"I'll be honored to share the cage with him" - Gunnar Nelson down to fight Khamzat Chimaev on his UFC return

Gunnar Nelson (left), Khamzat Chimaev (right) [Images courtesy: @gunninelson @khamzat_chimaev on Instagram]

Gunnar Nelson has expressed interest in competing against Khamzat Chimaev when the UFC returns to London in 2022. Nelson has not competed in the UFC since 2019, when he came up short against Gilbert Burns.

During Gunnar Nelson's time away from the sport, Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the scene. 'Borz' has racked up four consecutive UFC victories, bringing his overall professional MMA record to a perfect 10-0. He also recently defeated UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson in a wrestling bout.

Its pretty terrifying watching UFC WELTERWEIGHT Khamzat do this to Jack Hermansson, A UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT. https://t.co/slUnS3cTZg

Gunnar Nelson's coach, John Kavanagh, recently hinted that 'Gunni's return to the UFC could potentially be against Chimaev. He posted the following to his Twitter:

"It's been very interesting watching the rise of the uber talented and charismatic @KChimaev. @ufc is coming to London in March. as a fan i'd love to see him fight @GunniNelson. short flight to london for both of them....what you guys think?"

its been very interesting watching the rise of the uber talented and charismatic @KChimaev . @ufc is coming to London in March. as a fan i'd love to see him fight @GunniNelson . short flight to london for both of them....what you guys think? @seanshelby @HalliNelson

Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Gunnar Nelson addressed this potential fight:

"Yeah, you know I'll fight anybody. So, if he wants to fight me then let's do it... I would definitely, like, have thought he would've fought somebody in top five or ten or whatever. I don't really follow the rankings too well. But if he wants to fight me in London then of course. I would be honored to share the cage with him."

You can checkout Gunnar Nelson's full interview on The MMA Hour below:

Who else could Gunnar Nelson face in his return fight if Khamzat Chimaev is not available?

Whilst a fight between Gunnar Nelson and Khamzat Chimaev would certainly be an intriguing clash of styles, it ultimately seems unlikely that the UFC would book such a fight. This is due to the fact that Nelson is no longer ranked as a result of his inactivity.

Gunnar Nelson makes Alan Jouban do the chicken dance with a heavy straight and finishes him off with a tight guillotine https://t.co/zM3N51vK4H

Thus, it is worth looking at who might be an alternative option for 'Gunni' to return against. One name Nelson mentioned on The MMA Hour was Santiago Ponzinibbio, who is currently No.14 in the welterweight rankings. However, Ponzinibbio is set to face off against Geoff Neal at UFC 269, making it hard to predict whether he would be ready to compete as soon as March.

No.15-ranked Muslim Salikov could be a solid option for Nelson, as could Khamzat Chimaev's most recent opponent Li Jingliang.