The UFC today announced an additional match up to the UFC FIGHT NIGHT: GUSTAFSSON vs. TEIXEIRA fight card, which takes place on June 20 in Berlin. Featherweights Mike “The Warrior” Wilkinson (pictured) and Alan Omer will face off at The O2 World in the German capital.
Wilkinson, who fights out of Leigh in Manchester, holds a professional record of 9-1-0. He comes into the fight on the back of an impressive knockout win over Sweden’s Niklas Backstrom back in October of last year, a performance which earned the British featherweight a Performance of the Night bonus.
“I’m over the moon with this fight – I’ve been waiting for this,” said Wilkinson. “I think I’m a much better fighter than when I fought Niklas [Backstrom]. I think everything happens for a reason and I just feel like me fighting in Berlin was meant to be.
“I’ve kept my weight down, I’ve been training hard and waiting. So the call couldn’t really have come at a better time.
“In Sweden, when I fought Niklas, I just pretended that the boos from the crowd weren’t for me and that the crowd were actually cheering for me. I just thought about me and him inside the Octagon, no-one else. So fighting someone on their own turf doesn’t bother me at all.
“I knew that I was going to win that fight and get a bonus, and I know I’m going to do the same and get a bonus this time too. I’m not concerned with anything he [Alan Omer] brings. My training has come on another level and I’m ready for this fight.”
Omer, originally born in Iraq and now training in Stuttgart, Germany, is the more experienced of the two fighters, holding a professional record of 18-4-0. Returning to the Octagon after more than a year’s absence following injury, which forced him to pull out of his scheduled bout against Mirsad Bektic at UFC on FOX 14 in January, Omer will undoubtedly be looking to put on a convincing performance in front of German fans, come June 20.
Headlining the card, the No.2 and No.6 ranked UFC light-heavyweights Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira will meet in a five round main event battle. German fans, meanwhile, are expected to attend in their masses and showcase their support not only for Alan Omer, but also for German native Nick ‘Sergeant’ Hein, who will face Poland’s Lukasz Sajewski, as well as Dennis Siver who takes on Japan’s Tatsuya Kawajiri.
Photo by Jorden Curran