Nico Musoke: The Next Great Swedish Fighter in the UFC
Nico Musoke is ready to tear up the UFC, and is coming back better than ever
As a native New Yorker, I always try to watch fighters that hail from Long Island when they fight in the UFC. In 2013, Al Iaquinta made his way on to a card that featured a main event between Lyoto Machida and Mark Munoz — one of my favorite fighters. I watched the entire card but in the end, there was a totally unexpected fighter who had my attention.
Hailing from Sweden, Nico Musoke is another fighter from a country that produces talent left and right. There are certain things, however, that set him apart from other fighters. He’s even on track to become a perennial contender in the welterweight division. Standing at 6’ tall, Musoke has good size and uses it to his advantage. He is a monster in the clinch and on the ground — where he is a threat from any position. Musoke has a very high fight IQ and seems to constantly be in the right spot at the right time.
Musoke’s professional career began in 2007 where he submitted his opponent, Tomi Hietanen, and ended his career. From then on, Nico showed great versatility, submitting four opponents across different promotions and flashing sneaky power. His success forced Dana White to offer him a contract to fight on the world’s biggest stage — the UFC.
In 2013, Musoke made his UFC debut against Alessio Sakara as a middleweight and an underdog. It only took a little over three minutes for Musoke to crank a brutal armlock on Sakara to end his night. Nico took home honors for submission of the night and made his name known across the UFC.
Four months later, Musoke made his welterweight debut against Viscardi Andrade. Musoke, again the underdog, showed more of his tremendous potential as he emerged victorious after grinding out a unanimous decision victory. The UFC took notice and made him the co-main event against Kelvin Gastelum. While Nico came up short, he took Gastelum the distance. Musoke rebounded nicely, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Yakolev in his homeland — an experience Nico will likely never forget.
In his next fight, Nico received a top prospect in Albert Tumenov. Musoke tested Tumenov, but came up short yet again. Since that bout, Nico has been out with injuries and has taken a step back to focus on his training and desire to fulfill his massive potential.
In Nico’s five UFC fights, he has had the privilege of fighting in four different countries, including his home of Sweden. He has grown a lot from his fights, as he stated that he recognizes how important it is to learn from a loss. Musoke is ready to wreak havoc on the welterweight division and give the UFC another formidable fighter from Sweden.
Musoke recently said that he is “soon to be back in action and better than ever.” Those words should scare every fighter in the welterweight division. He came to the UFC with a mere 12 fights under his belt and has grown from every fight, constantly learning and improving on his already impressive skill set. Musoke is ready to tear up the division, so do not be surprised to see highlight reel performances very soon.
