Per Eklund (fighter)
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]
| Per Eklund | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 12, 1980 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) [1] |
| Division | Featherweight Lightweight Welterweight |
| Reach | 72.0 in (183 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2002-2011 (MMA) 2007 (Boxing) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 20 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 7 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Unknown | 1 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Boxing record from BoxRec | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
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
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
Mixed martial arts
- 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
| 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 |
References
- "Per Eklund". MMA Madness. Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- Per Eklund: Sweden’s First to Enter the Octagon
- "Per Eklund vann på KO". 21 September 2004.