Miko Eric Oliver Enkamp (born August 10, 1991) 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, incorp ...

who competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of the

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

Background

Karate

Enkamp grew up with martial arts as his family runs ''Combat Academy -'' a martial arts center in

Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 66,292 inhabitants in 2013. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Swed ...

- where he himself started training already at a couple of years old. Having a permanent training partner in his brother would pay off and he was, among other things, selected to the Swedish junior national team in karate after traveling around Europe and competing in both

Kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

(his brother

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' (a ...

's specialty) and

Kumite Kumite ( ja, 組手, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a partic ...

. During the years he was active in karate, he visited

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

in Japan several times to learn more directly from the birthplace of karate.

Kickboxing

As a teenager, his interests expanded and he started training kickboxing after watching matches in K-1 on Eurosport. At this time, in addition to karate training, the club also had two kickboxing coaches named Anders Carlsson and Roger Wikström who helped him develop and became something of a mentor to Enkamp.

Submission grappling

At the same time as the sport of MMA gained momentum, Enkamp became interested in grappling and began training at the club ''Pancrase Gym'' to add submissions to its technical register. Shortly afterwards, he started competing in this, which led him to a gold in the SGL - Swedish Grappling League. Oliver attributes his creativity and movement patterns on the ground to all the years he practiced breakdance as a teenager.

Thai boxing

As soon as Enkamp graduated from high school, he went to

Phuket, Thailand Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

and Tiger Muay Thai to practice Thai boxing . He stayed there for nine weeks and managed to attend his first professional Muay Thai match. A match that spread widely after he won via main kick and KO in the second round.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Amateur

In 2009, Enkamp received an invitation to the summer camp MMA-Academy and he signed up as the only participant from the club. Once in place, a whole new world opened up for him when he realized how deep one could dive into the technical and tactical aspects of the sport. It was the starting shot for what would be his professional MMA career. In 2010 he started competing in shootfighting (today called MMA class-B) and the following year they introduced Amateur MMA (today called MMA class-A) which he competed successfully in and became the first Swedish champion in 2011 after a six-second KO in the final match. The following year, 2012, he defended his title as Swedish champion in welterweight (-77.1 kg) before he with an amateur result of 14-1 decided to start competing professionally.

Professional

Prior to his professional debut, Enkamp went to the Alliance Training Center in San Diego, CA, USA. There he lived upstairs in the gym for two months and trained with i.a.

Ross Pearson Ross Pearson (born 26 September 1984) is a retired English mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A 26-fight veteran of the UFC, he was a three-time "Fight of the Night" winner and was the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9. ...

Jeremy Stephens Jeremy Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2005, he spent 15 years and competed in 33 bouts in the UFC ...

Brandon Vera Brandon Michael Vera (born October 10, 1977), or also known by his ring name as The Truth, is a Filipino-American (of Italian heritage) retired mixed martial artist where he was the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 WEC Heavyweigh ...

, Phil Davis and

Dominick Cruz Dominick Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Cruz ha ...

. As prepared as he could be, he went since his debut match on March 9, 2013 at IRFA 4 against the Finn Kari Paivinen and won via reverse triangle throttling in the third round. Before the next match in IRFA, Enkamp played a match at the Scanian organization ''Trophy MMA's'' second gala where he 1 June 2013 won his second professional match via rear-naked in the second round against the Swede Erik Greissen. After that, he spent a summer with his brother in Hawaii and visited BJ Penn's gym in Hilo. Then back under IRFA's flag, he met Georg the Swede

Guram Kutateladze Guram (Khita) Kutateladze (Georgian: გურამ (ხიტა) ქუთათელაძე) (March 29, 1924 – November 29, 1979) was a 20th-century Georgian painter. Honoured Artist of Georgia, Rustaveli Prize. He studied at the Moscow S ...

on April 5, 2014 at IRFA 6 and won by unanimous decision. When he then returned to the USA, he made it to the American Top Team to wrestle with e.g. Thiago Alves and sparred with

Gleison Tibau Janigleison Herculano Alves, better known as Gleison Tibau (; born July 10, 1983) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League. A professional since 1999, he has competed for ...

. Six months later at IRFA 7 on 22 November 2014, Enkamp met the Pole Lukasz Bieniek, whom he defeated via submission late in the second round. In the spring of 2015, Enkamp flew to Las Vegas to participate in the competitions for the TV series

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

, where he joined the European team coached by

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 ...

. The following summer, there was a training trip to

Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...

's dojo in Belém, Brazil, where he made good contact with the former UFC champion and advice on what would lead him to a future contract with the UFC. However, a knee injury from training in Brazil put a stop to the TUF opportunity. On September 17, 2016 at IRFA 10, it was time for the next match. This time against the Dutchman Arne Boekee in the gala's main match which Enkamp defeated via armbar / triangle in the second round.

Superior Challenge

Less than a month after his last match in IRFA, Enkamp went up against the Brazilian Rickson Pontes at SC 14. After a tough match, Enkamp won via unanimous decision and was noticed by Swedish newspapers. About six months later, April 1, 2017 came the next match in SC 15 where he met the Dane Frodi Vitalis Hansen and won via TKO already in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Enkamp, as a replacement for

Emil Weber Meek Emil Weber Meek (born August 20, 1988) is a Norwegian professional mixed martial artist that competes in the Welterweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He previously fought in the UFC's Welterweight division. He is currently ranked ...

, made his UFC debut on short notice on 28 May 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Enkamp faced Danny Roberts on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. After his second straight loss, he was released from the UFC.

Bellator MMA

Enkamp made his Bellator debut against Walter Gahadza on June 22, 2019 at Bellator 223. He won the bout via rear-naked choke at the end of the first round. Enkamp's next match in Bellator was confirmed on August 8 and it was against the Italian Giorgio Pietrini on October 12, 2019 at Bellator 230 and was the second main match, co-main. On 17 September, MMAjunkie announced that Giorgio Pietrini had been removed from the card due to illness and that Bellator was looking for a new opponent for Enkamp, and on 26 September, Enkamp himself announced via instagram that the match had been canceled. In his sophomore performance, Enkamp faced Lewis Long on February 22, 2022 at Bellator 240. He scored a highlight finish, knocking out spinning back fist in the first round. Enkamp faced Emmanuel Dawa on October 10, 2020 at Bellator 248. He scored a japanese necktie to win the bout in the first round. Enkamp faced

Kyle Crutchmer Kyle Crutchmer (born May 5, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler and graduated collegiate wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a tw ...

on December 3, 2021 at

Bellator 272 Bellator 272: Pettis vs. Horiguchi was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on December 3, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background Sergio Pettis made his first defence of the Bellato ...

. He lost his first Bellator bout via unanimous decision. Enkamp faced Mark Lemminger on May 13, 2022 at

Bellator 281 ''Bellator 281: MVP vs. Storley'' (also known as '' Bellator London'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on May 13, 2022, at SSE Arena in London, England. Background Yaroslav Amosov was to make his first ...

. He won this fight scoring a buggy choke, the first in Bellator history, in the third round. Enkamp was scheduled to face Luca Poclit on February 25, 2023 at

Bellator 291 ''Bellator 291: Amosov vs. Storley 2'' (also known as ''Bellator Dublin'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, that took place on February 25, 2023, at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Background On February 25, Bellator hos ...

. However, Enkamp had to pull out of the bout due to injury. Enkamp was rebooked to face Luca Poclit on May 12, 2023 at

Bellator 296 ''Bellator 296: Mousasi vs. Edwards'' (also known as ''Bellator Paris'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that will take place on May 12, 2023, at Accor Arena in Paris, France. Background A middleweight title el ...

Personal life

Oliver's brother, Jesse Enkamp, runs a successful Youtube channel, with over 500,000 subscribers, where he discusses karate and other topics related to martial arts. Oliver makes frequent appearances on the channel with his brother covering his training camps and other aspects of his MMA career.

Mixed martial arts record

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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 ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Emmanuel Dawa , Submission (japanese necktie) , Bellator 248 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Lewis Long , KO (spinning back fist) , Bellator 240 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

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Nordine Taleb Nordine Taleb ( ar, نوردين طالب, born June 10, 1981) is a French-Canadian professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed in the Welterweight division of the ARES FC. A professional since 2007, he has also competed for Bellat ...

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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 ...

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, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Rickson Pontes , Decision (unanimous) , Superior Challenge 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Arne Boekee , Submission (triangle choke) , IRFA 10 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Łukasz Bieniek , Submission (rear-naked choke) , IRFA 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:52 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Guram Kutateladze , Decision (unanimous) , IRFA 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Enkamp, Oliver 1991 births People from Täby Municipality Living people Swedish male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Bellator male fighters Swedish male karateka Swedish Muay Thai practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters