Gunnar Nelson is out.

UFC Welterweight contender Gunnar Nelson has announced via Facebook that he will have to withdraw from his UFC Liverpool co-main event bout against Neil Mangy.

The Icelandic grappler said he is disappointed and  set to undergo surgery for the injury.

His full statement reads as follows:

“Unfortunately I have to withdraw from my fight against Neil Magny on May 27th in Liverpool. Last weekend I injured my knee. I will undergo an operation right away and I´ll be out for 8-10 weeks. I’m sorry to my family, my opponent, my teammates, the fans and the UFC.”

“This is a huge blow to me and I’m at a loss for words to describe the disappointment I am feeling. I was really feeling up for this fight, the training camp was going great and everything was just perfect until this happened. When all is said and done this is the fight business and injuries are sometimes an unfortunate part of it given the physical rigors us athletes put our bodies through. I will keep on evolving as a fighter while I’m on the sidelines and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Gunnar is right about injuries being a part of the game. Unlike most sports, in combat sports one is not alway able to dictate the forces acting on one’s own body – there is another human trying to incapacitate it. This makes risk of injury extremely high, and it sounds like this particular knee injury was a sudden accident.

However, the show will go on. UFC Liverpool takes place May 27, 2018 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

In a spectacular headlining bout,  Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will face Liverpool’s own Darren Till in a clash of Karate vs Muay Thai striking. The UFC has yet to announce a replacement opponent for Magny.

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