Biography(references)Gunnar began grappling in 2006, receiving his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt from Matt Thornton of Straight Blast Gym International. Gunnar first met Kavanagh during one of his BJJ seminars at Mjolnir, and the SBG Ireland owner would remain his head coach until this day. Gunnar subsequently spent a period at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York to advance rank to black belt. Shortly after his arrival, he had competed for their team in various competitions, winning a silver medal in the 2009 Mundials brown belt category. At the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, Gunnar took 4th place in the absolute category where he defeated the much heavier and touted BJJ Black Belts Jeff Monson and David Avellan.
Fighter Trivia(references)Gunnar has two children, a son and a daughter. His son, Stígur, was born on May 30, 2014, whose mother is Icelandic artist, Auður Ómarsdóttir. Gunnar and his girlfriend Fransiska Bjork Hinriksdóttir have a daughter, who was born on October 31, 2019.
Awards & Accolades
UFC: Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Omari Akhmedov, Zak Cummings, Albert Tumenov and Alan Jouban
UFC: Tied (with Chris Lytle and Demian Maia) for most submission wins in UFC Welterweight history (6)
Nordic MMA Awards - MMAviking.com: 2012 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Nordic MMA Awards - MMAviking.com: 2015 Submission of the Year vs. Brandon Thatch
Nordic MMA Awards - MMAviking.com: 2018 Submission of the Year vs. Alex Oliveira
North American Grappling Association: NAGA Middleweight Champion (One time)
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation: 2009 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Middleweight Brown Belt Gi Silver Medalist
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation: 2009 IBJJF Pan American Championship Middleweight Brown Belt Gi Gold Medalist
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation: 2009 IBJJF Pan American Championship Middleweight Black Belt No Gi Gold Medalist
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation: 2009 IBJJF Pan American Championship Absolute Black Belt No Gi Silver Medalist
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