Sverige
Eight Swedish MMA fights you can’t miss this winter
Swedish MMA fights. Photo: Stefan Romare
The winter of 2024 looks great for Swedish MMA! With events like Battle of Botnia 9, Fight Club Rush 19 and Allstars Fight Night 5 coming up, there are a bunch of great fights booked already.
Frontkick’s Tobias Lindkvist breaks down eight of the most interesting and anticipated Swedish MMA fights this winter. Check it out!
Anton Turkalj vs. Ibo Aslan 2
Anton Turkalj. Photo via YouTube (UFC)
Swedish UFC light heavyweight Anton”The Pleasure Man” Turkalj (8-3) will take on UFC newcomer Ibo Aslan (12-1) in a rematch on March 30.
The pairing clashed as undefeated fighters back at Brave CF 40 in Sweden in 2020, in a fight that was steeped in bad blood.
Turkalj eventually stood as the winner via second-round submission and it will be more than interesting if he can get another win against Aslan, who recently said “If we fight 100, I kill him 99 times”.
Let’s go!
Fabian Misk vs. Fredrik Sandberg
Fabian Misk. Photo: Stefan Romare
The fight between Fabian Misk and Fredrik Sandberg is certainly an interesting matchup for the amateur Swedish welterweight weight class.
Söder Fight Gym’s Misk might have lost his last stand up bout against Muay Thai striker Emil ”Fucking” Näsman at AFN 3, but is still one helluva fighter-in-the-making. His next opponent, Gothenburg’s Sandberg, is an up-and-coming powerhouse who won his pro debut via a first-round knockout but lost against August Jacobsson in his second bout.
Paired with the fantastic atmosphere surrounding the Allstars Fight Night events, this welterweight clash is bound to deliver a great show.
Theodor Berggren vs. Dorin Paladi
Theodor ”Simba” Berggren. Photo: Chris Önnerby
Norrland’s own Theodor ”Simba” Berggren (3-1) is up for a tough task at Battle of Botnia 9 on February 24 as he takes on Dorin Paladin (2-0) in a main event bout.
The undefeated Moldavian fighter, who never went the distance as a pro, will probably be Berggrens’s biggest test so far.
Since Battle of Botnia’s crowd are loud supporters of their home fighters, it will definitely be interesting to see if Paladin’s nerves will hold up enough to stay undefeated and win on enemy territory.
Emma Schiöler vs. Sani Brännfors
Emma Schiöler vs Sani Brännfors. Photo BoB and Chris Önnerby
The bantamweight bout between Swedish National Team fighter Emma Schiöler and Finnish former IMMAF youth world champion Sani Brännfors is an amateur matchup at its best.
Nordic derbys, especially between Sweden and Finland, always seem to deliver the goods, and this fight will most likely be no exception.
Can Schiöler score another big victory at Battle of Botnia or will the former world champ be a number too big? Let’s see on February 24!
Renato Vidovic vs. Rohullah Yousofi 2
Renato Vidovic and Rohullah Yousofi. Photo: Andres Viracca, Tomasz Piwinski
The rematch between Renato Vidovic (4-1) and Rohullah Yousofi (3-3) is about as interesting of a fight that we will get this winter! Both flyweights are top 5 ranked on the Official Swedish MMA Rankings and red-hot going into the fight at FCR 19 in Stockholm.
The five time Swedish MMA champ and two-time IMMAF European champion Vidovic must be eager to finally return to the cage after two cancelled fights against Jonny Touma, to prove that he’s one of the best flyweights in Scandinavia.
Multiple time Afghan boxing champion Yousofi, who’s three-fight winning streak was snapped as he stepped in on short notice to fight Jonny Touma for the flyweight strap this past November, also has everything to win on February 24.
The winner in this high-stake flyweight fight will be one step closer to challenge for the FCR title!
Raymond Johansson vs. Waltteri Häkkinen
Raymond Johansson. Photo: Patrick Persson
Featherweight Raymond Johansson (2-1) is on a roll!
After back-to-back first-round TKO’s, the surging pro fighter brings a huge amount of excitement to Fight Club Rush. On February 24 he will face undefeated Tampere fighter Waltteri Häkkinen (3-0) who’s known to be tough as nails and a dangerous finnisher.
Johansson is a No. 10 lightweight on the Official Swedish MMA Rankings and with another highlight reel win in FCR he will take another step towards becoming one of the most interesting names on the Swedish MMA scene.
Baysangur Makaev vs. Erik Wahrolén
Photo Patrik Persson and Stefan Romare
The recently announced fight between Baysangur Makaev (3-1) and Erik Wahrolén (1-0) made MMA fans all over the country jump in excitement!
Both lightweights are oozing with confidence, featured Official Swedish MMA rankings and known to always bring tons of intensity and enthusiasm to the cage.
It will be interesting to see two hungry up-and-coming fighters with such a big age difference duke it out in the cage. I expect a banger of a fight that certainly can go any way!
Jack Hermansson vs. Joe Pyfer
Jack Hermansson. Photo: Miguel Tovar-USA TODAY Sports
It’s do or die for Jack Hermansson on February 10!
The Swede comes from a tough TKO loss against Roman Dolidze in December 2022 and intends to get back in the winning column. After alternating wins and losses since 2019, it’s very important for the No. 10 ranked 35-year-old to build a solid foundation of wins to build himself up for a potential title shot.
American 27-year-old Joe Pyfer is still a bit of an untested fighter in the UFC, even though he is undefeated in the promotion with three stoppage wins.
Promotional veteran Hermansson is by far his toughest test to date, and it will be very interesting to see who will get his hand raised in this five-rounder.
Read more: Official Swedish Female Amateur Pound-for-Pound Rankings
Read more: Official Swedish Male Amateur Pound-for-Pound Rankings