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

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter who competes in the

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

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, ...

divisions. He has previously competed in the

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

Biography

Bäckström began training

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

at the age of 10. At 14 he also began

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

in his hometown

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

. After high school he moved to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

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, or simply grappling, is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates elem ...

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. 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 (MMA) promotion company 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 ...

. 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 fighter

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor (born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) UFC Featherweight Championship, Featherweight and UFC Lightweight Championship, Li ...

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 against Tom Niinimäki on May 31, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 41. 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. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Bäckström faced Noad Lahat on June 20, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 69 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 I ...

. 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, 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 (One time) vs. Tom Niinimäki * Nordic MMA Awards – MMAViking.com ** 2014 Submission of the Year vs. Tom Niinimäki ( UFC Fight Night 41)

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

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, 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 in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, 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 () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, 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 ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, 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 i ...

, 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 ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center , 8–2 (1) , Noad Lahat , Decision (majority) , UFC Fight Night: Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, 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 city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

, 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 67,122 inhabitants in 2020 with 97,233 inhabitan ...

, 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"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

, 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

, 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 ,