Finnish promotion “Fight Night” announced that Sweden’s top featherweight Niklas Backström (5-0) will fight Finland’s rising star Jaakko Väyrynen (6-3) in the main event of the Fight Night 9 show in October. The two highly skilled grapplers will lock horns on the 19th of October in Kuopio, Finland.
Promoter Jukka Paananen commented the match up to MMA Viking:
“I wanted a high level international fight as the main event but also to offer an opportunity for Väyrynen to measure his level against a European top ranked fighter in Backström. Väyrynen was a perfect fit for this fight thanks to his winning streak and a solid training season. A win over Backström would move Väyrynen very close to the Euro top 10 ranking but this is definitely not an easy fight. The match up is between two excellent grapplers so the fight might end up staying on the feet too.”
Sweden’s Niklas Backström has had a bad luck recently with injuries and fights getting cancelled. The Swede hasn’t fought since May of 2012 when he TKO’ed Norwegian veteran Thomas Hytten at Vision FC. Long limbed Backström, who trains at the Allstars gym in Stockholm, is known for his grappling skills and relentless pressure in combat.
Finland’s Jaakko Väyrynen is an experienced grappler who holds a black belt in judo. The Finn is 5-1 in his last six with the lone loss coming by decision to highly regarded Tipi Hirvikangas at Cage Challenger 2 in 2011. In his last bout Väyrynen submitted wrestling powerhouse Jerry Kvarnström by heel hook at Lappeenranta Fight Night 8 in April of 2013.
Jaakko Väyrynen vs. Simon Sköld at Cage 21
