Gunnar Nelson is one of the best mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters of his generation, who currently competes in the UFC welterweight division.

He is also one of the most skilled Jiu-Jitsu athletes in the UFC…
What’s more, he received his BJJ black belt in just 4 years of training!

Gunnar also competed in Jiu-Jitsu, with his first time doing so at the highest level being at ADCC 2009.
In a recent El Segundo podcast episode, he revealed that he was invited to the event by none other than Renzo Gracie:

Renzo hooked it up.

At the time as well they wanted people from different countries a little bit more.
Now it’s, you have to compete a bit more to get in and stuff. I think back then there was (ADCC) trials, but there was also like, they would invite people from certain countries as well, because they wanted people from all different places.

So I was lucky to get just an invitation. And, obviously, Renzo had a lot to do with that.

Gunnar enjoyed it a lot. And he’s revealed that he’d consider competing at ADCC again:

It was a good experience, and I really enjoyed it. It’s something I’d like to maybe do again, ADCC.

I thought it was the most fun Jiu-Jitsu competition I’ve done.
Now, I’ve never done these superfights that are happening now all the time, but maybe I’ll do that as well. It’s probably more money too.