Jack Hermansson (fighter)

Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born June 10, 1988) is a Swedish-born Norwegian professional mixed martial artist, who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion in Cage Warriors and Warrior Fight Series. As of February 7, 2022, he is #7 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born June 10, 1988) is a Swedish-born Norwegian professional mixed martial artist, who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion in Cage Warriors and Warrior Fight Series. As of February 7, 2022, he is #7 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Background

Hermansson was born and raised in Uddevalla, Sweden, on June 10, 1988, with six siblings. He started his martial arts career as a Greco-Roman wrestler in 1997, at age of 9. He won the national championship in wrestling. Later after training some Muay Thai and other disciplines, he transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2008. Jack is half German.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Hermansson turned professional in 2010 and racked up a 5–0 record, all stoppages (4 KO's, 1 submission), in a little over a year. In his first fight, he won the title in the East Coast Fight Factory organization by a one-punch knockout in the third round. Two of the other victories, both by knockout, came in British top promotion Cage Warriors.

Bellator MMA

After his early career success, Hermansson was signed by American promotion Bellator MMA in 2012.

Hermansson made his promotional debut against Daniel Vizcaya on December 14, 2012, at Bellator 84. He lost the back-and-forth fight by split decision.

Hermansson next fought Jason Butcher on March 21, 2013, at Bellator 93. He lost the fight by submission due to a triangle choke. This would mark the last fight for Hermansson in the promotion.

Independent promotions

After two fights overseas, Hermansson returned to Europe and Cage Warriors.

Hermansson's first outing came against Enoc Solves Torres on March 22, 2014, at Cage Warriors 66. He won the fight by TKO in the third round.

Less than a month later Hermansson took on Ion Pascu on April 18, 2014, at Cage Warriors: Fight Night 11. He won by unanimous decision, the first decision victory of his career.

Hermansson challenged for the promotional title against veteran and fellow former Bellator fighter Norman Paraisy on June 7, 2014, at Cage Warriors 69. He became the champion after he defeated Paraisy by submission due to a rear-naked choke at the end of round 4.

Hermansson defended his title against Deyan Topalski on August 22, 2014, at Cage Warriors 71. He won the fight by TKO in the first round.

In February 2015, the Cage Warriors promotion would become inactive after changing the leading staff. When and if the organization would return to make new events were unclear. Hermansson himself would be out of action due to injuries for almost a year.

Hermansson returned in a title fight in British promotion Warrior Fight Series against UFC veteran Karlos Vemola on August 1, 2015, at Warrior Fight Series 4. He won the fight by submission due to an armbar in the first round to become the WFS champion.

Hermansson was scheduled to face Kévin Del on November 29, 2015, at Lion FC 6 for the promotional championship. However, Del would later withdraw from the contest citing an injury, and the bout was scrapped altogether.

Next Hermansson instead fought undefeated polish fighter Maciej Rozanski on December 12, 2015, at Venator FC 2. Hermansson won the fight by unanimous decision.

Hermansson was supposed to defend his WFS title on February 13, 2016, at Warrior Fight Series 5. No opponent was set, and later it was announced by the promotion that the title defense would not materialize at that event.

On February 11, 2016, after almost one and a half year of inactivity, Cage Warriors announced their return. Hermansson defended his CWFC title against Alan Carlos on the first event after the promotion's return on April 15, 2016, at Cage Warriors 75. He won the fight by knockout in the ending sequences of round three.

Hermansson faced Ireneusz Cholewa on May 21, 2016, at Venator FC 3. Hermansson won the fight via TKO in round 3.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2016

On May 31, 2016, it was announced that Hermansson had signed with the UFC. He made his promotional debut against Scott Askham on September 3, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 93. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Hermansson next faced Cezar Ferreira on November 19, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 100. He lost the fight via submission in the second round.

2017

Next Hermansson faced Alex Nicholson on May 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 109. This was the first time in his professional career that Hermansson fought in his native Sweden. He won the fight by TKO in the first round.

Hermansson next fought Brad Scott on August 5, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 114. He won the fight by TKO in the first round.

Hermansson faced Thiago Santos on October 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 119. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

2018

Hermansson faced Thales Leites on May 12, 2018, at UFC 224. Hermansson suffered a serious rib injury (costochondral separation) after being taken down in the first round. However, despite being in severe pain, he survived several submission attempts in the first and second round, and was able to rally back and win the fight via TKO in the third round.

Hermansson faced Gerald Meerschaert on December 15, 2018, at UFC on Fox 31. He won the fight by a guillotine choke submission in the first round.

2019

Hermansson next faced David Branch on March 30, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 2. He won the fight via submission due to a guillotine choke, 49 seconds into the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Hermansson had a quick turnaround as he replaced an injured Yoel Romero to face former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza on April 27, 2019, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 150. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

On July 17, it was reported that Hermansson signed a 6-fight deal with UFC.

Hermansson faced Jared Cannonier on September 28, 2019, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 160. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

2020

Hermansson was expected to face Chris Weidman on May 2, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead he faced Kelvin Gastelum on July 19, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 172. Hermansson won the fight by submission due to a heel hook in the first round.

Hermansson was scheduled to face Darren Till on December 5, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 19. However, Till was forced out of the bout on November 6 due to injury. Hermansson was then scheduled to face Kevin Holland at the event instead. The fight with Holland fell through on November 28 when it was revealed that Holland tested positive for COVID-19. Hermansson faced Marvin Vettori at the event instead. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

2021

Hermansson was scheduled to face Edmen Shahbazyan on May 15, 2021, at UFC 262. However, due to Hermansson contracting COVID-19 the bout was postponed and took place at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt on May 22, 2021. He won the fight via unanimous decision after taking over with his grappling in rounds two and three.

Hermansson faced Sean Strickland on February 5, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 200. He lost the fight via split decision.

Personal life

Hermansson was raised in Uddevalla, Sweden with his five siblings before moving to Norway when he was 19 years old to find work. He settled in Oslo, where he also started training in MMA. He has said that he identifies as both Swedish and Norwegian, and when he fights, he represents both Sweden and Norway. Before focusing full-time on his fighting career he had various jobs, including working in a pet store, being a bartender and as a substitute teacher.

He and his girlfriend, Nora, have been in a relationship since 2012.

Hermansson competed against fellow UFC contender Khamzat Chimaev in a freestyle wrestling match on November 19, 2021, at Sweden-based Bulldog Fight Night 9, losing on points.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Marvin Vettori.

Performance of the Night (One time) vs. David Branch.

Most significant strikes landed in a 5-round middleweight bout (148) vs. Ronaldo Souza.

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship

CWFC Middleweight Championship (One time).

Two successful title defenses.

Undefeated in the CWFC (7–0).

Warrior Fight Series

WFS Middleweight Championship (One time).

East Coast Fight Factory

ECFF Middleweight Championship (One time).

Nordic MMA Awards - MMAViking.com

2014 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year.

2018 Nordic Fighter of the Year.

2018 Comeback of the Year vs. Thales Leites.

2019 Submission of the Year vs. David Branch.

2019 Fighter of the Year.

2020 Submission of the Year vs. Kelvin Gastelum.

CombatPress.com

2019 Upset of the Year vs. Ronaldo Souza.

Submission Wrestling

Oslo Submission Series

OSS 2 (2016) Super Fight Winner.