Finland’s own Teemu Packalen (8-2) has recently been confirmed for an upcoming bout at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. The Turku-based fighter will take on undefeated UFC newcomer Ottman Azaitar (11-0) on September 7th.
Packalen will be back in action after nearly 30 months out due to injury. During his last bout in March of 2017, Packalen suffered a 30 second knockout loss to Marc Diakiese.
Despite his extensive time away from competition, the noted submission ace has hinted at bringing “Pacu2.0” to the Octagon in recent posts on Instagram, indicating that the The FinnFighters’ Gym fighter is confident the time away has been time for improvement.
Similarly, his opponent, Azaitar, will have been out of competition for over one year at the time of their bout. Azaitar has finished his last three opponents via TKO or KO, and has 7 striking finishes to his credit, making this a classic striker versus grappler matchup.
