Gunnar Nelson issues statement following loss to Gilbert Burns

Fan favorite Gunnar Nelson collided with Gilbert Burns in a welterweight bout at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night Copenhagen event.

It marked the second time in a year that the Icelandic warrior had fought in Europe. Gunnar Nelson faced Leon Edwards at UFC London in March and left the Octagon with another loss and a broken orbital bone after receiving a nasty elbow. After healing from his injury and getting back to training, ‘Gunni’ was inked to fight Thiago Alves. However, Alves withdrew due to injury, leaving Gilbert Burns to fill in for the fight.

Burns is no stranger to taking fights on short notice. He agreed to fight Alexey Kunchenko two-weeks before their August 2019 bout. ‘Durinho’ beat his opponent by unanimous decision and delivered Kunchenko the first loss of his professional career.

Gunnar Nelson (17-5-1) had been alternating between wins and losses in his last 8 fights. The split decision loss against Leon Edwards followed a submission win over Alex Oliveira at UFC 231 in 2018. Before that, the 31-year old was swiftly defeated by Santiago Ponzinibbio via a first round knock out.

After three rounds of competitive action, Gunnar ultimately suffered a decision setback to Burns at last weekends UFC Copenhagen event. The loss marked his fifth career defeat as a professional.

Most recently, Gunnar Nelson took to his official Instagram page where he issued the following statement on the loss.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3C24GxHQ2_/

“I wanna thank the people who helped me prepare for this fight, my team, coaches, training partners, family, sponsors and all my fans and the support I always get, the energy in the Royal Arena was electric⚡
I wanna thank Gilbert Burns for taking the fight on a short notice and congratulate him. All the best too you. We didn’t get the results that we wanted and that really hurts but it is a change to learn and there is lots of room for improvement, ill be back in the gym working ASAP!! As for right now i will spend time with my family we are having a baby girl in October and I cant wait, much love too you all❤”

Who would you like to see Gunnar Nelson fight next? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!

October 3, 2019