UFC Fight Night 53 results: Mike Wilkinson shocks Niklas Backstrom with 79-second KO

STOCKHOLM – Niklas Backstrom (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) might have started the fight with his characteristic swagger, but he ended it flat on his back with his eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Mike Wilkinson (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) shocked the local favorite with a one-punch knockout at the 1:19 mark of the first round.

The featherweight bout kicked off today’s UFC Fight Night 53 main card. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass from Ericsson Globe in Stockholm.

Backstrom looked to be in control of the fight for the first minute, using his range to keep Wilkinson where he wanted him and fending off takedowns with ease.

But as Backstrom snapped a front kick to Wilkinson’s face early on in the second minute of the fight, Wilkinson responded with a counter right hand that dropped him in a heap. Just to remove all doubt, Wilkinson then followed up with a quick, but wholly unnecessary, flurry of punches on the ground as Backstrom’s arms went limp and referee Bobby Rehman dove in to end the fight.

The crowd in Stockholm didn’t like it, and neither did Backstrom, who attempted to seize the microphone during Wilkinson’s interview, though the exact nature of his complaint seemed unclear. But with the crowd booing the man who’d knocked out the Swedish favorite, Wilkinson shrugged it off in an interview with UFC commentator Dan Hardy.

“Boo me all you want,” Wilkinson told the Stockholm crowd. “I’m soaking this in.”

With the win, Wilkinson bounces back from a submission loss to Brendan Loughnane in his previous fight in June 2013. Backstrom loses for the first time in his pro career.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 53 results include:

• Mike Wilkinson def. Niklas Backstrom via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:19
• Magnus Cedenblad def. Scott Askham via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nico Musoke def. Alexander Yakovlev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Dennis Siver def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Cathal Pendred def. Gasan Umalatov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28
• Krzysztof Jotko def. Tor Troeng via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
• Mairbek Taisumov def. Marcin Bandel via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:01
• Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ernest Chavez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:21

For more on UFC Fight Night 53, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(John Morgan contributed to this report while on site in Stockholm.)