several more weeks. His last win was a submission of Alan Jouban at UFC London in March 2017.

Nelson is currently ranked #14 in the UFC’s welterweight division.