One of the top MMA prospect in Europe
June 25, 2009: Sherdog.com has compiled a list of the top ten Euro MMA prospects to look out for. Qualification criteria were a maximum age of 23 years and no contract with a major promotion yet. Gunnar is number four on the list and at the top of the welterweights. Here is what Sherdog.com said about Gunnar:
Originally from a Karate background, Icelandic youngster Gunnar Nelson has been setting the mats on fire since focusing on BJJ three years ago. The John Kavanagh brown belt has trained extensively with B.J. Penn and Renzo Gracie in the past. His big breakthrough came when he took gold at this year’s Pan-American BJJ Championship and silver at the World Championship. Next to that, his perfect MMA record seems just a side note, but it is further evidence of his excellence.
Gunnar competing at the ADCC
June 17, 2009: Gunnar has been offered to compete at the ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) World Submission Fighting Championship that will be held in Barcelona, Spain, on the 26-27th of September. This is of course a great honour for Gunnar but as many people know ADCC is a competition held every two years involving professional athletes who have been successful at the highest levels of Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo, Sambo, Shooto and Mixed Martial Arts. The rules of the event disallow strikes while promoting grappling and submissions. Among many other famous fighters it’s said that Fedor Emelianenko will be entering the ADCC for the first time this year. Gunnar will probably be the least experienced fighter ever to enter the Abu Dhabi Championship who is by most consider to be the hardest submission competition in the world with only an handful of picked fighter in each weight class. However Gunnar’s normal weight class (-77kg) is completely full so Gunnar has been offered a place in the -88kg weight class. This will of course be a great challenge for the young Icelander who will not only be the least experienced fighter in the tournament but also undoubtedly the lightest in his weight class.
Silver at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
June 6, 2009: Gunnar won silver in Men's Brown Belt Middle Weight at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (Mundials) today after losing the finals against Gabriel Goulart on close points. Gunnars first match today was against Alexander Vamos, a match were Gunnar secured his win with a choke. His next match was a rematch against last year World Champion Ryan Beauregard but yesterday Gunnar lost a match against Ryan in the Open Class division. And Gunnar was not going to lose against Ryan again and today Gunnar was winning the match on points when Ryan was DQ’ed for pushing Gunnar after the referee had momentarily stopped the fight. Gunnar continued on his way to the finals winning Vinicius Corrales and Bruno Allen in the semi finals. In the finals Gunnar met Gabriel Goulart in a great match. Gunnar was winning with 2 advantages but with only 30 seconds left of the match Gabriel was given 2 points to take the World Championship after Gunnar had tried an armbar from the top but ending up on bottom with Gabriel in his guard. Again we’ll let a commentary from the Renzo Gracie forum do the talking about Gunnar’s day at the Mundials:
An unlucky draw saw two RGA team members face each other in the first round: Alex Vamos from Joe D'arce's school and our favorite Viking friend Gunnar Nelson.
Alex attacked hard Gunni's legs, but the good technique and flexibility of the Icelandic wonder nullified every submission attempt and cruised to win the match.
Gunni's good start turned out to be a good omen.
He proceeded to crush with cool temperament all his sequent opponents.
In a much anticipated rematch from the previous day's absolute, Gunni had the chance to face again high caliber US fighter Ryan Beauregard.
Just to refresh everyone's memory Gunni lost by a weak ref call the previous day when Ryan was awarded 2points from a drop seoi nage that we all felt was incomplete.
With Gunni this time up on points Ryan attempted a dbl leg take down towards the end of the tatame perimeter. Gunni's reflexes stuffed brilliantly the shot and the ref momentarily asked the competitors to stop fighting to bring back the action to the middle of the mat.
Ryan, unprovoked by an always stone faced Gunnar, pushed violently our teammate on the chest towards the bleachers.
The ref following IBJJF regulation DQed Ryan on the spot, and raised Gunnar's hand in victory.
The final match of the middle weight brown belt division saw Gunnar face Fabio's Gurgel's pupil and 2008 Middle Weight and Absolute Purple belt champ Gabriel Goulart. As the match started Gunni's strong passes were matched by a very technical spider guard by Gabriel. The crowd was going crazy; in one side all the Alliance SP guys with Gurgel in command on the other side the RGA/GB crowd with Master Renzo and old pal Vinicius Draculino yelling strategy to our fighter.
The match was decided by a last minute scramble. Over a strong sweep attempt by Gabriel, Gunnar latched on a tight inverted armbar.
Time stood still. The arm was almost extended, when Gabriel tried a last second pull to free the arm. Gunnar fell and the Alliance representative gained the two points that 30sec later will crown him the new 2009 Middle weight brown belt champ.
Great run by Gunnar, who was just one win short of winning a Triple Crown of Jiu-Jitsu if such a thing exists by medaling in every major BJJ competition in the US this year.
Gunnar Nelson (silver), Gabriel Goulart (gold), Diego Vivaldo Ferreira (bronz) and Bruno Allen (bronz). More pictures from the Mundials 2009.
Gunnar out of Open Class at the Mundials
June 5, 2009: The brown belt Open Class division was today. Gunnar met last year lightweight World Champion Ryan Beauregard (now competing in middle weight) in his first match and lost by a controversial decision. We’ll let Gunnar’s teammate do the talking but this was posted at the Renzo Gracie forum after the match:
In the brown belt absolute earlier in the day our favorite Viking fighter and 2009 Pan AM and NY OPEN champion Gunnar Nelson fought a tough battle against last year's Leve World Champ Ryan Beauregard (his opponent this year is fighting at Middle weight so even if it was absolute from a weight point they were even).
The clue point of this match was right at the beginning. Gunnar's opponent attempted a drop Seoi Nage. Gunnar stuffed the throw, and proceeded to attack the back. After a battle to control the turtle Gunny ended up on bottom. Unfortunately the ref raised the hand to award Beauregard the two points that decided the match (no more points were scored; his opponent was in my opinion stalling for most part of the match).
This was probably a very controversial call (but not the only one in a long day of BJJ fights). It's true that the opponent initiated the take down, but as Gunnar proceeded to attack the back for a few seconds there was no real continuation of the action, and being the turtle a neutral position the opponent should have not been awarded those points. Gunnar will be fighting again tomorrow in his regular weight division.
Gold and bronze at the New York Open
April 19, 2009: Gunnar won gold and bronze at the New York International Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009 last night. He won his weight class and took third place in open weight. Gunnar was very close to getting in the finals in open weight but he lost in the semi-finals with one advantage against a much heavier opponent. Gunnar won the finals in his weight class with a Gi-choke from behind.
Gunnar wins gold at the Pan Championship
March 29, 2009: We are very proud to say that Gunnar just took the gold at the Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009 beating five opponents. Gunnar competed in the men's brown belt division, middle weight. In the first match Gunnar defeated the well known Clark Gracie with points (9-4), but Clark is the son of Carley Gracie 8th degree Red-and-Black Belt and Brazilian National Champion from 1969-1972 (Clark is also the grandson of Carlos Gracie). Gunnar won his second match (against Kale Lopez) also on points and in his third match he forced his opponent to tap out with a gi-choke from behind. In the semi-finals Gunnar met another veteran, Daren Roberts, a third runner up at the No-Gi World Championship 2007 and at the Pan Championship 2007. Gunnar defeated Daren with a cross-choke from the front in three minutes. In the finals Gunnar fought Bruno Alves, a silver medallist from the last World Championship (Mundials). Gunnar controlled the match from the beginning and secured the gold by gi-choking Bruno into submission in less than four minutes. Videos here…
Bruno Alves Gunnar Nelson Daren Roberts
Pictures of Gunnar training at RGA in New York
February 11, 2009: Arni Torfason a freelance photographer working in Reykjavik Iceland visit Gunnar when he was in New York last December and took some pictures of him training at the Renzo Gracie Academy. Arni Torfason has been a photographer for several years and has worked for Morgunbladid and other papers in Iceland. He was the Chairman of the Icelandic Press Photographers Association from 2006-2008. And before that Art Director at the Icelandic Press Photographers Association exhibition from 2004-2005. Gunnar is now back in New York training with Renzo Gracie and his team. Here is a slide show with some of Arni’s pictures of Gunnar in New York.
Christmas and New Year greetings
December 25, 2008: We wish all our readers and supporters a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let’s all keep in mind that Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. May the New Year bring you all perseverance, optimism, good fortune and happiness.
Video of Gunnar's KO in Copenhagen
November 22, 2008: A video of Gunnar's victory over Iran Mascarenhas at the Adrenaline 3: Evolution in Copenhagen, September 6, is now available. As always we recommend using the "watch in high quality" link. See here...
Victory at the NAGA Championship
November 9, 2008: Gunnar competed last night at the North American Grappling Championship (NAGC) in New Jersey and won the gold in No-Gi and the silver in Gi! In Men's No-Gi Expert Middle Weight Gunnar defeated the Brazilian veteran "Macaco" Jorge Patino in the finals. Macaco is of course an illustrious Brazilian vale tudo fighter, with famous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, whose career began back in the 1990's (Macaco has 44 MMA fights according to his HL clip on YouTube). Gunnar then took 2nd place in Men's Gi Brown & Black Cruiser Weight after a battle in the finals against another veteran, Dan Simmler. As seen on Dan's BJJ school website he is a highly decorated and an active competitor since 1999 and has been a top five nationally "ranked" competitor in the USA for seven years, including four years at number one.
Gunnar's win over Macaco and his overall success in the NAGC is a huge accomplishment for the 20 year old Icelander and even more impressive is the fact that Gunnar didn't give up a single point in all his matches in the No-Gi competition. For our Icelandic readers here is an article about this in Icelandic.
"Macaco" Jorge Patino Gunnar Nelson William Hamilton
Gunnar the first Icelandic BJJ Champion
October 27, 2008: Gunnar took home three gold medals from the first Icelandic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championship yesterday. He won his weight class, the open weight class and then took the third gold in the team tournament. His home club, Mjölnir - SBG Iceland, won most medals of the four BJJ clubs in Iceland. Gunnar had about 10 matches at the Championship and won them all without giving up single point. For our Icelandic readers, here is a news report of the tournament from RÚV - The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service last night.
Gunnar wins gold at GB Grappling Open
September 15, 2008: Gunnar took the gold at the 2008 Great Britain Grappling Open National Championship yesterday. The GB Championship was held in Derby, England, and Gunnar participated in the -80kg advance category (No-Gi). Gunnar had four matches and won them all, two on points and two with submission. The victory earns him a qualification for the FILA World Grappling Championship held in Lucerne Switzerland 20/21 of December 2008. However, Gunnar being Icelandic, the victory didn't win him a seat on British grappling team. That seat goes to the British opponent that Gunnar defeated in the finals.
KO victory in Copenhagen
September 6, 2008: Gunnar defeated the experienced Brazilian Iran Mascarenhas at the Adrenaline 3: Evolution in Copenhagen tonight with at great standup KO late in the second round. Gunnar landed some great shots in the round and finally put Iran out with good right hand. Both fighters came out ready to put on a war and a great show. Gunnar shot in at the beginning of the fight but slipped while Iran caught him with a right and they ended up on the ground with Gunnar in bottom guard. However the 2nd degree BJJ black belt was unable to pass Gunnar’s guard and after about two minutes they were back on their feet. After that the fight was a stand-up war. Iran tried some leg kicks but they seemed to hurt him more than Gunnar. The fighters changed strikes for the rest of the round. In the break Gunnar didn't sit down at all and his corner man (Karl Tanswell) stayed in the ring only for a few seconds. It must have been uncomfortable for Iran, as he sat in his corner, to watch Gunnar standing the whole time and staring at him for more than half the break to come out to fight. Early in the 2nd round Gunnar tried a kick that Iran caught, swept Gunnar to the floor and tried to soccer kick him in the head while he was getting up. The referee gave Iran a warning and he apologized for the mistake. After that it was all Gunnar throwing bombs at Iran and getting great support from his many Icelandic supporters that came to Denmark to watch the fight. Finally Gunnar bombed Iran with some great combinations and knocked him out in the corner with a beautiful overhand right 3 min 22 sec into the round. Certainly at great win for the 20 year old Icelandic fighter against the much more experienced 30 year old Iran whose record was 13-3 before the fight. Gunnar is still undefeated in his MMA career. 
Gunnar fighting Iran Mascarenhas in September
August 11, 2008: Gunnar will be fighting the experienced Brazilian Iran Mascarenhas at the Adrenaline 3: Evolution in Copenhagen on September 6th. Iran is a solid black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu who had his first MMA fight ten years ago and according to the Adrenaline Sports website he’s the most experienced fighter of the entire Adrenaline 3 fight card. He has been fighting in almost every single grappling tournament in Scandinavia since he moved to Denmark some years ago and won many medals (including the gold on Scandinavian BJJ Open few years ago). Iran’s last MMA pro fight was two years ago against the extremely strong Swedish fighter Thomas Valentin. Although Iran fought a great fight and was dominating the fight, he was taken by surprise by a strong kimura and was forced to submit to the Swede. Since then, Iran has focused on his grappling but now it is time for his long awaited come back on the MMA scene. Iran who is 30 years old has been living and teaching in Copenhagen for some years now and has his own competition team in Denmark, the Mascarenhas team. So even though he’s Brazilian, Copenhagen is his home ground now and he will without a doubt be getting a lot of support by his students and co-trainers. Iran say’s that he is training very hard for this fight and preparing himself well for his new enter into the MMA world (here is a video of Iran talking about the upcoming fight against Gunnar). Gunnar is also ready and training hard. He is now in Manchester preparing with Karl Tanswell in SBG UK for this fight and aiming for a victory as always.
Renzo Gracie and Gunnar on TV
June 30, 2008: Renzo Gracie honored Iceland and the club Mjolnir with a visit earlier this month. Friday night (June 27) there was an interview with him and Gunnar about BJJ on the news of Station 2 in the Icelandic TV. Gracie spoke highly of Gunnar and his potentials and of others at the club also. Some of this interview is in Icelandic (Gunnar's part) but those that want to hear Renzo (in the beginning, middle and the end) will just have to live with that. The interview is about 3-4 minutes.
Gunnar awarded a brown belt in BJJ
June 28, 2008: Gunnar's tonight grappling fight against Piotr Stawski went the whole 10 minutes and was therefore declared a draw. After the fight Gunnar's trainer, John Kavanagh, announced that Gunnar had been awarded a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Gunnar and "Goliath"
June 27, 2008: Gunnar will be competing tomorrow night (June 28th) against a big and powerful opponent, the polish Piotr Stawski. This will be a 10 minute grappling super fight at the Ring of Truth tournament in Dublin, Ireland. The fight is a submission only fight, so there will be no points, only victory by a submission or a draw if the fight goes the 10 minute distance. The polish grappler and former judo fighter has about 30kg weight advantage over Gunnar and has powered his way through the Irish BJJ and Submission Wrestling competition scene, winning the gold both in Gi and No-Gi at the Irish Munster BJJ open. Two weeks ago (June 14th) Stawski won the Irish National Submission Championships 2008. He runs a BJJ club in Ireland and is very athletic, as seen in this exhibition video (Stawski in black). This will likely be a very hard fight for Gunnar, giving up a great weight advantage against this vastly strong, fast and explosive opponent.
Gunnar is home from Hawaii
June 5, 2008: Gunnar arrived home from Hawaii yesterday morning after spending 3 months training with BJ Penn and his fight team in Hilo. Gunnar said his stay there was fantastic, both the training and the time there in general. “I got to train with high level fighters that really know how to work as a team and help each other’s out so the team can be better, and that creates a vibe that you want to be part of, and it helped me get to the next level of my training. When I was not training I was enjoying the beautiful Hawaii, going to the beach, jumping cliffs, climbing coco trees and having the time of my life!” says Gunnar who emphasis he can’t thank BJ Penn, his family and everyone involved in his gym enough for their help and hospitality. “If you want to combine top level fight training with a fantastic time and learn a lifetime of knowledge, Hilo is the place.”
Gunnar takes the gold at the Hawaiian Open
June 2, 2008: Gunnar participated in Hawaiian Open Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu last night and won 1st place in the middle weight advance No-Gi category. Gunnar is now heading home to Iceland after spending 3 months training with BJ Penn and his fight team in Hilo, Hawaii. He'll then be going to Ireland in two weeks and staying there and in England for a month or so training with John Kavanagh and Karl Tanswell.
Gunnar is in Hawaii
Mar 14, 2008: Gunnar has arrived to Hilo in Hawaii and will be there for the next 2-3 months training with BJ Penn and his fight team. As most MMA fans know BJ is now preparing for his UFC World title defense against Sean Sherk but the fight will take place at UFC 84 in Las Vegas, May the 24th. This is of course a great opportunity for Gunnar to train among many of the very best MMA fighters in the world today.
Interview with Gunnar on national TV
Feb 5, 2008: There was a very good interview with Gunnar about his training and MMA on RÚV - The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service last night. Gunnar discussed his MMA and BJJ training and the great rising of those sports worldwide.
Gunnar in Fighters Only Magazine
Jan 27, 2008: The newest issue of Fighter Only Magazine (February) includes a very good interview with Gunnar in the article Wanderlust (p. 53). There is also a review (p. 78) about Gunnar’s victory over Barry Mairs where it says about Gunnar’s performance “At 19 years of age, his clinical dismantling of game opponent Barry Mairs showed a maturity beyond his years. With excellent positioning and balance, he used a devastatingly precise ground 'n pound game to put his opponent to sleep midway through the first round.”
We also strongly recommend the editors, Hywel's Teague, article “Prodigies” (p. 26). Here is a glimpse from that article: “I've spent time with a fighter I consider to be a true prodigy. I'm hesitant to give his name in case I place a curse on this young professional, but at only 19 years old, I believe him to be the real deal.
Watching him fight is like watching a Hindu cow stroll through the streets of New Delhi he is so calm. He has two years of training in mixed martial arts (MMA) and BJJ under his belt, yet taps out black belts with years of experience. When he isn't training, he is thinking about training, running through moves in his head and playing out strategies. He eats, breathes and lives MMA.
This young fighter also trains with the best to become the best, and soaks information up like a sponge, another characteristic of a prodigy. BJ Penn famously asked Frank Shamrock to teach him one thing a day, he was that quick at picking things up. Able to assimilate knowledge at a breakneck pace, once he was shown how to do something it would be part of his game forever, a remarkable thing for a fighter to do.”
Gunnar offered to fight for the Adrenaline Sports title in Copenhagen, Denmark
Jan 20, 2008: Gunnar had been offered a possible title fight in Adrenaline Sports - Rise of the Champions tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark, in April. Unfortunately he is not able to accept this offer because it doesn't fit in his training plan, but Gunnar will presumably be in Hawaii in March-May training with the UFC World Champion, B. J. Penn's, fight team.
For our Icelandic readers here is an article about this on the Icelandic news site, VISIR.
Pictures and slide show video of Gunnar's victory over Barry Mairs
Dec 11, 2007: We've got some pictures and a slide show video of Gunnar's victory over Barry Mairs.
Gunnar takes Barry Mairs out with a 1st round KO!
Dec 9, 2007: Gunnar just defeated the British Commando, Barry Mairs, with a 1st round KO at Angrrr Management: Get ready for WAR event in Weston Super Mare, England. Barry Mairs was coming from a 1st round KO win at his last fight but Gunnar took him to the ground early in the 1st round and finished the fight with some great Ground and Pound that knocked Mairs out 3:38 minutes into the round. Great victory and Gunnar will now be heading home to Iceland for the Holidays. More pictures coming soon.
Gunnar defeats Niek Tromp in less than two minutes
Nov 24, 2007: Tonight Gunnar def. Niek Tromp (Team Duncan - Holland) by submission due to strikes in the 1st round (1 min 50 sec) at Cage of Truth: Battle on the Bay at Donahgmede in Dublin, Ireland. Tromp had 15 victories under his belt before this fight and only two losses, both by decision. But that didn't make any difference tonight when he met the Icelander who surprised the Dutchman with his great ground skills and won the fight in less than two minutes. Another fighters trainer later commentated that “Gunnar showed some incredible GnP ability. It was like watching a shotgun reloading each time- click click-boom, I've never been on bottom getting hit that accurately... and I have no desire to do so in the future!” See here...
Double victory for Gunnar at the Irish BJJ Open
Oct 20, 2007: Gunnar participated in the Irish BJJ Open and took the gold, both in his weight class and in the absolute class. Icelandic BJJ fighters have join in the Irish BJJ Open before but never won a medal, let alone double gold medal! Gunnar won two of his bouts with an Armbar submission, one with a Side Choke and the rest on points.
Gunnar wins again in the 1st round
Oct 6, 2007: Gunnar def. Adam Slawinski (Baltic Fighters - Poland) by TKO in the 1st round (2 min 30 sec) at UFR10: Tribal Warfare in Galway, Ireland. Slawinski who was at the top of the Irish MMA League never had a change against Gunnar who took back mount in the beginning of the first round and punish the Polish fighter until the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight two minutes later. See here...
Gunnar takes Driss El Bakara out in the 1st round
Sep 29, 2007: Gunnar def. Driss El Bakara (French Top Team - France) by armbar submission in the 1st round (3 min 46 sec) at Cage Rage Contenders: Dynamite at the National Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Bakara had just come of a good 2nd round win at CR - Contenders 5 where he won by RNC. But the Frenchman had no answer to Gunnar's great ground game. Gunnar landed a takedown off a jab straight away in the beginning of the round. He then secured mount and landed some great strikes. Securing an arm, he pounded his opponent before finishing with an armbar. Driss momentarily lost consciousness from Gunnar’s strikes, before being woken up by the armbar – this has since been christened the “alarmbar”. A commentator on the Ring of Truth website said that Gunnar “looked amazingly zen-like and composed. It was one of those situations where he looked so relaxed it was like he was just training in the gym, methodically getting mount and then calmly timing his strikes. He threw less from top than anyone else on the night, but he landed everything and you could hear the impact.” See here...