Gunnar Nelson was scheduled to fight Dong Hyun Kim in the main event of UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, Nelson withdrew from the November 19th card due to an injury, and the new main event is a rematch between Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall.
The Icelandic welterweight contender recently released a statement on Instagram explaining what happened, and according to the BJJ standout, the injury occurred during a UFC open workout.
“I was so much looking forward to fighting again in Ireland and now its not happening because of a stupid ankle twist that ironically happened in a UFC open workout!! It happened at 1:08 min into the video that was live on Facebook for those who want to see it, its still up I think,” Nelson said.
" I was so much looking forward to fighting again in Ireland and now it's not happening because of a stupid ankle twist that ironically happened in a UFC open workout!! It happened at 1:08 min into the video that was live on Facebook for those who want to see it, it's still up I think.
"Right away I wasn't sure how serious it was so I kept face and rolled a little on but told my training partner Kenny Baker about it during and he knew all about it he said because he felt the massive click when it happened. I was forced to stop within minutes because I realized it was bad. For a few days I was not able to put any weight on the leg and thought I had to pull out and felt devastated but then within 10 days I got to a state where I could walk normally without much pain so I thought again that I was gonna fight and felt great. For a few weeks I was doing everything that I could to get better so I would be able to return to proper training again but that next step of being able to bounce, move in and out and grapple just would not happened. I kept doing everything I could which was mostly rowing, swimming, and bits here and there thinking I would get there.
" A week ago my trainers told me and I was starting to realize that this was gonna take more time and I could not go into this fight with one ankle and not really any martial art training at all :( Again I am so sorry for this but to all who already booked their tickets and travels and all the fans that were looking forward to this fight like I was.
"I will be back soon better than ever,” Nelson concluded. “Thank you all for all the support and I'm sorry for any inconvenience.”
Nelson has fought just once this year, submitting Albert Tumenov at UFC Rotterdam in May. He holds an overall record of 15-2-1 and is #12 in the current UFC welterweight rankings. His only two defeats are both by decision, vs. Rick Story and Demian Maia.