Swedish mixed martial arts fighter who competes in the Featherweight division, currently in the Ultimate Fighting Championship Niklas Backstrom is fastly gaining a name in the MMA World.
When he was still a kid, Backstrom knew that he wanted to become a mixed martial art fighter. The first time he and his older brother watched a UFC card, he was glued.
His father is an ice hockey coach while most of his friends played soccer. But that did not deter him from pursuing what he wants.
According to Backstrom "The first fight I saw actually was a UFC fight, and I was completely mesmerized by it. I couldn't believe it was real. It was the coolest [stuff] I'd ever seen. There was a mysticism to it for me. It was one grand master against another grand master. It was too cool to be true."
Now, Backstrom has been called by broadcaster John Gooden as "a versatile performer who is considered by many to be Europe's top 145-pound prospect."
On the same note, fellow European MMA Fighter Conor McGregor is also in the featherweight division as him. McGregor has worked his way up to the ranks and is now about to be given the chance to fight for a belt in the UFC while Backstrom is slowly making the same path as of McGregor.
Backstrom has just recently won against Tom Niinimaki on May 31 during his UFC Debut in Berlin, Germany and his impressive performance earned him the right for a spot on the main card of the Fight Night show in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday against Mike Wilkinson.
According to UFC President Dana White "This is a great test for him. He's 8-0 and is facing Wilkinson, who is 8-1 with four submissions, two knockouts and two decisions. It should be a great fight."
Backstrom moved to Stockholm in 2009 to train in order to become a professional MMA fighter. For him to support himself, he worked odd jobs which included a caretaker job for inmates at a hospital for the criminally insane.
According to him, during those times, he was already well-trained and was not worried about the danger of his jobs though he said that there were some criminals who would go bezerk .
He said "Some of the guys walk around in that job and they puff out their chests a bit, but I was totally cool about being there and it made things easier for me. I didn't walk around like I was looking for trouble. I think they could see I was relaxed and not worried and so I had no trouble from them."
