British starlet Marc Diakiese will lock horns with one of Finland’s finest, Teemu Packalen at UFC Fight Night London in front of a packed O2 Arena on Saturday, March 18.
Despite lacking star names, there is a long line of quality running down the spine of the card and Diakiese is one of many names that the British faithful are excited to see and with a perfect professional record of (11-0-0), it is clear to see why.
11 not out for “Bonecrusher” Diakiese
The Doncastrian was announced to have signed with the UFC on July 28, 2016 after being linked with the promotion for what seemed an eternity. After fighting at BAMMA 25 against unbeaten Kane Mousah which was seen as Diakiese’s biggest test to date, all eyes were on the Yorkshireman after blitzing the Mancunian with his first strike of the fight.
After successful bouts against Lukasz Sajewski and a hard-earned victory over the experienced Frankie Perez, “Bonecrusher” now faces a fellow European prospect in the form of Teemu Packalen who has a record of 8-1-1 and has never gone the distance in his eight victories.
The Englishman has been training Stateside with American Top Team in the lead-up to this highly anticipated bout. After formerly training at Atherton Submission Wrestling, Diakiese and friend/fellow UFC athlete Scott Askham made the transition to the USA with Askham facing Bradley Scott on the same card at the O2 Arena.
The explosiveness of Teemu Packalen
Finland has had quite the production line in mixed martial arts talent and Packalen is no exception. Known for his exciting fights, a clash with Diakiese is a mouthwatering prospect.
Packalen was generating quite the hype until the train was derailed against Mickael Lebout on his UFC debut. Teemu recovered from this however and has since gone on to submit Thibault Gouti in just 24 seconds in his UFC return, continuing Packalen’s 100% rate of wins inside the distance.
Packalen joins fellow native prospect Makwar Amirkhani in London and there will undoubtedly be many Finnish eyes on the Nordic duo.
Stylistically, the fight makes for great viewing on paper. Packalen is the taller man and is excellent with submissions. Diakiese has immense knock-out power and athleticism. As shown against Frankie Perez however, he is more than capable of escaping situations on the ground, proving himself as a well-rounded fighter.
“I’m not in the UFC to make up numbers”
Diakiese has expressed his desire to knock out the Finn and is confident of doing so. In the recently released UFC “On the Fly” video, Diakiese made two things clear. Firstly the Brit stated that “When I’m going out, I want to look impressive. I don’t want to fight and win on points, I want to be finishing guys and that’s what I’m looking to do”.
The second claim from Diakiese has been one he has pursued for a long time: to become UFC champion. “The hype is no joke. I’m not in the UFC to make up numbers” Diakiese told the UFC. “I want to be fighting for titles. That’s the main thing”.
