International spotlight- Gunnar Nelson moves to 7-0 with round one submission of Danny Mitchell

The top unsigned welterweight in mixed martial arts Gunnar Nelson (7-0-1) stepped into the main event slot at Cage Contenders 6 in England over the weekend. Matched-up with England's Danny Mitchell, the fight for Nelson was his second of 2010.

A 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships fourth place finisher as well as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie, Nelson's grappling resume is unparalleled on the local MMA level. The 22 year old from Iceland has achieved five star prospect status through submission wrestling attributes that have translated successfully to the MMA cage.

Mitchell came into the fight fresh off a loss to another European welterweight Eugene Fadiora (9-0). Working off a six month layoff Nelson wasted little time to take the fight to floor where he held a immense edge over Mitchell. A jab thrown by Mitchell was quickly countered by Nelson with a hook into a bodylock takedown in the oepning moments of the bout.

Nelson switched between side control and mount on a downed Mitchell, before a elbow opened the Britt up for more punishment. From mount Nelson rained down strikes until Mitchell was forced to give up his back. A gold medalist at the 2009 Pan-American games, Nelson calmly applied a rear naked choke submission around Mitchell's neck. The time of the fight ending tap-out came 2:51 seconds into the first round in favor of Nelson.

With seven wins in eight MMA bouts Nelson continues to dominate competitors at the local level. The combined record of Nelson's last five opponents checks in at a average of 14-11-1, with Mitchell being his toughest test to date. Six of Nelson's seven wins have come inside the first round.

Nelson is currently ranked number five in the ULTMMA50; a top 50 ranking of the best unsigned prospects in MMA.

Cage Contender 6 Nelson vs. Mitchell results
Altrincham, England

Declan Dalton def. Krzysztof Drajewski by TKO (Punches) 4:42 R1
Dwayne Hinds def. Ben Murphy by TKO (Punches) 1:54 R1
Chris Fields def. Tony Moran by Submission Armbar 2:40 R2
Norman Parke def. Stuart Davies by TKO (Punches) 2:34 R2
Warren Kee def. Lee Barnes by TKO (Punches) 3:57 R2
Ali Arish def. Nathan Champ by Unanimous Decision
Declan Williams vs. Damien Rooney declared a Draw
Greg Knapp def. James Doolan by Unanimous Decision
Gunnar Nelson def. Danny Mitchell by Submission Rear-Naked Choke 2:51 R1