Gunnar Nelson has a new opponent for what will be his first fight since September 2019.
The Icelander was poised to make his return to the Octagon against Claudio Silva later this month but injury forced the Brazilian veteran to withdraw from the contest, prompting UFC officials to scramble to locate a new opponent for Nelson — and per a report by ESPN, the UFC have landed on Japanese welterweight Takashi Sato.
The 31-year-old Sato owns a 16-4 career record and is 2-2 in the UFC since making his debut against Ben Saunders in April 2019. His UFC career to date shows two wins by TKO and two losses by submission, with that last statistic perhaps being of interest to Nelson who remains one of the best submission artists in the 170-pound fold. The majority of Sato’s wins, meanwhile, have come by TKO.
Nelson, meanwhile, will look to erase a two-fight skid which has come against some of the welterweight division’s finest, after losing his last two outings to Gilbert Burns and Leon Edwards.
UFC London takes place on March 19 and is scheduled to be headlined by a heavyweight title between Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov.
