Gunnar Nelson Says A 165-Pound Division Would Be ‘Perfect’
UFC President Dana White has often refuted the possibility of creating a new 165-pounds division, but Gunnar Nelson is the latest fighter to throw his weight behind the idea.
Nelson is currently scheduled to face Alex Oliveira at UFC 231 where he will fight for the first time in over year having been out of action since July 2017. With his last fight with Santiago Ponzinibbio ending in controversy after replays showed the Argentinian’s entering Nelson’s eyes prior to the eventual knockout, the Icelandic fighter is looking forward to getting back into the Octagon and putting the episode behind him.
Speaking with MMA On Point’s Obviously Fight Talk show yesterday, Nelson explained he was excited for his return and confirmed that the knee injury that kept him out of a fight at UFC Liverpool is now fully cleared up.
“It’s been a while now and I’m really excited to get back in there,” Nelson said. “It was really unfortunate that I got injured for my last one, I was really excited about that fight and I was supposed to fight Neil Magny. You know, it is what it is. The knee is 100-percent now and I’m ready to go.”
Nelson has often been cited as one of the bigger names in the UFC that doesn’t cut weight and simply fights at the weight he walks around it. With a lot of focus being put on weight cutting of late, Nelson was asked for his thoughts on fighters cutting large amounts of weight in an attempt to get a size advantage over their opponent.
“Ideally, it would be good to get this sorted,” Nelson said. “A lot of these guys are the same weight and they cut all the way down to just put it back on and fight each other – they’re the same weight walking in there 90 kilos, so why not just try to get rid of all that bulls*** and just get guys to fight at their weight.”
“Maybe weight gain limits would be something to consider,” Nelson continued. “Maybe not being able to gain to a weight class above you. I think some of the organizations, they monitor the guys from a week before or even ten days before so that they see if their hydration levels go below a certain point and if they do, they can’t fight. I think that’s something that could be considered. There are plenty of ways. I may not be the best guy to talk about this, but I’m sure there are ways to get around this and make a safer environment around the fights.”
Talk of a 165-pounds division being created in the UFC doesn’t seem to be going away and Nelson was the latest to add his support to the idea. The likes of Ben Askren, Coby Covington and Conor McGregor have all recently spoken of their support for the new division to be added and Nelson also thinks it would be a good idea.
“That’d be perfect, I’d go down to 165-pounds without a problem,” Nelson said. “I’ve no issues cutting weight, it’s barely a cut for me. 165 would be a little more of a cut, but it’d be fine.”
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