Teemu_Packalén

Teemu Packalén

Teemu Packalén

Finnish mixed martial artist

Teemu Packalén (born May 22, 1987) is a retired Finnish mixed martial artist.[5] He was the Amateur Champion of Finland and the Finnish Open Championship winner in 2010.[6] Packalén competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[7]

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...

Background

Born and raised in Southwest Finland, Packalén played ice hockey in the C-Junior SM Series and participated in the national team until the age of 17.[8] Packalén started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2007.[4] Packalén trained wrestling when he was young and he won the title for Finland Open Championship in 2010 and third place in European Championships in 2011. Packalén also won the Amateur MMA Championship title in 2012.[6]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Packalén began his professional career competing on the regional circuit in Finland for three years and amassed a record of 7-0 prior joining UFC.[9]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Packalén was signed by UFC in July 2015 and he was the fourth Finnish fighter to be part of the UFC roster after Tony Halme, Makwan Amirkhani and Tina Lähdemäki.[10]

For his promotional debut, he was tabbed as a short notice replacement for an injured Jake Matthews on July 18, 2015 at UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites against Mickaël Lebout.[11] He lost the fight via unanimous decision with the score board of (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).[12][13]

Packalén was expected to face Łukasz Sajewski on February 27, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping. However, on 16 February, Sajewski pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Thibault Gouti.[14] He submitted Gouti in 24 seconds into round one via a rear-naked choke.[15][16][17] This win earned Packalén Performance of the Night bonus award.[18]

Packalén was sidelined with a shoulder injury which entailed a long duration of recovery.[19][20]

On March 18, 2017, he faced Marc Diakiese at UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[21]

Packalén was expected to face Marcin Held on October 21, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 118.[22] However, Packalen pulled out of the fight on October 5 citing a knee injury.[23]

Packalen was expected to return from his hiatus to face Alexander Yakovlev on April 20, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 149.[24] However on April 4, 2019 it was reported that Packalen pull out for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by Alex da Silva Coelho.[25]

Packalén faced promotional newcomer Ottman Azaitar on September 7, 2019 at UFC 242.[26] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[27]

In March 2020, Packalén's contract with the UFC expired. Despite interest from the organization, Packalén was noncommittal on continuing his mixed martial arts career.[3] Later, on November 1, 2021, Packalén announced that he had retired from mixed martial arts.[5]

Personal life

Packalén and his fiancée Eevi Teittinen, a fitness model from Finland, have a daughter (born 2021).[28][29][30]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
11 matches 8 wins 3 losses
By knockout 2 2
By submission 6 0
By decision 0 1
More information Res., Record ...

[31]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Teemu Packalén ("Pacu") | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology". Tapology. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  2. [2]
    "Teemu Packalen - Official UFC® Fighter Profile". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  3. [3]
    Jani Mesikämmen (April 8, 2020). "YLILYÖNTI #153 - vieraana uransa jatkoa pohtiva Teemu Packalén" (Podcast) (in Finnish).
  4. [4]
    Jani Mesikämmen (October 16, 2017). "YLILYÖNTI #40 – Teemu Packalén ja UFC Gdansk" (Podcast) (in Finnish).
  5. [5]
    Teemu Packalén [@tepack] (November 1, 2021). "Kiitos ❤️🙏 Nyt on aika kääntää sivua omassa elämässä ja sitä myöten lyödä hanskat ammattilaisuran puolella naulaan" – via Instagram.
  6. [6]
    "Teemu Packalén : Finnfighters' Gym". www.finnfightersgym.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  7. [7]
    "Teemu Packalen - Official UFC® Fighter Profile". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  8. [8]
    "google tranlat - Google Search". www.google.com.au. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  9. [9]
    Sherdog.com. "Teemu Packalen MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  10. [10]
    "Suomen uusin UFC-ottelija on entinen jääkiekkolupaus – "Viikset ojossa ja hymy huulessa"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  11. [11]
    Staff (2015-07-09). "Teemu Packalen in for Jake Matthews against Mickael Lebout at UFC Fight Night 72". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  12. [12]
    "Mickael Lebout vs Teemu Packalen UFC Fight Night 72 Full Fight Part 2 MMA Video". MMA-Core. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  13. [13]
    "UFC Fight Night 72 results: Mickael Lebout grinds out Teemu Packalen in 155 debut". MMAjunkie. 2015-07-18. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  14. [14]
    "With Sajewski out, Teemu Packalen meets Thibault Gouti at UFC Fight Night 84 in London". MMAjunkie. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  15. [15]
    "Teemu Packalen vs Thibault Goutti UFC Fight Night 84 Full Fight MMA Video". MMA-Core. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  16. [16]
    "Video: UFC:n suomalaisottelija hurjana: Uran avausvoitto 24 sekunnissa!". mtv.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  17. [17]
    O'Leary, Ryan (2016-02-28). "Teemu Packalen Destroys Thibault Gouti in 24 Seconds - Nordic MMA Everyday at MMA Viking". Nordic MMA Everyday at MMA Viking. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  18. [18]
    "UFC Fight Night 84 bonuses: You know that Bisping-Silva war got $50,000, right?". MMAjunkie. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  19. [19]
    "Packalen reacts to opponent, Diakiese's Gay Times shoot". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  20. [20]
    "Suomen UFC-komeetan suuri tuska: "Pää hajoaa"" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  21. [21]
    "UFC Fight Night 107 results: Marc Diakiese flattens Teemu Packalen in 30 seconds". MMAjunkie. 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  22. [22]
    "Marcin Held Announces He Will Be Fighting At UFC Gdansk In Poland". MMA Today. 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  23. [23]
    Staff (2017-10-05). "Teemu Packalen out of UFC Gdansk bout". mmaviking.com. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  24. [24]
    Marcel Dorff (2019-02-06). "Alexander Yakovlev vs. Teemu Packalen at UFC St.Petersburg" (in Dutch). mmadnanl.com. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  25. [25]
    "Alex Leko é contratado pelo Ultimate e enfrenta Yakovlev na Rússia, dia 20 de abril". Sportv (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  26. [26]
    Staff (2019-05-31). "Teemu Packalen meets newcomer Ottman Azaitar at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  27. [27]
    Doherty, Dan (2019-09-07). "UFC 242 Results: Ottman Azaitar Lays Teemu Packalen Out Cold". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  28. [28]
    "Eevi Teittinen ja UFC-komistus Teemu Packalén - seurustelusuhde!" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  29. [29]
    "Eevi Teittinen ja UFC-köriläs Teemu Packalén: Kuuma yllätysromanssi!" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  30. [30]
    Emmi Moilanen (November 1, 2021). "Eevi Teittisen ja Teemu Packalénin esikoinen syntyi: Tyttö tuli!". Iltalehti (in Finnish).
  31. [31]
    Sherdog.com. "Teemu Packalen MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
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