Conor McGregor‘s first UFC championship may have been thanks to Gunnar Nelson. In the second round of their fight at UFC 189, Chad Mendes almost secured a guillotine from the top and McGregor pulled out an impressive escape to get back on the feet and knock Mendes out. The Irishman’s coach John Kavanagh once said that it was Gunnar Nelson who pulled that off in the gym first for others to adopt the move into their arsenal. Ahead of the Icelandic MMA star’s return at UFC London, what everyone wants to know is if he still drops such gems for McGregor.
Back in the early 2010s, both fighters were frequent training partners, splitting their time between Straight Blast Gym in Ireland and Nelson’s Mjölnir Gym in Iceland. Their bond was once strong, built on shared training camps and mutual respect. However, as time passed and their careers took different paths, it seems that distance and circumstances have caused them to drift apart.
Do Gunnar Nelson and Conor McGregor still train together?
Gunnar Nelson heads into UFC London with something to prove. After nearly two years away from the Octagon, the Icelandic submission specialist knows that his clash with Kevin Holland is a pivotal moment in his career. A victory could put him in the conversation for a ranked opponent and keep his title aspirations alive. However, at 36 years old, a loss could be a devastating setback—potentially closing the door on his dreams of UFC gold.
If you surf across YouTube or Nelson’s Instagram page you can still find videos of Conor McGregor and Gunnar Nelson training together from 2014-2015. It was all back when McGregor was still on the rise and finding his way in the UFC. However, everything changed after McGregor’s historic 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo in December 2015, a moment that catapulted him into superstardom. Interestingly, Nelson had already predicted that McGregor would knock out Aldo, long before anyone had predicted the star McGregor would go on to become a UFC champion. But it seems the pair drifted apart since that victory.
Before his fight with Kevin Holland, Nelson sat down for a chat with Ariel Helwani. The 36-year-old gave an insight into his current relationship with the former dual champion. He said, “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”. While he did not give any particular reason for their distance rather it’s their personal commitments that have not allowed them to catch up recently. He further added, “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,”.
With Conor McGregor having spent the past few years largely away from serious training, it’s no surprise that he and Gunnar Nelson haven’t crossed paths in a while. However, it’s reassuring to see that the Icelandic fighter has no grudge from his old friend. He rather acknowledges the fact that McGregor is busy doing his thing and is himself focusing on elevating his game. But how did the two become friends despite coming from two different parts of the world? Let us find out about the details below.
How did Gunnar Nelson meet Conor McGregor?
Gunnar Nelson from a very young age began honing his skills under John Kavanagh, a student of Matt Thornton. Their paths first crossed when Kavanagh held a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu seminar at Mjölnir, and from that moment on, Kavanagh became Nelson’s primary coach—a role he still holds to this day. Whenever Nelson competed in Ireland, he trained at SBG Ireland, where McGregor honed his skills. This was the time when the pair met each other and started training together. As we pointed out previously the pair have been training together since 2014-2015.
However, it was Gunnar Nelson’s father who also played a key role in shaping the Dubliner’s career. He was the first person to manage Conor McGregor, long before the Irishman became a global superstar. Halli Nelson reached out to UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby to put the brash young fighter on their radar. It was the fighting skills of the Irishmen and his confidence that helped him pave the way for himself in the UFC. But for Nelson, he has a lot more things to worry about rather than dwell on his current relationship with McGregor.
He will be taking on a fighter who is very dangerous both on the ground as well with his striking. ‘Trailblazer’ is walking into the fight after suffering a defeat in his last fight at UFC 311. But we all know what Kevin Holland is capable of doing when he finds his rhythm. Who do you think will win the fight between the two? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Does Gunnar Nelson Train With Conor McGregor at Straight Blast Gym? UFC Star’s Coach and More appeared first on EssentiallySports.
