News
01/10/09 - Gunnar Nelson earns black belt from Renzo in 3.5 years
Icelandic prodigy Gunnar Nelson has received his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt from Renzo Gracie this week. The achievement is remarkable given that Nelson has been training BJJ for around just three and a half years.
Regular readers of Fighters Only will know Nelson from our monthly training section, where he has appeared several times. Several FO staff members have had the [dubious] pleasure of rolling with Nelson when he has been training at SBG UK in Manchester and can attest to his advanced mat skills and ridiculously crushing mount.
Last weekend, Nelson entered the Abu Dhabi Combat Club grappling championships by invitation, but was forced to compete two categories up from his weight as the welterweight bracket was full. Nonetheless, he put in a sterling performance that included a win over veteran heavyweight Jeff Monson.
“Gunnar has demonstrated amazing ability in all areas of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and did very well at the Annual Abu Dhabi Combat Championship,” a spokesman for Renzo Gracie Academy said. “It is this caliber of grappler that we here at RGA are proud to have represent us! Congrats Gunnar!”
Nelson is 5-0-1 in professional mixed martial arts and has enjoyed success thanks to an effective mixture of karate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He earned the nickname ‘Shotgun’ because of his top game in MMA. One commentator noted that once he gets mount he does not throw needless punches but instead creates an opening “then lets you have it with both barrels”.
All at Fighters Only would like to congratulate Gunnar on his achievement and wish him all the best for his future career.
If you want to see some of Gunnar’s mount tips, download the PDF attached to this news item (up there on the right, under the picture).
