UFC FN 69: Niklas Backstrom Has Learned to “Respect my Opponent’s Abilities”, After KO Defeat
By FCF Staff
After being handed his first pro defeat in October, Niklas Backstrom says he’s learned a valuable lesson as he gets set to fight Noad Lahat today in Berlin.
Backstrom took on Mike Wilkinson at UFC Fight Night 53 in his last outing, and the latter knocked him out with a cracking right hand, less than two minutes in. Not only did the defeat end Backstrom’s eight fight winning streak, it took place in his native Sweden.
Recently the featherweight spoke to UFC.com about his match-up today, as well as the loss, and here is some of what Backstrom had to say:
“Of course there are lessons to take away,” Backstrom said. “You can say all you want that I was landing all the shots and he got a lucky shot or whatever, but I still gave him the chance to land a punch like that by not using my reach, and by not respecting his ability to hurt me. That’s a lesson I had to learn – to respect my opponent’s abilities. I think I was a lot better than this guy and I think I should have won this fight. I just f**ked up, basically.”
Prior to the defeat, Backstrom submitted Tom Niinimaki in the opening round last May, which was his Octagon debut.
Lahat heads into UFC Fight Night 69 also armed with a 8-1 record, and is coming off a decision win over Steven Siler last July.