Close Friend & Ex-Training Partner Says Conor McGregor Hasn’t Trained With Him in ‘Years’ After Delaying UFC Return

What if we tell you that Gunnar Nelson’s father was perhaps one of the first to manage Conor McGregor long before he rose to superstardom? In fact, Halli was also the one who contacted UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby regarding the bombastic Irishman. It is therefore natural that the veteran welterweight and the former double champ shared a close bond. Despite being labeled as “yin and yang” by Nelson’s father, the duo have always had each other’s back. “He deserves the attention he’s getting. He’s not putting on an act. It’s the way he is and he’s also a great fighter.” Nelson said about McGregor back in 2014.

Moreover, the two trained together regularly in the early 2010s, splitting their time between McGregor’s renowned Straight Blast Gym in Ireland and Nelson’s Mjölnir gym in Iceland. While their friendship was once strong, it appears that time and circumstances have led them to drift apart.

On being asked by Ariel Helwani if he has trained with ‘The Notorious’ for his upcoming, March 22 UFC London clash against Kevin Holland, Nelson revealed that let alone train, he hadn’t even met the Irishman in years. “No, I haven’t trained with Conor for a long long time. We keep in touch sometimes on Instagram and stuff like that. But I haven’t met him in a good while,” the welterweight said.

“Really, any particular reason?” the Canadian journo asked.

“Well, it’s just life, you know? He’s very busy doing his thing and I’m doing my thing and yeah, I think it’s just life,” Nelson clarified.

This is a bit sad to hear. You can still find old videos of ‘Mystic Mac’ and ‘Gunni’ training together on YouTube around 2014-15 when the Irish superstar was on his come up. Of course, the bombastic Dubliner went on another level of stardom after his sport-defining 13-second knockout victory over Jose Aldo in December 2015. Moreover, ‘Gunni’ even predicted that McGregor would knockout the Brazilian legend and mind you! This was a time before the Conor era really arrived and when many were against this notion of the Irishman going over Aldo.

And it seems the Irishman and the Icelander started to drift off after that. Since McGregor has not really been training for the past few, well, years, it is not surprising the duo haven’t met in a while. But it is good to hear that the Icelander understands the baggage of father time. But for the moment, Gunnar would not be thinking about McGregor or his UFC comeback since he has his own very serious business to take care of.

Gunnar Nelson’s next fight may determine the course of his career

Gunnar Nelson will go into UFC London with a chip on his shoulder. The Icelander hasn’t fought in nearly two years, and the Kevin Holland clash is crucial if he wants to make a case to fight a ranked opponent, and eventually, a title run. Since ‘Gunni’ is already 36, a loss could be a massive setback and derail any hopes of him ever fighting for the UFC gold. And what an interesting matchup the Icelander faces.

Nelson is a pretty good grappler. So good, in fact, that he holds the record for the most submissions in the UFC’s welterweight division at seven. On the other hand, Holland, despite having some grappling skills, likes to keep the fight exclusively on the feet. And against a grappler of Nelson’s caliber, Holland would be desperate to keep the fight a stand-up affair.

‘Trailblazer’ has a significant, eight inch reach advantage over ‘Gunni’, which would certainly make getting in range and trying to take him down pretty difficult. But if and when he does, the Icelander will give Holland hell. This is why their classic striker vs. grappler matchup is so intriguing for fans. What do your think about Gunnar Nelson’s revelations about his relationship with Conor McGregor?