It has been the best part of 18 months since we have seen Gunnar Nelson compete in the UFC but that wait appears close to its conclusion after reports have emerged from several sources which state that the the Icelander is close to inking a bout agreement to face Brazilian welterweight Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira at UFC 321 on December 8 in Toronto, Canada.

News of the bout was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Nelson’s last appearance was a frustrating and brief defeat at the hands (and fingers, some might say) of Santiago Ponzinibbio, where Nelson lost by TKO barely 90 seconds into the bout. However, Nelson protested after the fight that the Argentine had ‘poked’ him in the eyes on numerous occasions early in the fight.

Video evidence appeared to support this conclusion.

Nelson was slated to return earlier this year against Neil Magny at the UFC’s event in Liverpool but a knee injury sustained in the lead-in to the bout ruled him out of contention.

Now healthy again, the 16-3-1 fighter will look to re-establish his position in the UFC’s top ten welterweight rankings.

Oliveira, meanwhile, takes a two-fight win streak into the fight with successive wins against Carlos Condit and Carlo Pedersoli, to make it six wins out of his last seven.