Ranking the five greatest Swedish MMA fighters of all time is certainly a challenging task, but after some agonizing decisions, we have narrowed it down to the following list.
5. Niklas Bäckström
Niklas Bäckström is arguably most well-known for winning the UFC Performance of the Night in 2014. The featherweight-division fighter competed in the match at short notice, replacing Thiago Tavares. The match was against the formidable Tom Niinimäki, and despite being the underdog, Bäckström somehow managed to win the fight by submission in the first round. The fight also earned Bäckström the award of Submission of the Year at the Nordic MMA Awards. Out of his 15 matches as an MMA fighter, the semi-retired Swede won 11 fights.
4. David Teymur
The Swedish MMA fighter David Teymur started out as a successful Muay Thai artist and kickboxer, but in 2012 he followed his brother Daniel Teymur into mixed martial arts. In 2013, he made his MMA debut, where he lost against Mattias Rosenlind. However, the Lightweight-division fighter picked himself up, dusted himself down, and went on to win his next two fights in the same promotion. Out of the ten matches of his career so far, Teymur has eight wins. His best year was undoubtedly 2017, in which he first stunned the MMA community with a massive upset over Lando Vannata at UFC 209, and then followed it at UFC 218 with a win over the previously-unbeaten Drakkar Klose. The two events earned Teymur the Fighter of the Year Award. However, Teymur did lose his last fight against Charles Oliveira in 2019 at UFC Fight Night 144. So, who knows how his next match will go.
3. Ilir Latifi
Ilir Latifi may be one of the smallest fighters in the UFC Light Heavyweight division, but he is undoubtedly one of the strongest. The Sledgehammer is Albanian by ethnicity and was born in Malmö, Sweden. In addition to being one of the top fighters in his division, Latifi is a two-time national wrestling champion. His mixed martial arts record shows he has 14 wins out of 23 matches, six wins of which were by knockout. His notable victories include fights against Tyson Pedro, Ovince Saint-Preux, and Gian Villante.
2. Jack Hermansson
Jack Hermansson may be nicknamed The Joker, but his opponents do not often have smiles on their faces when they are in the ring with him. Out of 26 matches, Hermansson has 21 wins, 11 of which were by knockout. His notable victories include fights against MMA veterans such as Karlos Vemola and Norman Paraisy. Born in Uddevalla, Sweden, the Swedish-Norwegian professional mixed martial artist competes in the UFC Middleweight division.
1. Alexander Gustafsson
Even though Alexander Gustafsson’s return from retirement against his one-time training partner Fabricio Werdum did not go as expected in 2020, the loss has done little to affect Gustafsson’s place among the greatest MMA fighters. The 6-foot 5-inch Swede is undoubtedly the best MMA artist his country has ever produced. He holds notable wins over such legends as Thiago Silva, Cyrille Diabate, Mauricio Rua, and Jim Manuwa. Most famously, Gustafsson is known for managing to take down Jon Jones during his title shot at the 2013 UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Gustafsson may have lost the fight via unanimous decision, but the underdog challenged Jones, unlike any other contender before him. As every MMA fan knows, the fight has gone down in history. Indeed, many consider it to be the greatest light heavyweight bout of all time. The World MMA Awards and other media outlets named the contest Fight of the Year. Gustafsson also won the title of International Fighter of the Year. And in 2020, the fight was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.