Per Eklund (fighter)

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Per Eklund
Born (1980-11-12) November 12, 1980 (age 43)
Stockholm, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Weight145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) [1]
DivisionFeatherweight
Lightweight
Welterweight
Reach72.0 in (183 cm)
Fighting out ofStockholm, Sweden
Rank Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active2002-2011 (MMA)
2007 (Boxing)
Mixed martial arts record
Total20
Wins14
By knockout2
By submission7
By decision4
Unknown1
Losses5
By knockout3
By decision2
Draws1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Per Eklund (born November 12, 1980, in Stockholm) is a retired Swedish Lightweight professional mixed martial artist. Eklund was the first Swedish fighter to compete in Ultimate Fighting Championship and also formerly competed for M-1 Global.[2]

Mixed martial arts career[edit]

Early career[edit]

As one of the first successful mixed martial artists to come Sweden, Eklund is by many considered as a pioneer for Swedish MMA.
In 2002, he started out his professional career fighting on the smaller European circuit, with many wins and finishes to his credit, including winning and defending the Strike and submit lightweight title in 2007. He also competed in the Russian M-1 Global organisation.

Eklund also had a few fights on the international scene, for promotions lite Shooto in Japan and Canadian Bodog Fight.
As of 2007 he had racked up a record of 13-2-1, including wins over former PRIDE- and future UFC veteran David Baron, future UFC veteran Tom Niinimäki and future WEC and Bellator MMA veteran Rafael Dias, before getting the call from the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championships[edit]

In 2008, Eklund became the first Swede to sign with the UFC.
At UFC 80, he fought against Sam Stout and lost via unanimous decision.
He was given another chance and went up against Samy Schiavo at UFC 89, who he defeated by rear naked choke.
In his last fight for the promotion, he was defeated via TKO by his then undefeated opponent Evan Dunham at UFC 95.

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

Mixed martial arts[edit]

  • Strike and Submit
    • Strike and Submit Lightweight Championship (One time; first)
    • One successful title defense
  • FinnFight
    • FinnFight 6 Featherweight Tournament Winner
  • Viking Fight
    • Viking Fight 2 Lightweight Tournament Winner

Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Professional record breakdown
20 matches 14 wins 5 losses
By knockout 3 3
By submission 7 0
By decision 4 2
Draws 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 14–5–1 Thomas Hytten KO (punch) Vision FC 2 March 19, 2011 1 0:48 Karlstad, Sweden
Loss 14–4–1 Evan Dunham TKO (punches) UFC 95 February 21, 2009 1 2:14 London, England
Win 14–3–1 Samy Schiavo Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 89 October 18, 2008 3 1:47 Birmingham, England
Loss 13–3–1 Sam Stout Decision (unanimous) UFC 80 January 19, 2008 3 5:00 Newcastle, England
Win 13–2–1 Rafael Dias Decision (unanimous) Bodog Fight: Vancouver August 25, 2007 3 5:00 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win 12–2–1 Toni Talvitie Decision (unanimous) Shooto Finland: Bloodbath May 12, 2007 2 5:00 Vantaa, Finland
Win 11–2–1 David Metcalf Submission (kimura) Strike and Submit 2 April 15, 2007 2 3:26 Gateshead, England Defended Strike and Submit Lightweight Championship.
Win 10–2–1 Aaron Barrow Submission (kimura) Strike and Submit 1 January 28, 2007 1 1:19 Gateshead, England Won Strike and Submit Lightweight Championship.
Loss 9–2–1 Tatsuya Kawajiri TKO (punches) Shooto: Champion Carnival October 14, 2006 1 4:10 Yokohama, Japan
Win 9–1–1 David Baron Decision (unanimous) European Vale Tudo 6 - Ragnarok May 6, 2006 3 5:00 Stockholm, Sweden
Loss 8–1–1 Yuri Ivlev Decision (unanimous) M-1 MFC: Russia vs. Europe April 8, 2006 2 5:00 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 8–0–1 Chico Martinez Submission (armbar) Rings Muay Thai November 20, 2005 1 N/A Enschede, Netherlands
Win 7–0–1 Mikhail Rosokhaty Submission (armbar) WFCA: Latvia Free Fight 2 October 24, 2004 1 N/A Riga, Latvia
Win 6–0–1 Colin Mannsur KO (knees) Together Productions: Fight Gala September 18, 2004 N/A N/A Netherlands [3]
Draw 5–0–1 Thomas Hytten Draw Shooto Finland: Cold War February 22, 2003 2 5:00 Turku, Finland
Win 5–0 Teemu Nurkkala TKO (punches) FinnFight 6 November 30, 2002 1 0:35 Turku, Finland Won FF 6 Featherweight Tournament.
Win 4–0 Tom Niinimäki TKO (punches) FinnFight 6 November 30, 2002 1 3:53 Turku, Finland
Win 3–0 Tchavdar Pavlov Submission (triangle choke) Viking Fight 2: The Modern Gladiators October 26, 2002 1 N/A Broendby, Denmark Won VF 2 Lightweight Tournament.
Win 2–0 Karim Sorensen Submission (armbar) Viking Fight 2: The Modern Gladiators October 26, 2002 1 N/A Broendby, Denmark
Win 1–0 Ilya Kudryashov Decision (split) M-1 MFC: European Championship 2002 February 15, 2002 2 5:00 St. Petersburg, Russia

Professional boxing record[edit]

1 Win (0 knockouts, 1 decision), 0 Losses
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Win 1–0 France Lloyd Hollard MD 4 (4) 2007-09-28 Sweden Kungliga Tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Per Eklund". MMA Madness. Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  2. ^ Per Eklund: Sweden’s First to Enter the Octagon
  3. ^ "Per Eklund vann på KO". 21 September 2004.

External links[edit]

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