Gunnar Nelson (19-6-1, 17) was born in Akureyri, Iceland on July 28, 1988. At the age of 18 years on May 5, 2007, he made his professional MMA debut against John Olesen, losing the fight via 3-round draw.
On September 29, 2012, 24-year old Gunnar Nelson made his UFC debut on his 11th professional MMA fight at UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic against a 30-year old DaMarques Johnson, winning the fight in the 1st round via submission.
Nelson's last fight was a 3-round unanimous decision loss to Kevin Holland at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Brady at age 36 on March 22, 2025. He is on a 1-fight losing streak.
He has fought 16 times in the UFC, and has a record of 10 wins and 6 losses in the promotion.
Some of Gunnar Nelson's best fights have been against Omari Akhmedov, Bryan Barberena, DaMarques Johnson, Brandon Thatch, Zak Cummings, Albert Tumenov and Alan Jouban.
Nelson has 6 losses on his MMA record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26  | Mar 22, 2025 36 years, 7 months 19-6-1 (17) | 32 years, 4 months 26-13 (21) | UFC | 3 | UD | LOSS | |
25  | Mar 18, 2023 34 years, 7 months 19-5-1 (17) | 33 years, 10 months 18-9 (13) | UFC | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar | |
24  | Mar 19, 2022 33 years, 7 months 18-5-1 (16) | 31 years, 9 months 15-4 (13) | UFC | 3 | UD | WIN | |
23  | Sep 28, 2019 31 years, 2 months 17-5-1 (16) | 33 years, 2 months 16-3 (12) | UFC | 3 | UD | LOSS | |
22  | Mar 16, 2019 30 years, 7 months 17-4-1 (16) | 27 years, 6 months 16-3 (9) | UFC | 3 | SD | LOSS | |
21  | Dec 8, 2018 30 years, 4 months 17-3-1 (16) | 30 years, 9 months 20-5-1 (17) | UFC | 2 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
20  | Jul 16, 2017 28 years, 11 months 16-3-1 (15) | 30 years, 9 months 24-3 (19) | UFC | 1 | KO | LOSS Punches | |
19  | Mar 18, 2017 28 years, 7 months 16-2-1 (15) | 34 years, 3 months 15-4 (10) | UFC | 2 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke | |
18  | May 8, 2016 27 years, 9 months 15-2-1 (14) | 24 years, 4 months 16-3 (11) | UFC | 2 | SUB | WIN Neck crank | |
17  | Dec 12, 2015 27 years, 4 months 14-2-1 (13) | 38 years, 1 months 21-6 (12) | UFC | 3 | UD | LOSS | |
16  | Jul 11, 2015 26 years, 11 months 14-1-1 (13) | 30 years 11-2 (11) | UFC | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
15  | Oct 4, 2014 26 years, 2 months 13-1-1 (12) | 30 years, 1 months 17-8 (8) | UFC | 5 | SD | LOSS | |
14  | Jul 19, 2014 25 years, 11 months 13-0-1 (12) | 29 years, 11 months 17-3 (13) | UFC | 2 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
13  | Mar 8, 2014 25 years, 7 months 12-0-1 (11) | 26 years, 4 months 13-1 (11) | UFC | 1 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke | |
12  | Feb 16, 2013 24 years, 6 months 11-0-1 (10) | 32 years, 4 months 25-10 (22) | UFC | 3 | UD | WIN | |
11  | Sep 29, 2012 24 years, 2 months 10-0-1 (10) | 30 years, 3 months 16-11 (14) | UFC | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
10 | Feb 25, 2012 23 years, 6 months 9-0-1 (9) | Alexander Butenko | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar | ||
9 | Sep 25, 2010 22 years, 1 months 8-0-1 (8) | Eugene Fadiora | 1 | SUB | WIN Neck crank | ||
8 | Aug 28, 2010 22 years, 1 months 7-0-1 (7) | Danny Mitchell | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | ||
7 | Feb 13, 2010 21 years, 6 months 6-0-1 (6) | Sam Elsdon | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | ||
6 | Sep 6, 2008 20 years, 1 months 5-0-1 (5) | Iran Mascarenhas | 2 | KO | WIN Punch | ||
5 | Dec 9, 2007 19 years, 4 months 4-0-1 (4) | Barry Mairs | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | ||
4 | Nov 24, 2007 19 years, 3 months 3-0-1 (3) | Niek Tromp | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | ||
3 | Oct 6, 2007 19 years, 2 months 2-0-1 (2) | Adam Slawinski | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | ||
2 | Sep 29, 2007 19 years, 2 months 1-0-1 (1) | Driss El Bakara | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar | ||
1 | May 5, 2007 18 years, 9 months 0-0-1 (0) | John Olesen | 3 | UD | DRAW Split |
