Niklas Backstrom replaces Tavares, meets Tom Niinimaki at UFC Fight Night 41
The UFC has signed a new featherweight, and he’ll be put to work right away in two weeks in Berlin.
Unbeaten Swedish fighter Niklas Backstrom (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has joined the promotion, and he will step in for Thiago Tavares (18-5-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC) against Tom Niinimaki (21-5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 41 in Germany. UFC officials announced the news and the new booking overnight.
No official word was given on the nature of Tavares’ removal from the fight.
UFC Fight Night 41 takes place May 31 at O2 World Berlin in Germany. The card is the promotion’s first event in Germany since November 2010. It streams in full on UFC Fight Pass. UFC Fight Night 41 is one of two events for the promotion on May 31. Following the Fight Pass-streamed card in Germany, the TUF Brazil 3 Finale takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a main card on FOX Sports 1.
Backstrom has won five straight fights since a no-contest more than three years ago. The most recent three wins have come by TKO, including a quick 15-second victory after a front kick against Max Coga in the main event of a Europa MMA show in England in March. Five of the 6-foot-tall 24-year-old’s victories have come by stoppage.
After wins over former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe and former UFC fighter Walel Watson in 2013, both of which were defenses of his featherweight title under Finland’s Cage MMA banner, Niinimaki signed with the UFC this past fall. In his debut, he took a split decision from Rani Yahya at the TUF 18 Finale in Las Vegas and extended his winning streak to 12 fights. It will be seven and a half years since his most recent loss when he steps in the cage in Berlin.
Tavares was looking to stay on track after a first-round submission win over Justin Salas in his native Brazil this past November. Prior to that, he had a two-fight winning streak snapped when he was knocked out by Khabib Nurmagomedov in January 2013. After that fight, he tested positive for a banned steroid and was suspended for nine months by the UFC. Tavares was expected to fight in February against Zubair Tuhugov, but he was forced out with an injury, and now another one appears to have kept him out of Germany.
The UFC Fight Night 41 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 3 p.m. ET)
Mark Munoz vs. Gegard Mousasi
Francis Carmont vs. C.B. Dollaway
Luke Barnatt vs. Sean Strickland
Niklas Backstrom vs. Tom Niinimaki
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Drew Dober vs. Nick Hein
Magnus Cedenblad vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Iuri Alcantara vs. Vaughan Lee
Pawel Pawlak vs. Peter Sobotta
Maximo Blanco vs. Andy Ogle
Ruslan Magomedov vs. Viktor Pesta
