Last week the UFC announced that the Octogan would make its return to Europe with a February 16th date in London for UFC on FUEL TV 7.  While no fights are official for the event, the outpouring of response to put Gunnar Nelson on the card has been tremendous, including the most Facebook comments on any MMA Viking post. Halli Nelson, Gunnar’s manager, says “a fight on the London card at Wembley Arena is what he would be most interested in and we are hoping that will happen”. Read the full interview with Manager Nelson below.

Exclusive Interview

MMA Viking : Once the announcement about the UFC coming back to Europe there was an outpouring of requests to get Gunnar on the card. Is he healthy and available to return to the Octagon in February?

Yes the response to get Gunnar on the London card was great (after the Icelanders woke up about an hour after the rest of the Nordic Countries) but it was also nice to see that the cry out for Gunnar on that card didn’t just come from Iceland but also from a lot of other countries as well. Gunnar has of course a very strong fan base in the UK and Ireland so I think it would be a very strong thing for the UFC to put him on the London card.

Gunnar is very healthy and training hard. He will be more that ready for the Octagon in February if the UFC want’s him there, which we hope.

MMA Viking : Are you trying to get Gunnar on the February card in London? Have there been any discussions?

We have already told the UFC that Gunnar is very interested in being on the London card and even though nothing has been decided he is training to get ready for it. There are direct flights from Iceland to London and I know that there would be a lot of Icelanders coming over for his fight in London if that was to happen. There were a lot of people that came to Nottingham to see him fight and flying to London is a lot cheaper so I just know that Icelanders would swarm over there for this show.

MMA Viking : With Gunnar’s popularity and his success at his debut in the UK, do you have a preference to stay here in Europe again or do you want to get on a US card or numbered UFC?

Of course Gunnar is also very interested in fighting in the USA having a US family there (my brother and sisters for example) and having been there many times training and competing with Renzo and his team. But right now a fight on the London card at Wembley Arena is what he would be most interested in and we are hoping that will happen. But of course that is all up to the UFC. Gunnar is just training hard and staying focused as he always does.