For the first time, Gunnar Nelson was made to look human in the Octagon.
And it still wasn’t enough.
A game Zack Cummings made the undefeated Iceland native work for his victory in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 46 on Saturday. But when Nelson turned it on, Cummings didn’t have an answer.
Nelson made Cummings submit late in the second round with a rear-naked choke, getting the tapout at the raucous O2 Arena in Dublin.
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Cummings (17-3), a native of Irving, Texas, used an offbeat striking pattern to fluster Nelson in the first round, as Nelson couldn’t seem to get his standup untracked.
In the second, though, Nelson (13-0-1) picked up the pace. He got Cummings to the mat in the final minutes and got his back. Some brutal punches from behind appeared to break Cummings’ nose, and as the blood flowed, Nelson sunk in the rear-naked choke, getting the submission with 12 seconds left in the second round.
“You know you gotta find your rhythm a little bit,” said Nelson. “He started off well. I guess in the second round I found my rhythm.”
It was the eighth career submission win for Nelson, and the third in his four UFC victories.