Sweden

WFP champion William Swärd: “I could see in his eyes that he didn’t want to be there any more”

Published

December 4, 2023

William Swärd. Photo Chris Önnerby

This past Saturday, Wolf Fight Promotion’s lightweight champion William Swärd defended his strap for the first time as he defeated Benjamin Hajijan on points after three hard-fought rounds.

The young and promising amateur really showed what he’s made off as he put pressure on the former National Team wrestler and even took the fight to the ground.

“I’m the first defending champion in Wolf’s history and that feels bloody great,” Swärd tells Frontkick in an exclusive interview. “It was the hardest fight of my career and Benjamin’s merits speak for themselves, he’s been competing for the Swedish National Team in both MMA and wrestling. But I still felt that I was the more complete fighter.”

The champion got rocked and dropped in the first round but managed to shake it off which he thinks mentally broke his opponent.

“To be honest, I was pretty shaken even though I said the opposite in the post-fight interview,” Swärd admits with a laugh. “I had to dig deep to get back up and that lit a fire inside me, I was like ‘I’m gonna fucking show him’. In the second round I returned stronger and in the middle of the round I could see in his eyes that he didn’t want to be there any more. That gave me even more energy.”

William Swärd will turn pro in 2024

The defending amateur champion is certain that he could have finished the fight if he played it a bit cooler and followed the gameplan a bit more.

“We had respect between us but there was definitely a big rivalry going on,” he says. “I never give up, I’m returning fire. He was not going to think that he could come to my home turf in Småland and take my belt. I had a lot of friends and family there. I wanted to give them a show.”

William Swärd is ready to turn pro in the later half of 2024, after a few more amateur bouts. With a strong team behind him the future is certainly bright for the MMA prospect.

“I want to shout out to Björn at RDX, Andres at Vircacci Sports Management and my family and friends. Last but not least my coaches Johan Åkerberg and Linus at Växjö Titans.”

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