The UFC is headed to London on March 18, and Daniel Rodriguez says he’s taking part.
Shortly after announcing he had fight news coming, “D-Rod” announced on his Instagram Story that he will be fighting Gunnar Nelson on March 18, 2023 in London, England.
The UFC has yet to officially announce the bout. The event will take place at the O2 Arena, where both of last year’s UFC London events went down.
Rodriguez (17-3) will enter his first bout of 2023 looking to bounce back from a loss to Neil Magny in November. The former SMASH Global welterweight champ had won four straight prior to that, including a short-notice victory over Li Jingliang at UFC 279, a card that saw it’s top three fights shuffled at the last minute after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight.
Nelson (18-5-1) returned to the win column last March at the first of two UFC London events in 2022. He defeated Takashi Sato, going the full three rounds and claiming a unanimous decision against the Japanese welterweight.
That fight was Nelson’s first since 2019.
UFC 286 does not yet have a main event officially announced or reported, though Leon Edwards is expected to top the show. The following bouts have been reported for the card:
- Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Lerone Murphy
- Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
- Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
- Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill
- Jai Herbert vs. Ľudovít Klein
- Daniel Rodriguez vs. Gunnar Nelson
