Alexander Butenko vs Gunnar Nelson official for 25th February

Cage Contender owner John Ferguson confirmed on twitter today that Gunnar Nelson will take on Alexander Butenko (12-4-0) at Cage Contender 12, which takes place on Saturday 25th February at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin.

The tweet read… Gunnar Nelson v Alexander “Iron Capture” Butenko (12-4-0) is on!! The Ukrainian has never been stopped! ProFC and M1 Challenge vet

Alexander Butenko has only lost one of his last eleven fights, a decision loss to highly regarded Russian fighter Magomed Saadulaev (14-1). Infact all of Butenko’s losses have come by decision.

Both Gunnar Nelson and Alexander Butenko hold black belts in jiu-jitsu. Gunnar Nelson has had an impressive 5 Submissions in 9 fights ( 62.5 %) but Butenko has an even better submission finish percentage having finished 10 of his 16 fights by submission ( 83.33 %).

Butenko has fought several times for M-1, winning all his bouts by submission, with only Anzor Kardanov making it out of the first round.

He originally competed in Sambo and although he only began fighting MMA in 2008 he has alot of experience, having fought 3 times in 2008 and 7 times in 2009.

Butenko has also trained with Fedor Emelianenko who was long considered the number 1 heavyweight in the world and is still considered one of the best of all time.

Tickets for Cage Contender 12 in Tallaght, Dublin on the 25th February can still be purchased from PremierTickets