UFC’s Jack Hermansson is advocating for the legalization of MMA in Norway, with the goal of bringing the sport to his home country before he retires. The middleweight fighter, who was born in Norway but currently resides in Sweden, recently won a match at UFC Vegas 86 after a comeback in the last three rounds. During the post-fight press conference, Hermansson expressed his desire for the UFC and the media to take action and support the legalization of MMA in Norway.
While boxing was previously illegal in Norway, the government lifted the ban in 2014 after 33 years. Hermansson remains optimistic that with the support of the UFC and the media, MMA can also become legal in Norway. He pointed out that MMA was once illegal in many U.S. states, but thanks to the efforts of individuals such as the UFC CEO and former owners, as well as the UFC VP for Regulatory Affairs, the ban was lifted in all states. The most recent state to lift the ban was New York in 2016.
In terms of his fighting career, Hermansson had a successful return to the octagon at UFC Vegas 86, defeating Joe Pyfer. Although he did not compete in 2023, he fought three times in 2022, with a record of 1-2. Hermansson expressed his interest in fighting Nassourdine Imavov next, as he believes he has already faced many of the top 10 fighters and Imavov would be a logical choice.
Hermansson also expressed gratitude for headlining at the UFC Apex, but expressed his desire to fight in a larger arena in the future. Both fans and fighters have criticized UFC events held at the Apex, and the most recent event received significant online criticism from fight fans.
According to the Source firstsportz.com