Gunnar Nelson eyes Robbie Lawler, Stephen Thompson UFC showdowns

Gunnar Nelson recently picked up his second straight win, taking out Alan Jouban via rear-naked choke (see it) at UFC Fight Night 107 in London, England. Several days later, “Gunni” expressed interest in an “exciting” fight against former title contender, Stephen Thompson. And during a recent interview with Fox Sports, Nelson reiterated his interest in a showdown against “Wonderboy;” however, he also revealed he has his sights set on a potential showdown against former 170-pound champion, Robbie Lawler.

“I would love to fight ‘Wonderboy’ — That’s a fight people seem to want to see,” Nelson said. “That’s the fight that’s most hyped up right now. A fight with him, a good win over “Wonderboy” would be huge for my career. I would love that, but as I said, I would fight any of them.

For Nelson, fighting the top guys in the division is all a part of his plans to get bigger paydays and his first title shot inside the Octagon.

“Robbie Lawler is a big one as well,” he continued. “Any of them guys. To be honest, I understand that I could fight Robbie or ‘Wonderboy’ and it would skip some steps to get that money and the gold and I like that idea. But, ultimately, I believe I will fight all those guys. In what order is not the most important thing to me.”

Thompson recently came up short in his second attempt dethrone Welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, at UFC 209 (see it). As for Lawler, he hasn’t seen the inside of the eight-sided cage since getting knocked out by the aforementioned Woodley at UFC 201 in July 2016. According to this, though, he could be gearing up for a return to the cage pretty soon.

Careful what you wish for, “Gunni.”