It looks like the UFC is wasting no time fast-tracking Gunnar Nelson up the welterweight ranks. The Icelandic prospect is set to fight in the United States for the first time in his career, and he has a tough test ahead in Mike Pyle. MMA Junkie broke the news late last night:
A welterweight matchup between Icelandic prospect Gunnar Nelson (11-0-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and longtime veteran Mike Pyle (24-8-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is the latest addition to May's UFC 160 event.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today learned of the booking from sources close to the fighters. UFC executives have yet to formally announce the contest.
Nelson is a 24-year-old grappling wizard who has shown plenty of promise in his two UFC fights. He swiftly submitted DaMarques Johnson in his debut, and three weeks ago in London he beat veteran Jorge Santiago by unanimous decision.
Pyle has won 6 of his last 7 fights, including a TKO win over James Head on the TUF 16 Finale preliminary card. "Quicksand" was by no means noted for his KO abilities when he entered the UFC, but he's recorded three straight KO/TKO wins, and has upped his career total from 2 to 5 in that department. Pyle is no stranger to facing prospects, he defeated John Hathaway at UFC 120, but was TKOed by Rory MacDonald at UFC 133.
UFC 160 is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Antonio Silva, with the co-main event set between Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.
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