A welterweight bout between Alex Oliveira and Gunnar Nelson took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC 231 event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Gunnar Nelson enters tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a first-round knockout loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio this past July in Glasgow, Scotland.

Prior to the setback, “Gunni” had reeled off two straight submission wins over Alan Jouban and Albert Tumenov.

Meanwhile, Alex Oliveira was last seen in action at September’s UFC event in Sao Paulo, where he earned a first-round TKO victory over Carlo Perdersoli Jr.

“Cowboy” entered tonight’s contest having won six of his past seven fights overall.

Round one begins and Gunnar Nelson takes the center of the octagon in his classic karate stance. Oliveira with a hard low kick. Nelson leaps in with a combination. He presses “Cowboy” up against the cage. Oliveira with some elbows. Nelson lifts him up but Alex grabs the cage to prevent himself from being slammed down. The referee steps in and wards Oliveira not to do that again. We restart from a similar position and this time Nelson secures a takedown. He immediately moves to take the back of Oliveira and does. Gunnar with some punches to soften him up now. “Cowboy” manages to scramble and take top position. He lands a big left hand from the top. Gunnar remains calm but he is eating some big shots now. Just over ninety seconds remain. Oliveira with hammer fists now. He switches to rights and lefts. Nelson looks to secure a leg lock but Oliveira just smashes him in the face for his efforts. Nelson goes for a leg again and this time scores the sweep. He appears to be attempting a heal hook submission. Oliveira is wise to it and just waits out the final seconds of the opening round.

Round two begins and Oliveira begins with a low kick. He presses forward and pushes Nelson up against the cage. Oliveira is searching for a takedown. He gets it but Gunnar pops right back up to his feet. Oliveira with a good knee from the clinch. He lands an uppercut. Nelson is bleeding now. The crowd is getting restless. Nelson reverses the position and scores a much needed takedown. He immediately moves to full mount and has just under three minutes to work. Nelson with some right hands from the top. His nose is a bloody mess. He is bleeding all over the face of Oliveira. Alex tries to buck him off but can’t. Gunnar isn’t doing to much in terms of damage but he is in control. The referee warns him that he has to work. Nelson responds by dropping down a pair of big elbows. Oliveria is split wide open. That cut is nasty. Oliveira attempts to scramble but gives up his back. Gunnar Nelson locks in a rear-naked choke and this one is all over folks. Winner by submission Gunnar Nelson.

He roars again!

Welcome back, @GunniNelson! #UFC231 pic.twitter.com/APn2XMPQWt

— UFC (@ufc) December 9, 2018