Nicholas "Nico" Musoke (born April 5, 1986) is a Swedish

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the middleweight division of Swedish promotion Superior Challenge. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, Musoke has also competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Musoke began his MMA career as an amateur in 2005 taking on Jasper Gunnarsson in a losing effort via split decision. He then made his pro debut two years later at Shooto Finland against Tomi Hietanen. He won via rear-naked choke in the first round. Nico then won his following three fights ending all of them in the first round with two of them ending in less than 50 seconds. Musoke suffered his first professional loss at the hands of future

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

and

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

fighter Danny Mitchell, via armbar in the second round. He bounced back from the loss with a TKO win over Wiktor Sobczyk at BOB 3. On June 18, 2011, he took part in a four-man tournament held by On Top Promotions where the winner would leave as the OTP Welterweight champion. In the first fight he suffered his second career loss, this time by decision against future

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage War ...

Welterweight Champion and fellow future

fighter

Cathal Pendred Cathal Pendred is an Irish actor and former mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the Cage Warriors Welterweight World Champion. Background Pendred was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish immigrant ...

. However, before the final could take place Pendred was forced out due to injury. Musoke took his place and defeated another fellow future

fighter in

Stevie Ray Lash Steven Huffman (born August 22, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stevie Ray. Stevie Ray is best known for his seven-year tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1993 to 200 ...

by submission due to a rear naked choke at the end of the first round to become the OTP Welterweight champion. Since then Musoke had gone 4-0 (1) in his last 5 fights, including one defense of his OTP-title, before getting the call from the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Musoke moved to Middleweight to make his UFC debut against long time UFC veteran Alessio Sakara, filling in for the injured Magnus Cedenblad at

UFC Fight Night 30 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MM ...

. He won the fight in the first round via armbar. He earned ''Submission of the Night'' honors. Musoke dropped back to welterweight and faced

Viscardi Andrade Viscardi Andrade Guimarães (born 8 March 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of Taura MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, he was also a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 before ...

on February 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 36. Despite being dropped and almost finished in the first round by Andrade, Musoke was able to recover quickly and take control of the fight, rocking Andrade on their feet in round 2 and control the action on the ground in round 3. His performance earned him the unanimous decision victory. On June 28, 2014, Musoke fought

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

UFC Fight Night 44 ''UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 44'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event was the first that the organization has hosted in San Antonio. Zu ...

in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to the fight, Gastelum missed weight by one and three-quarter pounds and forfeited 20% of his fight purse to Musoke. After a good and fairly dominant first round from Musoke, Gastelum rallied to win the next two rounds convincingly resulting in a unanimous decision loss for Musoke. Musoke was briefly linked to a bout with

Amir Sadollah Amir Ali Sadollah ( fa, امیرعلی ﺳﻌدالله, born August 27, 1980) is a retired American mixed martial artist, formerly with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the winner of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter 7''. He has fough ...

on October 4, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 53 ''UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 53'') was a mixed martial arts event held on October 4, 2014, at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Background This event was the third event that the UFC hosted in St ...

. However, Sadollah was pulled from the pairing with Musoke in favor of a bout with

Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. A fourth-generation Japanese of ...

on September 20, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 52 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 52'') was a mixed martial arts event held on September 20, 2014, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Background The event was the third time that the organization hoste ...

. Musoke instead faced

Alexander Yakovlev Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Я́ковлев; 2 December 1923 – 18 October 2005) was a Soviet and Russian politician, diplomat, and historian. A member of the Politburo and Secreta ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Musoke faced

Albert Tumenov Albert Khuseinovich Tumenov (russian: Альберт Туменов; krc, Альберт Туменланы; born December 26, 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former amateur boxer. Tumenov competes in the welterweight di ...

on January 24, 2015, at

UFC on Fox 14 ''UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 14'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 24, 2015, at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Background This was the fourth event that the UFC has held in Sweden and t ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. After an extended hiatus, Musoke returned to face

Bojan Veličković Bojan Veličković ( sr, Бојан Величковић; born December 18, 1988) is a Serbian mixed martial artist and sambist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has competed for the UFC, ...

on May 28, 2017, at

UFC Fight Night 109 ''UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 109'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on May 28, 2017, at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. Background Preliminar ...

. In a back-and-forth fight, he lost by knockout in the last minute of the third round when Veličković connected with a right hook to the temple, causing Musoke to become wobbled and fall to the ground .

Post-UFC career

On September 12, 2018 - over a year after his last fight in the UFC - it was announced that Musoke had signed a contract with his native Superior Challenge and will be moving up to middleweight. In his promotional return, Musoke faced

Daniel Acácio Daniel Acácio (born 27 December 1977 in Botucatu) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, also current Superior Challenge Welterweight Champion and 100% Fight Middleweight Champion. He is most notable for his fights in PRIDE Fighting ...

at Superior Challenge 18 on December 1, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Musoke then fought for the Superior Challenge Middleweight Championship against

Dylan Andrews Dylan Andrews (born 15 November 1979) is a mixed martial artist from New Zealand who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Absolute Championship Berkut. A professional competitor since 2006, he has formerly competed in the UFC, ...

at Superior Challenge 19 on May 11, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision and claimed the title. As the first title defense, Musoke faced Marcelo Alfaya at Superior Challenge 20 on December 7, 2019. He successfully defended the title by winning the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Alessio Sakara *Superior Challenge **SC Middleweight Championship (One time; Current) **One successful title defense *On Top Promotions **OTP Welterweight Championship (One time) **One successful title defense **OTP 2011 Welterweight Tournament winner *Nordic MMA Awards - MMAViking.com **2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 16–5 (1) , Marcelo Alfaya , Decision (unanimous) , Superior Challenge 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Superior Challenge 19 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Superior Challenge 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 (1) ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:37 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jaraguá do Sul Jaraguá do Sul () is a city in the north of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. History The city was founded on July 25, 1876, by engineer and Brazilian Army colonel Emílio Carlos Jourdan and his family. The city was originally named jus ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 (1) , Alessio Sakara , Submission (armbar) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:07 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 (1) , Alexander Landaeta Utrera , Decision (unanimous) , Golden Ring: Wallberg vs. Prazak , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , NC , align=center, 9–2 (1) , Mickaël Lebout , No Contest (judging error) , Vision FC 5: Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Dean Caldwell , TKO (punches) , OTP: On Top 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:49 ,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Kai Puolakka , Submission (guillotine choke) , Cage 18: Turku , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Olli Jaakko Uitto , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 16: 1st Defense , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , OTP: On Top 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 ,

Scotland , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , OTP: On Top 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Wiktor Sobczyk , TKO (punches) , Battle of Botnia 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:08 ,

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Danny Mitchell , Submission (armbar) , Superior Challenge 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:56 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Premysl Nemec , TKO (punches) , Superior Challenge 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jeppe Fausing , KO (punch) , Fighter Gala 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:12 , Elsinore, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Fredrik Klingsell , Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Zone FC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Tomi Hietanen , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Finland: Chicago Collision 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:47 ,

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

, Finland , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Musoke, Nicholas Living people 1987 births Swedish male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Swedish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Stockholm Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters