Gunnar Nelson and Rick Story headline UFC Fight Night 53 this Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden. The card isn’t generating much buzz, but the main event should do a good job of putting the finishing touches on a night of fights.
Nelson has pretty much run the table in his professional career. He has a stellar 13-0-1 record (4-0 UFC) and displays some of the best grappling skills we’ve ever seen inside the Octagon.
Story has been nothing but inconsistent over his last nine fights in which he has compiled a record of just 4-5. “The Horror” Story can hold his own on the ground, but also possesses one-punch knockout power that keeps his opponents honest.
Here are the keys to victory for each fighter:
Gunnar Nelson
As mentioned earlier, Nelson is an absolute stud when it comes to working on the ground and it’s really something amazing to watch. It’s no secret that’s where his home is, and the Iceland native will no doubt look to get Story down from the opening seconds of the fight.
Nelson has plenty going in his favor as Story has been submitted in the past. Nelson should also be able to easily dictate the pace of the fight on the ground and could earn a decision victory should he want to play things safe.
Rick Story
Beating Nelson may turn out to be too tall of a task for Story. While he does have a good wrestling base, he’s nowhere near the caliber of Nelson. Story’s best shot is going to be catching Nelson with an uppercut or a knee on a takedown attempt and then pouncing on him to secure the win with ground-and-pound.
The other chance Story has is to try and smother Nelson for the duration of the fight and earning a boring, yet important, victory.
Unfortunately for Story, both of those winning situations seem far-fetched and it’d be a surprise to see him come away with his hand raised.
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