Gunnar headlining UFC Belfast
We are proud to announce that Gunnar will be headlining UFC Belfast against Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim (21-3-1-1) on November 19th. Gunnar will feel at home ground but he's often referred to as an honorary Irishman or and adopted son of Ireland due to the fact that he divides his training time between his local club Mjolnir MMA in Reykjavik and SBG Ireland in Dublin and trains under John Kavanagh.
Gunnar is coming from a good second round submission win over Albert Tumenov at UFC Rotterdam in May. Kim is also coming for a win after TKO-ing Dominic Waters in the first round at UFC Fight Night 79 in November last year. Kim being the best MMA fighter out of Asia right now holds notable wins over the likes of Nate Diaz, John Hathaway, Matt Brown, Erick Silva, John Hathaway and Siyar Bahadurzada, just to name a few. His only losses being against the reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, the former champion Carlos Condit and the BJJ legend Demian Maia who many think should get the next title shot in the weight class. Kim is now ranked #10 at the UFC ranking, two places above Gunnar.
Gunnar is extremely proud to headline UFC Belfast, so close to Dublin, his home away from home. " I can’t wait to get back in there in front of the Irish!"
UFC press release about UFC Belfast main event is here below:
WELTERWEIGHTS DONG HYUN KIM AND GUNNAR NELSON TO HEADLINE UFC®’S RETURN TO BELFAST
London, UK –UFC® announced today that No.10 ranked “The Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim will take on No.12 Gunnar "Gunni” Nelson in Belfast on Saturday November 19 at The SSE Arena.
Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: KIM vs. NELSON will go on general sale on Friday, September 23 and are avaiable the SSE Arena box office and Ticketmaster.
Dong Hyun Kim, (21-3-1; fighting out of Busan, South Korea) is one of Korea’s most successful sportsmen, known and loved by fans for his exciting fighting style and explosive power inside the Octagon®. Kim secured back to back finishes in his last two bouts, the most recent of which was a first round knockout over Dominic Waters in November last year.
Nelson, (15-2-1; fighting out of Reykjavik, Iceland) who trains out of Straight Blast Gym in Dublin alongside "The Notorious” Conor McGregor, considers Ireland his second home and has long been a favourite amongst Irish fans. Heading into the fight on the back of a dominant submission win over Russia’s Albert Tumenov in May of this year, Nelson will be looking to rally the support of Irish fans as he prepares to headline his second UFC event.
With both fighters making waves in the UFC’s welterweight division, Kim and Nelson will be hoping to put on a performance of a lifetime for fans, in what is set to be an unmissable five round main event.
The event will take place inside The SSE Arena, which played host to UFC’s first visit to Belfast back in June 2007. UFC 72 was just the third European event to be hosted by UFC and was headlined by a middleweight match up between former champion Rich Franklin and top contender Yushin Okami.
The sport of MMA in Ireland has continued to grow in popularity in recent years. UFC hosted sell out events in Dublin in both 2014 and 2015, with thousands of fans securing their tickets to the events within a matter of minutes. A similar reaction is expected when tickets to UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: KIM vs. NELSONgo on sale on September 23.
Tickets to UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: KIM vs. NELSON will be available to the general public on Friday, September 23 from 10:00 a.m. BST. UFC Fight Club members will be able to secure their ticket early on Wendesday, September 21 and UFC newsletter subscribers will gain access on Thursday, September 22 at 10:00 a.m. BST.
Fans are advised to follow @UFCEurope on Twitter for all the latest #UFCBelfast news.
