Mats Nilsson
Encyclopedia
Mats Nilsson is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 grappler
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 and mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

. He is the two time FILA
International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, also known in French as Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées , is an international wrestling federation that holds events around the world. It is the governing body of international amateur wrestling...

 Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 world champion in the -90 kg no-gi division and a two time bronze medalist in FILA Grappling European Championship. Nilsson currently holds a mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 record of 7-1-1, with seven wins, one draw and one loss. He is currently fighting out of Kaisho Martial Arts, Helsingborg
Helsingborg
Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

Judo career

Nilsson started practicing Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

 in his teens and this became a natural gateway to his interest for other martial arts. Nilsson's first success in Judo competition came when he secured first place in the Skåne junior class division in 1999. Nilsson's premier achievement within Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

 came when he placed in third at the Swedish junior championships in 2002. He also took third place in the Swedish youth championships in 2000. Nilsson currently holds a black belt in Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

. Nilsson's Judo background can be seen in both his Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

 and MMA
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 arsenal as he utilizes Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

 sweeps, throws and takedown
Takedown (grappling)
A takedown is a martial arts and combat sports term for a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing him or her to the ground, typically with the combatant performing the takedown landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known...

s.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Alongside Judo, Nilsson is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

 (BJJ) practitioner. After some years training Nilsson gained great success in the first Scandinavian Open in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2003. He placed second in the 210 lbs division and came in third in the open weight (Absolute Class). The following years resulted in many trips to the podium including a first place in the Danish Brazilian jiu-jitsu open where he competed in the 205 lbs division. Nilsson holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu which he received from Ricardo Carvalho in 2010.

Submission Wrestling

Prior to the Fighter Extreme 2 championship many of Nilssons training partners practiced submission wrestling
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

. This form of competition intrigued Nilsson who started practicing the discipline. His first success came at the Copenhagen Open SW where he took first place in the 200 lbs division. This was the beginning of a successful career within submission wrestling
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

. Three years after the initial success in Copenhagen, Nilsson took third place at ADCC
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
The ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship is a competition involving professional athletes who have been successful at the highest levels of jiu-jitsu, wrestling, judo, sambo, shooto and mixed martial arts...

- Germany in the 190 lbs weight class. In 2009 he competed in the Swedish Championships in Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

 for the first time. He left the championship with two medals. He placed third in his natural 200 lbs weight class and in the open weight competition Nilsson took home the silver medal.

After these results in the Swedish Championships as well as prior success in the sport, Nilsson was selected to represent the Swedish national team in the FILA
International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, also known in French as Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées , is an international wrestling federation that holds events around the world. It is the governing body of international amateur wrestling...

 Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 World Championships in Crakow, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. In Crakow Nilsson defeated Takanori Kudo in the final to become 2010 FILA World Grappling Champion.

Following his win in the FILA Grappling World Championship, Nilsson was invited to Sportaccord Combat Games, which is the martial arts equivalent to the Olympic Games. The Sportaccord Combat Games were held in Beijing between August 28 and September 4, 2010. After two hard fought 1-0 losses Nilsson missed the podium and finished on fourth place.

Between September 24 and September 26 FILA's European Championship
European Championship
-List:Athletics* European Athletics ChampionshipsAustralian rules football* EU CupAuto racing* European Championship * European Formula Two Championship * European Touring Car Championship...

 in Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 were held in Gorlice
Gorlice
Gorlice is a city and an urban municipality in south eastern Poland with around 29,500 inhabitants . It is situated south east of Kraków and south of Tarnów between Jasło and Nowy Sącz in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship , previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. Nilsson fought three fights and finished in third place, ending up with a bronze medal.

Nilsson participated in the FILA Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 Grand Prix that was held between the seventh and eight may of 2011 in Martigny, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. He competed in the -90 kg weight class and after four wins, of which three was submission
Submission
Submission is the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the power of one's superior or superiors.Submission may also refer to:* Submission/Submitter , an Islamic organisation...

 victories, he took home the gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 medal.

The next Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...

 in Nilsson's calender was the FILA Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 European championship which was held in Yuzhny, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 in June
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of the four months with a length of 30 days. Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the Fasti...

 2011. After going 2-1 in matches, 2 wins and one draw, he ended up with his second bronze medal from European Championships.

The Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 Submission Wrestling
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

 Championship was held in July 2011. After losing the final with the closest margin possible Nilsson finished second after a loss against Alexander Bergman in the -91 kg division.

The 29th of September
September
September is the 9th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with a length of 30 days.September in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of March in the Northern Hemisphere....

 2011 Nilsson once again competed in the FILA World Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 Championship this time held in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. After his win the previous year Nilsson had chance to defend his world title. After winning three matches he once again became the World Champion of FILA Grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 winning his second consecutive world title in the -90 kg no-gi division.

Shootfighting

Following his success in Submission Wrestling
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

 and Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

, Nilsson decided to try Shootfighting
Shootfighting
Shootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...

. In 2007 Nilsson started competing in the Swedish Shootfighting
Shootfighting
Shootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...

 league. Later the same year Nilsson placed first in the Swedish Shootfighting Championships. Nilsson's Shootfighting
Shootfighting
Shootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...

 record stands at 5-1-0, five wins with a single loss. His lone loss came by decision against UFC fighter Alexander Gustafsson
Alexander Gustafsson
Alexander Gustafsson is a Swedish mixed martial artist who has competed for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, Shooto, FinnFight and UFC in his career. He is currently signed with the UFC fighting in their light heavyweight division. As of August 2011, Gustafsson is ranked the #9 light-heavyweight in the...

.

Mixed martial arts

On May 7, 2010, Nilsson competed in his fifth professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 fight, this time for the organization The Cage in Finland. The name of the event was Spring Break and Nilsson secured the win with a TKO. This earned him a shot at the champion of the -84 kg division, Timo Suhonen. At Cage Challenger on the 18th of September 2010 they fought for the belt. Nilsson lost the fight after three rounds on a decision. Nilsson's next challenge was on November 27 when he faced the Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 Ivan Gluhak at The Zone FC 7 – Warriors. Nilsson won in a devastating fashion when he dismantled the Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 in one minute. The Swede won via a rear-naked-choke and soon got a new fight offer from The Zone FC. Nilsson fought Gregor Herb from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 on The Zone - Inferno. The bout was highly anticipated because of the fighter's previous grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 credentials. Herb was the current European CBJJ brown belt champion and Nilsson the current FILA Grappling world champion. Nilsson won the hard fought match by decision.

The 30th of March 2011 Nilsson entered Strength and Honor’s middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...

 Grand Prix to determine the champion
Champion
A champion is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition.There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions...

. His first match was against Greek fighter Niko Sokolis(14-1-1). After about 30 seconds Sokolis was taken down to the ground by Nilsson with a slam so hard that the particle board under the canvas broke. After taking the fight to the mat Nilsson quickly gained mounted position and could secure the triangle choke
Triangle choke
A triangle choke, or sankaku-jime in Judo, is a type of figure-four chokehold which strangles the opponent by encircling the opponent's neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle...

 after a scramble. The Grand Prix Final is going to take place in September, the fight is for the middleweight titel. The win at Strength and Honor Championship 4 was Nilsson’s seventh professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 MMA
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 win and his record now stands at 7-1-1.

Awards

Nilsson was nominated in four categories when the annual Swedish Martial Arts Gala, Kampsportsgalan in Swedish, was held on the 26th of March 2011. He ended up winning two categories: Breakthrough of the Year and Champion of the Year.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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