Every once in awhile, us fight fans get treated to a dream match-up.
Whether it’s two hard-nosed strikers like Diego Sanchez and Gilbert Melendez, two fighters in their prime like Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold or two hate-filled rivals like Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson, certain fights are unmissable.
And the latest addition to UFC 194 is just that as Gunnar Nelson’s next fight has been officially announced and it’s a doozy.
SBG’s Nelson comes up against arguably the greatest BJJ practitioner to ever compete in the UFC in Demian Maia.
The fight was discussed in relation to UFC Dublin but an injury to Maia ruled out having the match-up take place as early as October so December 12 was the perfect alternative.
Maia, a fourth degree BJJ black belt and former ADCC champion, has 10 submissions to his name in his mixed martial arts career and he will be the sternest test of Gunni‘s career.
Both fighters are coming off rear naked choke victories with Maia’s submission of Neil Magny coming three weeks after Nelson beat Brandon Thatch at UFC 189.
Nelson is more than a little capable on the mat himself, with 10 submissions under his belt too, and he’s no pushover for the Brazilian.
We could be in for the most back-and-forth grappling clash in UFC history and it’s safe to say we’re a teeny bit excited for the latest addition to the December card that is headlined by Nelson’s teammate Conor McGregor.
The fight card now looks like this and it could well be complete.
- Champ Jose Aldo v Interim Champ Conor McGregor
- Champ Chris Weidman v Luke Rockhold
- Yoel Romero v Jacare Souza
- Max Holloway v Jeremy Stephens
- Gunnar Nelson v Demian Maia
- Urijah Faber v Frankie Saenz
- Tecia Torres v Michelle Waterson
- Warlley Alves v Colby Covington
- Marcio Alexandre Jr. v Court McGee
- John Makdessi v Yancy Medeiros
- Kevin Lee v Leonardo Santos
- Magomed Mustafaev v Joe Proctor
