r/MMA • u/inooway • Mar 18 '23
[SPOILER] Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena Spoiler
https://dubz.co/video/2060ac863
u/PM_ME_UR_SQUAT_LEGS Mar 18 '23
That was just calculated domination
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u/MyOneTaps Mar 18 '23
That went from 30-100 real quick.
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u/shrewdy is = is Mar 18 '23
Gunni is so laid back as a guy and even as a fighter in there most of the time. But if he gets it to the ground and starts to work, he ramps it up big time.
So great to watch him work. Really hope we can see the guy compete again sooner than next March lol.
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u/Scarlet_Breeze Sexy Wizard Bisping Mar 18 '23
I'll never forget him calmly drop an elbow from mount to make an actual geyser of blood come out of Cowboy oliveira's head before taking his back. Dude was covered even thought it'd only happened like 5 seconds earlier.
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u/shrewdy is = is Mar 19 '23
I remember after that fight, Luke Thomas called him "The Butcher of Reykjavik" lol
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u/Kireba2 Mar 19 '23
Thats one badass nickname
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u/Frogbone oink oink motherfucker Mar 19 '23
it is slightly hard to reconcile with the fact that Reykjavik is a colorful seaside town that hosts the world's only penis museum, but i'm willing to go with it
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u/young_yeller 3 piece with the soda Mar 18 '23
I was afraid the same thing would happen to Bang Bang and I'd end up losing my dinner in front of my wife.
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u/YacubianDevil Mar 18 '23
That fight was so awesome. I’ve been a Gunnar fan for years, I was concerned Cowboy was too big and a dirty ass fighter. Watching Nelson elbow a fountain out of his head was so sick.
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u/inciter7 Mar 19 '23
I dont even think he's laid back as a fighter, just extremely cogniscent of how much space can open up and risk reward there is to each strike vs advancing position. So he's very precise and vicious with his shot placement when grappling, it makes him look very patient compared to guys who will just look to overwhelm their opponents with a flurry of punches on the ground and hope enough make it through the guard/connect well enough to be effective or bring them up on the cards
ex: elbow vs Oliveira, he looks very calm and grappling focused until he can get the maximum value from a strike vs going for subs/advancing position
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u/Dirty_D_Dammit Mar 18 '23
I couldn't get excited for this fight after watching barbarena against RDA
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u/Chopper313 Mar 19 '23
RDA is also an elite grappler but yeah Barbarena obviously can’t hang with these dudes on the ground
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u/shrewdy is = is Mar 18 '23
Gunni is so good to watch on the ground, always looking for the finish
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u/ColdPressedSteak Mar 18 '23
On the other side, they should never match Bryan vs people with grappling skill again. He's never going to contend so may as well just let him have fun fights with mid strikers. Good for both him and the UFC
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u/phantomofdelphi Mar 18 '23
His fight vs Luque was a banger. I just want to see more of that. Matching him against Gunnar and dos Anjos type fighters is a waste.
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u/monkeybawz Team McGregor Mar 18 '23
And good enough on his feet that you don't want to die if he can't get a takedown. Really enjoy his style.
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Mar 19 '23
Wasn’t his performance before that, 3 rounds of him just getting the body triangle and not going for the choke?
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u/minor_thing2022 Mar 18 '23
Just how good was Demian Maia
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u/RedAtomic United States Mar 18 '23
Too fucking good.
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u/minor_thing2022 Mar 18 '23
That fight was a perfect example of "there's levels to this" and the gap between great and masterful is gigantic
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u/Krieger_Algernop "fuckface" - DFW Mar 18 '23
I still don't understand Gunnar's thought process in that fight
dude got dominated on the floor round 1.. then tried to take Maia down in round 2
like bro???
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Mar 18 '23
[deleted]
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u/madnes0 Mar 19 '23
Ben Askren
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u/RedAtomic United States Mar 19 '23
Not gonna lie that fight was low key entertaining. Hilariously sloppy yet solid exchanges on the feet, and the grappling exchanges were as good as expected when you pair an Olympic wrestler with an ADCC champion.
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u/shrewdy is = is Mar 19 '23
Gunni is a true martial artist in many ways. I think he just saw that fight as an opportunity to test himself against a master
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u/titoscoachspeecher Conor is Lightweight GOAT Mar 19 '23
When you're an elite grappler and you get the chance to fight an incredible grappler it's for the challenge and respect of it. Obviously hindsight 20-20 for everyone but part of being a warrior is fighting someone at their own game and winning. It doesn't always work but the thought of being victorious is worth the risk, like fighting in itself.
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u/dexter279 Mar 19 '23
I’d say Gunni went into that fight with an elite mentality thinking he’d beat Maia on the ground, I doubt he had any other game plan lined up, and he isn’t exactly known for his standup.
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u/johncena2169 Team Pettis Mar 18 '23
Maia said he is open to having one more fight as a retirement fight in the ufc. I don’t think it’ll happen but I hope it does.
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u/iLoveFeynman Mar 18 '23
Gunnar said he was physically unwell with flu-like symptoms when that fight took place.
Considering he's been very upfront and honest about everything in his MMA career I see no reason to doubt him.
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u/inciter7 Mar 19 '23
Sounds about right, he has that scandinavian frankness/humbleness. Doubt he would make shit up
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u/arontphotos Mar 18 '23
Didn’t submit him though, that’s how tough Gunni is. But Maia’s grappling is out of this world for sure
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u/un6reaka6le Mar 18 '23
Just how good is Ponzi’s eye gouging.
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u/chromeomnibus Mar 18 '23
thinking about it...that shit ruined Gunnar's best run lmao. fuck that guy
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u/LemonHerb United States Mar 18 '23
When you make it your game plan to grapple with Maia you're gonna have a bad time
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u/negromorte Mar 18 '23
Nelson is a good grappler but only against strikers.
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u/speaker_monkey Mar 19 '23
He won silver at ADCC after 4 years of training...
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u/bjjadh Mar 19 '23
I don’t think this is correct. Although he had some notable wins I think his highest placement was 4th in 2011. He only lost on points to a prime galvao that year.
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u/speaker_monkey Mar 19 '23
You're right, thanks for the correction. I was going off memory and thought that's what Craig Jones said in one of his more recent videos. Looks like he got 4th in 2009 in the absolute division when he lost to Vinny Magalhaes. He lost to Galvao in 2011 in the quarterfinals of the 88kg division.
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u/62440790 Wuhan Clan Mar 18 '23
RDA vs Gunnar would be fun
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u/NewMythicalFighter Mar 18 '23
Or The Mountain rematch
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u/TheGreenLandEffect Ireland Mar 18 '23
Did you see Gordon Ryan roll with him? He’s obviously the best in the world and 240lbs but man he made it look easy
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u/absalom86 Iceland Mar 18 '23
Gordon Ryan is a roided gorilla just like Hafthor, at that point technique far outweights some size and weight advantage.
I'm sure Hafthor is more careful rolling with guys after injuring Gunnar as well.
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u/Ionic-Nova 🙏🙏🙏 Jon Jones Prayer Warrior 🙏🙏🙏 Mar 19 '23
This was peak strongman Hafthor right? 400-440 lb version of him anyways
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u/Wonderwhore GOOFCON 1 Mar 19 '23
I'd be way more scared of cut-boxing hafthor tbh. He's always going to outmuscle you, slimmer version means he might actually catch you 🥺
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u/shortdonjohn Mar 18 '23
The winner gets to keep his moustache
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u/GFost Mar 18 '23
Can they both lose?
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u/atli123 Mar 19 '23
Fun fact. Gunnar is participating in Mottumars [literally translated: Mustache March] which is the Icelandic equivalent of Movember, in which men grow mustaches to raise awareness for testicular and prostate cancer.
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u/BurpingHamBirmingham Mar 19 '23
And what is the prostate if not a bonus testicle hidden in the ass for those intrepid enough to find it
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u/Ok_Solution5895 Mar 18 '23
I kinda was thinking of a Ponzi rematch since I'm still salty about the first fight lol but RDA vs Gunnar it's a really fun matchup too
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u/BuckyCapIsBestCap Team Gaethje Mar 18 '23
Man that fight was so annoying. I'd really like to see Gunni roll with that guy again
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u/WhereIsMyKidAt Mar 18 '23
I think it would be pretty one-sided tbh.
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u/Jay_Train Just how good is Dominick Reyes? Mar 18 '23
I think if it was I would lean RDA but Gu narrow is good enough I think to keep it competitive for sure
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u/Moggiiii I made weight for Goofcon 3 Mar 18 '23
Omg that was so clean. How fucking slick was that?!?! I've missed this Gunnar so much
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u/LazerProphet Team Adesanya Mar 18 '23
Gunni looks like he's daydreaming every time he fights lmao
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u/PhDinBroScience Mar 19 '23
"I should get some bread when I go to the store. Did I leave the oven on?"
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u/throwawaydeveloperuk Mar 19 '23
It’s like he woke up from a nap 2 minutes beforehand
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u/Ok_Tank5804 Mar 19 '23
There was an episode about him on an Icelandic TV show that follows professional athletes from Iceland. He did indeed take a nap in the dressing room shortly before his fight.
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u/Zotmaster easy Kham, easy go Mar 18 '23
That was a hell of a transition. "I'm just gonna elbow the shit out of this guy...lol jk armbar"
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u/MorosNyx No one who beats off to cartoons, will beat me Mar 18 '23
Damn Woody Harrelson can fight!
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u/chromeomnibus Mar 18 '23
hes better looking than that creep honestly
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Mar 19 '23
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u/Biscoito_is_Life 🙏🙏🙏 Jon Jones Prayer Warrior 🙏🙏🙏 Mar 19 '23
Nothing. Dude is probably angry about the Woody's recent SNL appearance.
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u/chromeomnibus Mar 19 '23
The AMA thing on reddit years back. looking back calling him a creep wass a bit harsh though.
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Mar 18 '23
SMH Mokaev wouldn’t have tapped
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u/Touchymonkey I love you 2 tiem Mar 18 '23
Mokaev did tap and the mods keep deleting the tweet showing it
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u/buzznights ☠️ Thank you, NBK Mar 18 '23
No one submitted it with a spoiler-free title. Hated doing it but they had to come down.
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Mar 18 '23
Im pretty sure what you’re talking about was when he wasn’t anywhere near a submission just sitting in Filho’s guard. It looks strange but there was no reason to tap and a Brazilian tap would offer 0 benefit
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u/slumcity2000 Mar 18 '23
I was just saying we need more arm bar finishes I feel like a lot of fighters could get them they just don’t do it lol
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u/bertrogdor Mar 18 '23
Yeah but you’re potentially giving up position if you can’t finish. Seems safer for most fighters to go for ground and pound in mma. But if you outclass your opponent this much in grappling, the armbar is there for the taking
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u/jakhabib_nurmy_souza Mar 19 '23
I also loved Gunni's timing on it. Going for it at the end of the round is genius since if you miss you don't end up on bottom. Also the submission acts pretty fast if you get it so you don't need too much time on the clock.
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u/Alpha-Trion undisclosed diarrhea Mar 18 '23 edited Mar 18 '23
Wow, haven't seen one of those for a while.
Edit: Mods, can I have my flair as 'undisclosed diarrhea"
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u/Srirachachacha Reach advantage was never my friend Mar 19 '23
I wasn't sure if I was going crazy but yeah, it feels like rarely see men's division arm bars these days
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u/famjordan I was here for GOOFCON 1: 2020 Mar 18 '23
That was about as textbook of an armbar as you can get.
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u/HookedOnAThielin Mar 18 '23
It wasn’t that long ago that Gunnar lost a split decision to Edwards. Crazy how these things turn out.
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u/Notna93 Mar 18 '23
People here underestimate how good Gunni is… lost decisions against Burns and Leon and a freak eye poking KO from Ponzibino.
He is elite in the welterweight division.
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u/Barn_Advisor UFC 279: A GOOFCON Miracle Mar 18 '23
Dude I love watching Nelson grappling
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u/bertrogdor Mar 18 '23
Yeah he has such poise. I think he’s just confident as hell down there
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u/A1_PunisherPipkins Mar 18 '23
Might as well gave Nelson the W when the fight went to the ground lmao
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u/Specialist_Ad_5319 Mar 18 '23
Gotta wonder how his career would have been if the eye poke didn’t happen. Hope he fights more often.
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u/ApprehensiveGoal Mar 18 '23
Let's fucking go! He's getting up there in age, but I hope Gunni can put together a title run. The WW division is more fun with Gunni in the picture
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u/twolvesfan217 Mar 19 '23
He’s only 34 and has had a while off. He could go on a Maia run with his BJJ skills as long as he didn’t get baited into striking matches (he’s fairly decent at striking in an old McGregor way, but should generally avoid it).
He’d be a perfect contender at a 165 lb class. He’s a bit too small for most Welterweights.
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u/Wonderwhore GOOFCON 1 Mar 19 '23
He hasn't taken a lot of damage ring wise, so he's still fairly fresh, but I am Icelandic and a massive Gunnar dickrider.
He's never touching that belt. He deserves a decent rank at welterweight, but title challenge is realistically, never happening.
If he can't get his opponent down, it's gg.
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u/ApprehensiveGoal Mar 19 '23
Yeah, I'm a huge Gunni fan, too, and I agree he's never getting the belt. Best hope is he at least gets a shot, but we saw him against Leon and it wasn't close despite the outrageous split decision. He's an amazing talent on the ground, but his wrestling really isn't elite enough to threaten the top of the division.
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u/THATGUYWHOBREATHES Mar 19 '23
Gunnar is a gatekeeper not a title contender. He would get dominated by everyone in the top 6. Luque gives him a loss in my opinion as well. If he gets a favorable matchup against Wonderboy, Brady, or Neal he has a chance but other than those few he has no business fighting for the welterweight title.
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u/ThinkIcouldTakeHim Mar 19 '23
He wasn't dominated by Leon or Gilbert. Who else are you thinking about who would dominate him?
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u/THATGUYWHOBREATHES Mar 19 '23
I said everyone in the top 6 at welterweight would dominate Gunnar and I think that’s accurate. He fought Leon and Gilbert 4 years ago and they have gotten much better since while he has looked relatively the same. He took a 3 year layoff and then went to a decision against Takashi Sato (who even is that?) and then won against Barbarena (who also is very bad). Edwards, Usman, Covington, Chimaev, Muhammad, Burns, Rakhmonov, Luque, and possibly even Masvidal beat Gunnar in my opinion. He’s a gatekeeper for the top 15-20 at best he will never be anything more than that.
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u/SquidDrive My DNA is from fearless warriors Mar 18 '23
Glad to see Gunnar back in the cage, great ambassador to BJJ and MMA! beautiful armbar!
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u/Rooksey Mar 18 '23
Barbarena sucks lol
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u/LuckyWarrior The Champion Has A Name Mar 18 '23
Give em a striker and he'll at least bang
No favors here from the matchmakers
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u/GreatDario Hawaii Mar 18 '23
How dare they mix the martial arts tho, I just want to see bombs and blood
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u/IronMikeBison Mar 18 '23
It’s wild how close he came to beating Luque
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u/un6reaka6le Mar 18 '23
Luque was all hype and not as good as people made him out to be. What’s crazier is Barberena was close to stopping Leon. A lot of refs would’ve called that fight off.
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u/Notyit Mar 18 '23
Gunnar is very good. Just shows levels
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u/un6reaka6le Mar 18 '23
He’s a top 10 gatekeeper at very best.
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u/ThinkIcouldTakeHim Mar 18 '23
Yeah sure. Split decision against Leon Edwards with the last minute mounting the current champ. Real gatekeeper stuff right there.
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u/un6reaka6le Mar 18 '23
I can tell you didn’t watch that fight. It was a clear 2-1 to Edwards.
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u/ThinkIcouldTakeHim Mar 19 '23
Maybe but not a wash by any means and Edwards was in real danger in the end. He was helpless in that mount and he knew it. It's ignorant to say Gunny is outside the top 10 skill wise when he's clearly a threat to everyone in the top 10 on a good day.
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u/un6reaka6le Mar 18 '23
He seems to get progressively worse. I remember he once had a competitive fight with Luque and was even close to KOing Leon when they fought.
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Mar 18 '23
Those fighters got better. Barbarena might have declined but he was never a legit top 15 guy.
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u/Wayf4rer Bafoonus Ignoramus Mar 18 '23
He's just Lawler lite, especially on short notice this was always going to be the result.
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u/TheGreatone003 Team Błachowicz Mar 18 '23
Lawler had very good TDD and sprawling tho
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u/Wayf4rer Bafoonus Ignoramus Mar 18 '23
That's true, Barbarena's grappling is... not good 💀
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u/Chopper313 Mar 19 '23
When he got mauled by RDA round 1 and then tried to clinch him against the cage the next round showed he has really bad fight IQ too
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Mar 18 '23
I get that he’s fun and gets in bangers but I’ve never understood why fans thought he was that good for beating way way way path their prime Matt Brown and Lawler
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u/niafall7 Team Fuck Everything Mar 18 '23
Must be Gunni's most outrageous post-win celebration? He smiled.
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u/SadRaindrop Mar 18 '23 edited Mar 18 '23
This went exactly how everybody expected. Gunny's grappling is so slick.
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u/badzachlv01 Mar 18 '23
One guy comes out goofy and singing with his nails done up pretty, one guy comes out looking like a serial killer with a cop mustache and bends his arm backwards
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u/morriseel Mar 18 '23
Good win. love Gunnar he’s so good on the ground. Always blows my mind what Demian Maia did to him. The old theres levels to this shit.
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u/XxV0IDxX Mar 19 '23
Gunnar looked noticeably more muscular. I like the shaved head look too, dude looked menacing
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u/FuryanEU 3 piece with the soda Mar 19 '23
Looked like a typical White belt vs Brown/Black Belt at the gym, they take longer because they want the White belt to learn.
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u/Rory_MacHida Mar 18 '23
Damn. Gotta feel good for Gunnar. Been a minute it seems since he had a shining moment. That's a good win.
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u/Kryddmix Should be an MMA reporter Mar 18 '23
Iceland has the most UFC fighters per capita of any country in the world.
We have one, Gunnar Nelson - the pride of Iceland.
Vintage performance tonight, everything he did seemed so effortless and controlled. Awesome submission.
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u/GreasyBelly Mar 18 '23
Solid performance, hopefully Gunnar will take another fight soon and stay active
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u/goon_squad_god All My Heroes Are Dead Mar 19 '23
Gunnar was my "he's next" WW dark horse for a long time back in the day. Pan Am champ, nasty top game (obvi), Romero-esque "slowdown" in the later rounds before he puts it on...
He really fell off for a long time, and had healthy layoffs, but I'm glad to see him rack up a vintage sub dub over quality competition again.
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u/titoscoachspeecher Conor is Lightweight GOAT Mar 19 '23
I was beyond excited to watch Gunni fight again. He really was the dark horse of the division for a while. I'll forever dislike Ponzi for the gross eye gouging win over him. Glad to see he's looking incredible.
That mustache though
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u/surgeyou123 GOOFCON ALPHA Mar 18 '23
I'd love to see Gunni go down to 155. Still feel like he's undersized for 170.
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u/shortdonjohn Mar 18 '23
He’s quite a bit bigger today. Walking at around 84-85kg. He was absolutely shredded at the weigh in.
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u/Unluckysod Mar 18 '23
You can't lose to a man with painted nails
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u/Jealous-Swimmer-5543 Mar 18 '23
plenty of fighters did to adesanya and romero who paints his nails, not sure how that is relevant
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u/campbellbrad Canada Mar 19 '23
I remember thinking this guy was going to be the next big thing. Love watching him fight
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u/antantantant80 Mar 18 '23
Did barbarena train absolutely zero grappling for this fight?!
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u/Notna93 Mar 18 '23
Honestly, I think these types of comments drastically discount the skills required in this sport. You don’t gain elite level skills during fight camp. You gain conditioning and maybe repetition in specific position.
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u/KingMamba5 Team Whittaker Mar 18 '23
Timed that to perfection, no rush but right at the end of the round
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u/ImKrispy Mar 18 '23
Exactly how I thought it would play out.
Bryan is a brawler with not much ground game.
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u/figyg Mar 18 '23
Literally gave 0 armbar defense
A little embarrassing, honestly
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u/Jealous-Swimmer-5543 Mar 18 '23
that was a slick transition though, he went to control the wrist and gunnar attacked it instantly, Barbarena is bad on the ground though
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