Niklas Bäckström (; born August 22, 1989) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

fighter who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

and

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

divisions. He has previously 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 ...

Biography

Bäckström began training

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

at the age of 10. At 14 he also began

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

in his hometown

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

. After high school he moved to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and took up Mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Bäckström started his martial arts career as a competitor in

Submission wrestling Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through the ...

and

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. He was awarded his BJJ purple belt after winning a Swedish tournament in 2008, he also competed in

Shootfighting Shootfighting is a martial art and combat sport, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). It incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being wrestlin ...

with a record of 2-0, before starting his professional MMA career in 2009. After staying undefeated following his first three professional bouts, Bäckström signed with the British promotion

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 Warrio ...

. He made his promotional debut against Adam Edwards, on April 24, 2011 at CWFC 41, he won the fight by unanimous decision. He was later expected to face top Irish prospect and future

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

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor ( ga, Conchúr Antóin Mac Gréagóir; born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion. He is the first ...

on September 8, 2011, at CWFC: Fight Night 2. However, Bäckström was forced out of the bout with a broken hand, and was replaced by Aron Jahnsen. Bäckström then continued to fight on the European circuit and by 2014 he had racked up a record of 7-0 1 NC, with 4 victories by TKO and 1 by submission, including a unanimous decision win over Sergej Grecicho and a 15-second TKO over Max Coga, before getting the call from the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On May 15, 2014, it was revealed that Bäckström had signed a contract with the UFC. He made his debut on short notice, replacing an injured

Thiago Tavares Thiago de Mello Tavares (born November 8, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and politician who most recently competed in the Lightweight division. An 18-fight veteran of the UFC, he has also fought in the Professional Fighters League and ...

against

Tom Niinimäki Tom Niinimäki (born July 25, 1982) is a Finnish professional mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Niinimäki began training in ki ...

on May 31, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 41 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 ...

. Despite coming in as a slight underdog, Bäckström won the fight by submission in the first round. He was also awarded a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus for his efforts. Bäckström faced Mike Wilkinson 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 S ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Bäckström faced

Noad Lahat Noadya Lahat ( he, נועד להט; born June 8, 1984), also known by the nickname Neo, is an Israeli mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional since 2008, he is the second Israeli to ever fight in the UFC an ...

on June 20, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 69 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 ...

He lost the back and forth fight by majority decision (28-28, 28-29, 28-29). However, on the MMA media scorecards, most had scored the fight a draw, with Bäckström winning round one and three 10-9 and losing round two 10-8, making the score 28-28. In late August, 2015 it was announced, surprisingly to some, that Bäckström had been released from the promotion.

Post-UFC; Independent promotions

In his first fight since his UFC stint, Bäckström fought Bulgarian veteran Georgi Stoyanov on November 28, 2015 in the headliner at the Battle of Botnia 2015-event, close to his hometown in North Sweden. He won the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round. Since his BAMMA-debut was postponed (see below), Bäckström instead took a short notice fight against Danijel Kokora on June 4, 2016 at Scandinavian Fight Nights 1. The bout was contested at lightweight, with Bäckström moving up and Kokora moving down in weight. He won the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round. Bäckström faced Joni Salovaara on November 26, 2016 in the headliner at Cage 37. Despite suffering a broken hand, he won the fight by unanimous decision. He was then set to face Tim Wilde on June 14, 2017 in the main event at Tanko FC 5. The fight would get scrapped from the card a little more than a week before the event, due to Wilde having issues making the weight.

BAMMA

On April 11, 2016 it was revealed that Bäckström had signed with British promotion

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 Ire ...

. He was expected to make his promotional debut on June 4, 2016 at BAMMA 26. No opponent was announced. He was later set to face Attila Korkmaz at the same event which had been postponed to September 10, 2016. However, the matchup was later scrapped from the card altogether. Following the postponing of his first two bookings, he instead fought for other promotions during that timeframe (see above). Bäckströms promotional debut was then set to be against Brian Moore on December 16, 2016 at BAMMA 27 which was a card co-promoted by BAMMA and Bellator. It was later revealed that Bäckström instead would be facing

Ronnie Mann Ronnie Mann (born 12 October 1986) is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2003, Mann has mostly fought in England and Japan. Mann is a veteran of the form ...

, and it would be a fight for the BAMMA featherweight title. However, Bäckström had to pull out of the fight due to an injury. The injury was a broken hand that he suffered in a fight which he took after his previously booked fight in BAMMA had been canceled. He was replaced by Martin Stapleton.

Absolute Championship Berkut

Bäckström was first expected to face Thiago Tavares on July 22, 2017 at ACB 65. However, Tavares was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Andrew Fisher. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

Bäckström made his return from 4.5 year lay off against Sebastian Rajewski on January 15, 2022 at KSW 66. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed Martial Arts

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(One time) vs.

* Nordic MMA Awards – MMAViking.com ** 2014 Submission of the Year vs.

(

)

Submission Grapling

* 2008 Västerås Cup 4 Open Weight BJJ Tournament 3rd place * 2010 Swedish National Submission Wrestling Lightweight Tournament 3rd place * 2012 Swedish National Submission Wrestling Lightweight Tournament 1st place

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center , 11-4 (1) , Sebastian Rajewski , Decision (unanimous) , KSW 66: Ziółkowski vs. Mańkowski , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center , 11-3 (1) , Andrew Fisher , Decision (unanimous) , ACB 65: Silva vs. Agnaev , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center , 11–2 (1) , Joni Salovaara , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 37: Bäckström vs. Salovaara , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center , 10–2 (1) , Danijel Kokora , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Scandinavian Fight Nights 1 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , N/A ,

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...

, Sweden , Lightweight bout. , - , Win , align=center , 9–2 (1) , Georgi Stoyanov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Battle of Botnia 2015 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:15 ,

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, Ume� ...

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center , 8–2 (1) ,

, Decision (majority) , UFC Fight Night: Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center , 8–1 (1) , Mike Wilkinson , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:19 ,

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center , 8–0 (1) , Tom Niinimaki , Submission (bulldog choke) , UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:15 ,

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center , 7–0 (1) , Max Coga , TKO (front kick and punches) , Europa MMA: Coga vs. Bäckström , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:15 , Brentwood, England , , - , Win , align=center , 6–0 (1) , Jaakko Vayrynen , TKO (knee and punches) , Lappeenranta Fight Night 9 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 0:58 ,

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center , 5–0 (1) , Thomas Hytten , TKO (punches) , Vision FC Fight Night 1 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , N/A ,

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabitants ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center , 4–0 (1) , Sergej Grecicho , Decision (unanimous) , Botnia Punishment 11 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bru ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center , 3–0 (1) , Adam Edwards , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors: 41 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , NC , align=center , 2–0 (1) , Elias Kunnas , No Contest , Artic Fight 3 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , N/A ,

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Simon Sköld , TKO (punches) , Superior Challenge 6 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 3:23 ,

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Gabriel Mboge Nesje , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Superior Challenge 4 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:30 ,

, Sweden ,

Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Jonas Forssell , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Swedish Shootfighting League 07: Umeå Martial Arts Festival , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 1:21 ,

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Victor Garabedian , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Swedish Shootfighting League 07: Shoot Challenge 2 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:23 ,