Teemu Packalén (born May 22, 1987) is a retired Finnish

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 ...

. He was the Amateur Champion of Finland and the Finnish Open Championship winner in 2010. Packalén competed 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 ...

division of 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 ...

(UFC).

Background

Born and raised in

Southwest Finland Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...

, Packalén played ice hockey in the C-Junior SM Series and participated in the national team until the age of 17. Packalén started training

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 ...

in 2007. Packalén trained wrestling when he was young and he won the title for Finland Open Championship in 2010 and third place in European Championships in 2011. Packalén also won the Amateur MMA Championship title in 2012.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Packalén began his professional career competing on the regional circuit in Finland for three years and amassed a record of 7-0 prior joining UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Packalén was signed by UFC in July 2015 and he was the fourth Finnish fighter to be part of the UFC roster after

Tony Halme Tony Christian Halme (January 6, 1963 – January 8, 2010) was a Finnish politician, athlete, author, actor, and singer. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2007, representing the True Finns party as an independent politician ...

Makwan Amirkhani Makwan Amirkhani ( fa, ماکوان امیرخوانی; born November 8, 1988) is an Iranian-born Finnish mixed martial artist

and Tina Lähdemäki. For his promotional debut, he was tabbed as a short notice replacement for an injured Jake Matthews on July 18, 2015 at UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites against

Mickaël Lebout Mickaël Lebout (born August 16, 1987) is a French mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2011, he has competed in the UFC, M-1 Global, and Cage Warriors. Mixed martial arts career Early caree ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision with the score board of (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). Packalén was expected to face Łukasz Sajewski on February 27, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping. However, on 16 February, Sajewski pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer

Thibault Gouti Thibault Gouti (born February 27, 1987) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2011, he has also competed in the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Gouti was amas ...

. He submitted Gouti in 24 seconds into round one via a rear-naked choke. This win earned Packalén Performance of the Night bonus award. Packalén was sidelined with a shoulder injury which entailed a long duration of recovery. On March 18, 2017, he faced

Marc Diakiese Marc Diakiese (born 16 March 1993) is a Congolese-born English professional mixed martial artist who competes as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has also competed for Caged Steel and BAMMA. Background Aged 17, Diakies ...

at UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Packalén was expected to face

Marcin Held Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut, Professional Fighters League, a ...

on October 21, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 118 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 118'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 21, 2017 at Ergo Arena in Gdańsk, Poland. Background This event was the fi ...

. However, Packalen pulled out of the fight on October 5 citing a knee injury. Packalen was expected to return from his hiatus to face

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 Secretar ...

on April 20, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 149 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 149'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 20, 2019 at Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Pete ...

. However on April 4, 2019 it was reported that Packalen pull out for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by

Alex da Silva Coelho Alex da Silva Coelho (born February 4, 1996) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2014, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts car ...

. Packalén faced promotional newcomer

Ottman Azaitar Ottman Azaitar (born February 20, 1990) is a German mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the younger brother of UFC fighter Abu Azaitar. Background Ottman Azaitar wa ...

on September 7, 2019 at

UFC 242 ''UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event mark ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. In March 2020, Packalén's contract with the UFC expired. Despite interest from the organization, Packalén was noncommittal on continuing his mixed martial arts career. Later, on November 1, 2021, Packalén announced that he had retired from mixed martial arts.

Personal life

Packalén and his fiancée Eevi Teittinen, a fitness model from Finland, have a daughter (born 2021).

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.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 ,

, KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:30 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

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

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, 7–0 , Suleiman Bouhata , Submission (guillotine choke) , Fight Night Finland: Turku Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:23 ,

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, 6–0 , Hyram Rodriguez , Submission (kimura) , Cage 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:47 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Sebastian Fournier , TKO (elbows) , Cage 26 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Damien Lapilus , Submission (heel hook) , Cage 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Grzegorz Sajbor , Submission (armbar) , StandUpWar 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Konstantinos Persson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fight for Glory: First Round , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:37 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Grzegorz Szulakowski , TKO (doctor stoppage) , StandUpWar 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Packalen, Teemu Living people 1987 births Sportspeople from Turku Lightweight mixed martial artists Finnish male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Finnish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu