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Official Swedish Male Amateur Pound-for-Pound Rankings
Swedish Amateur Pound-for-Pound Rankings. Photo: Chris Önnerby and Stefan Romare
The Official Swedish MMA Rankings is the only ranking system focusing on Swedish MMA, with rankings for each pro division – as well as unique amateur’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Sweden is known to have a strong amateur MMA scene, stacked with up-and-coming talents.Let’s take a closer look at the top 10 Swedish amateur fighters right now!
10. Tor Sohlström
Tor Sohlström. Photo via Instagram (@wolffightpromotion)
Wolf Fight Promotion middleweight champion Tor Sohlström is a tough fighter who won the belt by defeating Josef Al-Zubeidy.
At WFP 9 in November the Kalmar fighter defended his strap after a three round war against Gustaf Sandelin. Sohlström is absolutely a fighter to keep an eye on in 2024.
9. Anton Ringvall
Anton Ringvall. Photo: Chris Önnerby
Hammarö Fight Club’s Anton Ringvall has become one of Sweden’s most active amateur MMA fighters, competing in Nordic promotions like Fight Club Rush, Wolf Fight Promotion, Battle of Botnia, Carelia Fight and Allstars Fight Night.
In his last fight at Battle of Botnia 8 he stopped Verneri Hakkinen via a second-round TKO.
8. Viktor Mangs
Viktor Mangs. Photo: Stefan Romare
Another fighter who had a big 2023 is Viktor Mangs who really established himself as a fighter to be reckoned with on the regional scene, with wins at Allstars Fight Night and Fight Club Rush.
He also represented the Swedish National Team in the IMMAF World Championships in Albania where he defeated Mykolas Korsakovas via a third round guillotine choke but lost the eight-finals via submission.
“The World Championships in Albania was a huge experience. To represent Sweden in sports has been a dream of mine since I was a kid,” Mangs told Frontkick.
7. Arsen Tuganov
Arsen Tughanov. Photo via IMMAF
Swedish National Team veteran Arsen Tuganov is a well-known fighter on the amateur scene.
He represented Sweden in the 2022 IMMAF European Championships and in both the 2022 and 2023 IMMAF World Championships. Tuganov currently holds the No. 7 spot on the Official Swedish Amateur Pound-for-Pound Rankings.
6. Ali Al-Jasim
Ali Al-Jasim. Photo via Instagram (@thealligatoorr)
The skilled Ali Al-Jasim has both competed in the Swedish National Team and in various promotions like Fight Club Rush and MMA Føroyar.
In the past few months he won fights in the UK, both in Cage Warriors Academy South East and FightStar Championship 27.
5. Najib Adams
Najib Adams. Photo Chris Önnerby
One of the hottest amateur fighters right now is Allstars Training Centre’s Najib Adams, who holds the No. 5 spot on the Official Swedish Amateur Pound-for-Pound Rankings.
The entertaining light heavyweight had a big year as made his MMA debut in style with a first-round KO at Fight Club Rush 15 and then got a unanimous decision at Allstars Fight Night 2.
Representing Sweden for the first time at the 2023 IMMAF World Championships, he won his first fight via knockout but got stopped in the semifinals.
It will definitely be interesting to see what 2024 holds for Najib.
4. Ola Jacobsson
Ola Jacobsson. Photo: Stefan Romare – Frontkick
Ola Jacobsson was scheduled to make his pro debut in September at Wolf Fight Promotion 8 but the fight fell through.
During the past few years, Jacobsson has established himself as one of the absolute toughest amateurs in Sweden with wins at Gorilla Fight Club and WFP. In May he won the interim welterweight strap at Gorilla Fight Club 2.
3. Liam Pitts
Liam Pitts. Photo: Chris Önnerby
Liam Pitts is a promising bantamweight on the Swedish regional scene, who pulled together a 5-0 amateur record in promotions like AFN and FCR.
After representing Sweden in the IMMAF World Championships in Albania, Pitts crowned the year with an impressive win against Finnish MMA champion Rasmus Vauhkonen for the inaugural bantamweight title.
“I think what’s next for me is an international competition like the European Championships,” Pitts said in a post-fight interview with AFN.
2. William Swärd
Wolf Fight Promotion 9. Photo Chris Önnerby
Wolf Fight Promotion’s lightweight champion William Swärd holds the No. 2 spot on the pound-for-pound rankings.
At WFP 8, Swärd defended his strap for the first time as he defeated Benjamin Hajijan on points after three hard-fought rounds.
The young lightweight recently revealed to Frontkick that he’s ready to turn pro in the later half of 2024, after a few more amateur bouts, and with a strong team behind him the future is certainly bright for William Swärd.
1. Rafael Kveldstad
Rafael Kveldstad holds the No. 1 spot on the Swedish Amateur Pound-for-Pound Rankings. Photo: Stefan Romare
Holding the No. 1 spot in the amateur rankings is middleweight fighter Rafael Kveldstad who had a fantastic 2023.
The promising young Swede won the vacant Cage Warriors Academy amateur middleweight title as he defeated Mehdi Kora via a third-round TKO and a few weeks later he won the IMMAF World Championships in Albania.
The future certainly looks promising for Kveldstad.
Read more: Official Swedish MMA Rankings – Women’s straw-, fly-, and bantamweight