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Sport

14th Feb 2017

UFC London gets cracking co-main event as SBG’s Gunnar Nelson finds an opponent for March 18

The card needed a boost

Darragh Murphy

UFC London is just a month away and is in dire need of a shot in the arm.

The March 18 card has been slated by many fight fans who were left disappointed by the promotion’s decision to position the light heavyweight meeting of Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson as the evening’s headliner.

The event was always lacking star power in as much as there were originally just four ranked fighters set to compete in the O2 Arena next month.

Well the card has one more now in the form of Straight Blast Gym welterweight Gunnar Nelson, who has booked his first fight of 2017 opposite streaking 170lber Alan Jouban.

Nelson will meet Jouban in the co-main event, with the Icelandic fighter hoping to put two consecutive victories together for the first time in three years.

‘Gunni’ most recently fought last May, when he submitted Albert Tumenov in Rotterdam while his upcoming opponent is riding a three-fight win streak.

Jouban has claimed consecutive victories over Mike Perry, Belal Muhammad and Brendan O’Reilly in what is the 35-year-old’s most successful spell in the Octagon.

And given the complaints that had been showered on the card up to this point, it’s safe to say that fight fans were relieved to see another high-profile bout added to the bill.