From making gardens for people to punching fighters inside the UFC Octagon, Gunnar Lúðvík Nelson has had quite the journey in life! Such is his journey that he even is a close friend and former training partner of Conor McGregor! They trained in the 2010 period sometimes in McGregor’s Straight Blast Gym in Ireland and then in Nelson’s Mjölnir gym in Iceland. However, now they hardly meet because of different career trajectories as Gunnar stated to Ariel Helwani.

Gunnar  is an MMA star in the welterweight division of UFC and the black belt in BJJ and has a record of 19-5-1. ‘Gunni’ was always interested in football and hockey. However, MMA is the one sport that proved to be his calling.

He also trained with Renzo Gracie and was also placed 4th in the absolute division at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championships. However, his combat sports journey did not start until 13 when he finally started with karate in his local institute. “My dad didn’t let me start until then,” he said to Sherdog. So, what was his life like before MMA? Which country does he represent?

Is Gunnar Nelson Icelandic? Ethnicity and nationality

‘Gunni’ was born July 28th, 1988, in Akureyri, Iceland on the northern side of the country. He also lived in Reykjavik which is the capital of Iceland. He also has a sister Maria Dogg Nelson who was born in 1992. The welterweight was born to his mother, Gudrun Hulda Gunnarsdottir Nelson, and father, Haraldur Dean Nelson. Gunnar’s father is of Anglo-American and Icelandic descent and he is also Gunnar’s manager. And guess what? He even managed McGregor at the beginning of his career!

His sister is an actress in his home country, so both the children are relatively famous. He has always been into sports since childhood and played both football and hockey. “I did karate for about four years, and, after two, I moved onto Kumite (points sparring),” Nelson said in the same interview with Sherdog. “I represented the international team for about one and a half years before a friend introduced me to grappling,” he said.

Gunnar also mentioned in the same interview that he fell in love with Jiu-Jitsu from an early age. He said, “I just started focusing on that, and my mind couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I think that’s why I progressed pretty fast.” With a constructive experience in karate and an amazing IQ for grappling, the transition to MMA seemed like a natural journey for Nelson. He had his first fight in May 2007 against Danish fighter John Olesen. Even though the fight ended in a draw, Nelson had a good experience with the fight. Since then MMA has always been a main stay of his life.

What religion does Gunnar Nelson follow?

Gunnar Nelson’s religious beliefs are not publicly known. However, given his Icelandic roots and the preponderance of Christianity, particularly Lutheranism, in Iceland, it’s possible he was raised in that faith. However, there is no confirmed information from Nelson, and his religious inclinations remain speculative.

He is not publicly known to have a religious affiliation and has not made any public statements about the same either. However, he did post about Christmas in 2018 so that might be an indication that he might Christian.

Gunnar Nelson is returning to the Octagon for his 16th appearance against none other than Kevin Holland. Who do you think will have their hand raised by the end of the bout. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.