Conor McGregor bestows huge accolades on UFC 286 main card winner

Conor McGregor at the UFC 257 ceremonial weigh-ins
Conor McGregor at the UFC 257 ceremonial weigh-ins

Irish superstar Conor McGregor showered compliments on his teammate Gunnar Nelson for the latter's performance at UFC 286.

An MMA fan uploaded a picture of Conor McGregor with Nelson on Twitter. McGregor responded to the post by congratulating 'Gunni' and hailing him as one of the greatest fighters that he had the privilege of knowing.

"Congrats Gunnar Nelson! One of the greatest fighters I’ve ever known personally. What a fighter is the Icelander!"

After being out of action for a year, Gunnar Nelson returned to action at UFC 286 and took on Bryan Barberena in a welterweight scrap. 'Gunni' made light work of his opponent and finished him with an armbar in the opening round of the fight. With the victory, Nelson extended his winning streak to 2-0.

Gunnar Nelson has been a part of the UFC for quite some time .The 34-year-old made his promotional debut back in September 2012. Nelson has competed in 15 UFC fights and has been victorious in 10 of those encounters.

During his stint in the UFC, Nelson has shared the octagon with several prominent fighters like Leon Edwards, Gilbert Burns, Santiago Ponzinibbio, Alan Jouban and Demian Maia.


Conor McGregor is expected to be back in action this year

Conor McGregor recently took up the coaching job for the UFC show 'The Ultimate Fighter' against Michael Chandler. The two athletes will meet up later this year for a showdown inside the octagon.

Many in the MMA community believe that a possible win over Chandler might earn McGregor a shot at UFC gold. UFC lightweight Dan Hooker recently weighed in on the matchup and spoke about the possibility of McGregor getting a title shot.

"That's the best fight for Conor. That's the biggest name that puts him one fight off a title shot. I feel like the next best fight in lightweight is probably me for Conor, but it's far more dangerous than Chandler. I feel like beating me still doesn't put you in line for a title shot. I feel like [if] he beats Chandler, regardless of the situation, knockout, decision, submission, he gets a title shot off of that and that's truly what Conor's after."

Check out Dan Hooker's comments below:

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