Gunnar Nelson has faced all sorts of foes in the UFC but none of them have been 6-foot-9 and 340 pounds of muscle.
Just recently the UFC welterweight did just that when he got into a grappling match with former World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Bjornsson, who many people recognize as “The Mountain” Gregor Clegane from the popular HBO series “Game of Thrones.”
Bjornsson, who stepped away from strongman competitions in order to pursue a boxing career, has actually dropped weight in recent months but he still dwarfed Nelson in overall size.
“I’ve been wanting for a long time, because a lot of my friends have been saying, I have no chance against you on the floor,” Bjornsson said to Nelson on a video posted to his YouTube channel. “I’m just interested. To see if the technique and the experience is going to overcome the strength. Not only the strength but also the body weight.”
The pair of Icelandic athletes then engaged in a pair of grappling sessions that went until somebody tapped out.
While Nelson certainly maintained a technical advantage, Bjornsson more than held his own for the majority of the time by using sheer size and power to break free of many potential submissions.
Despite Bjornsson having no prior experience in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Nelson was impressed with the way he was able to manipulate his body weight to prevent himself from being put into bad positions or getting out of submissions when he got himself into trouble.
“That’s stupid weight,” Nelson said about Bjornsson’s size. “When he asked me if his strength was surprising, I was like no but his conditioning was. He was able to keep going and not just conditioning but he was smart with his fights. He used his weight well. He’s not just heavy and strong but he’s athletic with his weight.”
Check out the full video with the grappling sessions as Nelson attempts to topple “The Mountain” on the mat.
