UFC London: Gunnar Nelson could turn to TV stardom after Leon Edwards showdown
GUNNAR NELSON hopes to put on a Scandi thriller tonight at the O2 Arena in London – and then perhaps star in one.
The Icelandic welterweight faces Leon Edwards in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 147, but took time out from his preparations to film an advert to raise awareness of male cancer and a parody video of the dance hit ‘Call on me’ which quickly went viral.
So will we see ‘Gunni’ playing an ice-cool killer in some Nordic noir sometime in the future?
“We will see,” said a grinning Nelson. “My sister (Maria) is an actress and she has been dragging me into all these shenanigans, like ‘Call on me’ videos and what not.
“I enjoyed it and I enjoy acting and it was an important thing to promote cancer awareness.
I enjoy acting and it was an important thing to promote cancer awareness
“I was working alongside so many, many great men in the advert and I enjoyed it. It was good fun.”
First Nelson, 30, will be looking to be the star of the show again in the octagon and extend his record of five straight wins as a pro in the capital.
While he is usually a firm fan favourite, the crowd could be split this time against Birmingham-based Edwards.
“I always enjoy fighting here, and in England in general,” added Nelson.
“I love it here, with the atmosphere of the crowd.
“However, it is probably going to be a bit different this time (fighting Leon). But you have to go in there and do your job and embrace whatever reaction you get.”
After a 17-month lay-off, Nelson returned last December and secured an impressive trademark choke submission win over Alex Oliveira.
Now the six-year UFC veteran is targeting an injury-free run for Kamaru Usman’s welterweight title.
“I am free of injuries and feel fresh,” said Nelson. “Since my lay-off I have taken my strength and conditioning training to another level.
"It is a much larger part of my camps now and my training is always developing.
“But this is the time to start pushing, pushing forward. And a win over Leon will definitely shoot me right up there.”
UFC Fight Night 147 will be headlined by Liverpool’s Darren ‘The Gorilla’ Till, who will face Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal in a welterweight showdown.