While all top ranked fighters held their #1 spots, the Nordic rankings did had some movement after the last two weeks of action. Most notable was Sweden raised Amir Albazi capturing the UCMMA bantamweight title in London increasing his unblemished record to 7 wins and 0 losses, moving him up to #5 in the bantamweight division. Although Yosef Ali Mohammad battled in Japan, ultimately losing, his stock is still high as the top heavyweight. Eeva Siiskonen went to a draw at and lightweight contenders Finn Aleksi Mäntykivi, Finn Jani Salmi, and Estonian Ott Tõnissaar emerged with impressive wins at Carelia Fight XI.
Men Rankings
Nordic MMA will again take center stage on a global platform as Swede Alexander Gustafsson, the only Nordic fighter to fight for a UFC title, will be back at it again against Daniel Cormier this time at October 3rd in Houston, Texas.
Flyweight (125 lbs / 56.7 kg)
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikael Silander | - | Finland | 12-4-0 | |
| Binh Son Le | - | Sweden | 4-1-0 | |
| Bilal Musa | - | Sweden | 2-2-0 |
SUMMARY : Mikael “Hulk” Silander was robbed in a decision in his last outing at ACB 20, but still tops the rankings. Sweden’s Binh Son Le outpointed fellow countryman Bilal Musa to make his debut in the 125 lbs rankings at May’s IRFA 8.
Bantamweight (135 lbs / 61.2 kg)
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sirwan Kakai | - | Sweden | 12-3-0 |
| | Toni Tauru | - | Finland | 10-2-1 |
| | Timo-Juhani Hirvikangas | - | Finland | 10-2-0 |
| | Janne Elonen-Kulmalaa | - | Finland | 11-4-0 |
| | Amir Albazi | +1 | Sweden | 7-0-0 |
| | Mika Hämäläinen | -1 | Finland | 6-1-0 |
SUMMARY : Kakai got off to a quick start in the UFC with a win and a loss all within a 4 week period. The top 3 ranked fighters have all been ranked #1 in the recent past, and upcoming matchups will help distinguish the world-class competitors. Not to be overlooked is Janne Elonen-Kulmalaa who is on on a 7 fight win streak. Amir Albazi is a man to watch, and captured the UCMMA title and moves up in the rankings. Contenders include Emil Hartsner (Swe), Martin Akhtar (Swe), and Mohammad Badadivand (Swe).
Featherweight (145 lbs / 65.8 kg)
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makwan Amirkhani | - | Finland | 12-2-0 | |
| Niklas Bäckström | - | Sweden | 8-2-0-1 | |
| Martin Svensson | - | Sweden | 14-5-0 | |
| Tom Niinimäki | - | Finland | 21-8-1 | |
| Joni Salovaara | - | Finland | 14-7-0-1 | |
| Rami Aziz | - | Sweden | 7-3-0 |
SUMMARY : Amirkhani did it again, winning his second Octagon appearance in the first round in exciting fashion. This one took 1:41 seconds in Berlin, compared to only 8 seconds in his first bout which moves him up to the top of the rankings. Other contenders that hope to make their way to the rankings include Michel Ersoy (Swe), David Teymur (Swe), Simon Skold (Swe) and Ville Yrjola (Fin).
Lightweight (155 lbs / 70.3 kg)
| | Name | Change | Country | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anton Kuivanen | - | Finland | 22-8-0 | |
| Damir Hadzovic | - | Denmark | 10-2-0 | |
| Teemu Packalen | - | Finland | 7-1-0 | |
| Fernando Gonzalez | - | Sweden | 6-1-0 | |
| Soren Bak | - | Denmark | 6-0-0 | |
| Antti Virtanen | - | Finland | 9-6-1 |
SUMMARY : Top ranked Kuivanen will have a chance for revenge, as he will now face off again with Eric Reynolds at the upcoming Cage 31 on September 19. Hadzovic has been on a tear winning 5 straight fights, with his only two career losses being to UFC middleweights Krzysztof Jotko and welterweight Andreas Stahl back in 2012. Soren Bak makes his ranking debut after his win over Finn Aleksi Nurminen. Look for Reza Madadi to make a charge back into the rankings as he returns to Dublin for his UFC return. Other contenders include Kennet Mattsson (Fin), Diego Gonzalez (Swe), Jonathan Svensson (Swe), Aleksi Nurminen (Fin), Mikael Nyyssönen (Fin), Oliver Enkamp (Swe), Daniel Teymur (Swe), Niko Myllynen (Fin), Aleksi Savolainen (Fin), Ott Tõnissaar (Est), Aleksi Mäntykivi (Fin), and Jani Salmi (Fin).
Welterweight (170 lbs / 77.1 kg)
| | Name | Change | Country | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunnar Nelson | - | Iceland | 14-1-1 | |
| Nicolas Dalby | - | Denmark | 14-0-0 | |
| Nicholas Musoke | - | Sweden | 13-4-1 | |
| David Bielkheden | - | Sweden | 21-12-0 | |
| Glenn Sparv | - | Finland | 11-3-0 | |
| Jonatan Westin | - | Sweden | 7-2-0 |
SUMMARY : Nelson retains his ranking as he took center stage versus Brandon Thatch on the main card of UFC 189 and finished with a first round submission. Gunni will now face Demian Maia on December 12th in Last Vegas at UFC 194. Dalby got his first chance to show what he can do in the Octagon, where he won by decision to move up to the number 2 spot. There are a ton of Nordic fighters that could breakthrough to the rankings. Ranking contenders include Johan Vänttinen (Fin), Mohsen Bahari (Nor), Juho Valamaa (Fin), Zebaztian Kadestam (Swe), Bruno Carvalho (Swe), Kai Puolakka (Fin), Mohammed Abdallah (Swe), Simeon Thoresen (Nor), Jussi Halonen (Fin), Niclas Danielsson (Swe), Bessam Yousef (Swe), and Emil Weber Meek (Nor).
Middleweight (185 lbs / 83.9 kg)
| | Name | Change | Country | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnus Cedenblad | - | Sweden | 13-4-0 | |
| Jack Hermansson | - | Sweden | 10-2-0 | |
| Max Nunes | - | Sweden | 15-3-0 | |
| Sadibou Sy | - | Sweden | 3-1-0 | |
| Alexander Bergman | - | Sweden | 4-0-0 |
SUMMARY : Cedenblad is still recovering from surgery, but tops the rankings with his impressive three consecutive wins in the Octagon. Alan Carlos will fight this fall, so look for a return to the rankings after over a year of inactivity. Mikkel Parlo have been inactive for a year, so have dropped out of the rankings. Other active middleweights in the Nordics include Zvonimir Kralj (Swe), who recently beat Eero Kosomo (Fin), and Matias Rantala (Fin) who TKO’d Mika Kuronen (Fin).
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs / 93 kg)
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Gustafsson | - | Sweden | 16-3-0 | |
| Ilir Latifi | - | Sweden | 10-4-0-1 | |
| Joachim Christensen | - | Denmark | 11-3-0 | |
| Karl Albrektssonn | - | Sweden | 4-0-0 | |
| Saku Heikkola | - | Finland | 5-5-1 | |
| Herdem Alacabek | - | Sweden | 2-0-0 |
SUMMARY : Even though his is coming off of a loss, Gustafsson will get his shot at the UFC title in October against Cormier. Latifi stepped back into the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 72 in Scotland with a rebound win where he destroyed Hans Stringer in the first round. Matti Makela drops out of rankings due to inactivity.
Heavyweight (265 lbs / 120.2 kg)
| | Name | Change | Country | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Yosef Ali Mohammad | - | Sweden | 5-1-0 |
| | Marcus Vänttinen | - | Finland | 24-6-0 |
| | Nick Barno | - | Denmark | 2-0-0 |
SUMMARY : Mohammad lost his semi-finals bout Inoki Genome Fight (IGF) Grand Prix heavyweight tournament in an up and down bout, leaving him on the end of a TKO stoppage. Barno will look to climb the ranks again this fall as he aims to improve on his two win undefeated record.
Women Rankings
Pannie Kianzad will take her unbeaten record into the Invicta Fighting Championship main event title fight against champion Tonya Evinger in a huge showdown. On that same card, Katja Kankaanpää will be in the co-main event at Invicta FC 14, putting Nordic women’s MMA on the world map in a big way.
Strawweight (115 lbs / 52.2 kg) or Lower
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katja Kankaanpää | - | Finland | 10-2-1 | |
| Vuokko Katainen | - | Finland | 3-3-1 | |
| Iman Darabi | - | Sweden | 2-1-0 | |
| Celine Haga | - | Norway | 7-13-0 | |
| Minna Grusander | - | Finland | 0-0-0 | |
| Veera Nykanen | - | Finland | 0-1-0 |
SUMMARY : Kankaanpää will be facing unbeaten DeAnna Bennett on September 12th to show she is still a top ranked woman in the world. Katainen made a drop to straweight and won at XFCi 9 to get her ranked at the lower weight class. Look for ranked Darabi and Grusander to battle it out at FNF 10 to help sort out the order here. UFC fighter Tina Lahdemaki has surgery and dropped out of the rankings due to inactivity.
Flyweights (125 lbs / 56.7 kg)
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suvi Salmimies | - | Finland | 3-1-1 | |
| Linn Wennergren | - | Sweden | 2-2-0 |
SUMMARY : Salmimies got caught in an armbar on the opening moments of Cage 30, but still retains the top spot.
Bantamweight (135 lbs / 61.2 kg)
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pannie Kianzad | - | Sweden | 8-0-0 | |
| Lina Akhtar Lansberg | - | Sweden | 4-1-0 | |
| Anna Elmose | - | Denmark | 3-0-0 | |
| Eeva Siiskonen | - | Finland | 3-3-1 |
SUMMARY : Kianzad will return to Invicta FC 14 to face newly crowned champion Tonya Evinger in the biggest bout of her career. Look for Rumble Sports teammate Elmose to return to action this fall.
Featherweight (145 lbs / 65.8 kg)
| Name | Change | Country | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maria Hougaard-Djursaa | - | Denmark | 5-6-0 |
Since 2011, MMA Viking has published the official Nordic MMA rankings. A fighter can be ranked in MMAViking’s Official Nordic rankings if he/she was born or is permanently living in one of the Nordic countries (Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) and fought professional MMA within a year. We also note Estonian ranking contenders.
For more information regarding MMA Viking’s ranking criteria and full listing of previous rankings.
