“England and Ireland have already or intend to host recent events. And European neighbors Italy and Sweden could be next.”
- UFC in 2008
MMA in Sweden – Superior Challenge, Stockholm 2008
MMA Viking is dedicated to bringing the UFC to Sweden. As the UFC expands with events throughout Europe, several new countries have been considered. Sweden has been mentioned as a possibility, and I hope that the UFC and its fans find the information here about the MMA scene in Sweden (in english) helpful in bringing the UFC here.
Although there haven’t been any UFC events in Sweden, there have been two Swedish UFC fighters. So far, they have combined records of 2 wins and 3 losses:
UFC 97- Sweden Fighter Records 2 Wins and 3 Loss
Tough loss for Swedish UFC Fighter David Bielkheden. He will be back!
David Bielkheden (13-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) lost to Canadian jiu-jitsu specialist Mark Bocek (6-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC).
UFC 95 - Sweden Fighter Records 2 Wins and 2 Loss
Per Eklund lost to Evan Dunham at UFC 95 on February 21st in London, England.
UFC 89 – Sweden Fighter Records 2 Wins and 1 Loss
MMA fighters from Sweden David Bielkheden and Per Eklund had dominating wins at UFC 89 on October 18 in Birmingham, England!!! These victories will help the campaign to bring the UFC to their homeland of Sweden. Both fighters weighed in at 155 lbs.
UFC 89 – Sweden Fighter Records 0 Wins and 1 Loss David Bielkheden fights Diego Sanchez at 170 lbs. on short notice, and loses in the first round.
Alexander Gustafsonn, Sweden’s only fighter currently under UFC contract, won his debut tonight at UFC 105. The fight was shown on TV Sport 4 15 minutes before the main card started. The Mauler’s straight right put an end to the fight in the first round. Pictures and additional reports coming soon!
Congrats to Gustafsson, and I hope his right hand helps bring the UFC to Sweden.
How awesome. Alexander Gustafsson’s name was on the main page of Yahoo! sports in the UFC section at http://sports.yahoo.com/ufc. You can see the beginning of the post – UFC newcomers Alexander Gustafsson and Jared Hamman meet at UFC 105. The article stems from an MMAJunkie.com story by Dann Stupp. It basically announces the light heavyweight matchup planned for November 14 at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. I hope that it will be shown live on TV4 Sport, which was made possible when other Swedish fighters were on the preliminary card of UFC events. More on this soon!
I was just reading about the 3 most likely Swedish fighters to make it to the UFC last month in the July Fighter Magazine in Sweden. http://www.fightermag.se/images/magazine/cover_110.jpg. They listed Alexander Gustafsson (8-0-0), Ilir Latifi (4-0-0), and Diego Gonzalez (11-3-0). Well, it looks like their first prediction is true! Recent posts indicate that Alexander Gustafsson just got the call
Gustafsson is a light-heavyweight, and it looks like his debut is set for UFC 105 in Manchester, England. Gustaffson has been fighting locally in The Zone, and has won 7 of 8 of fights with strikes. He is a former boxer. Congrats!!!
I took this video at the recent Super Challenge event. Great standup action! You can find rounds 1 and 2 at http://www.youtube.com/superiorchallenge. Round 3 is below:
mmaViking Updates in Progress
As you may have noticed, mmaViking.com is currently undergoing a facelift. Please come back often to see improvements, and more fighter pages being added everyday.
Free Live UFC Events in Sweden!
What is great about living in Sweden is that UFC events are shown live for FREE. Although it is a 4am broadcast, you don't have to pay $44.95. Thank you TV4!
What is great about living in Sweden is that UFC events are shown live for FREE. Although it is a 4am broadcast, you don't have to pay $44.95. Thank you TV4!