'Mr. Finland' Makwan Amirkhani planning to remain pretty after UFC on FOX 14

Makwan Amirkhani

STOCKHOLM – UFC newcomer Makwan Amirkhani takes pride in his looks. He said he’s never suffered a black eye, cut, broken nose or any type of facial damage in a pro bout. And he plans to keep it that way.

“I have 12 fights, and in 12 fights, I’ve had only one punch in the face,” Amirkhani told MMAjunkie. “There aren’t many fighters with nice faces. Most of them have scars. But I don’t, and I won’t.”

Amirkhani (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut against Andy Ogle (9-5 MMA, 1-4 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 14 event at Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena. The lightweight matchup airs on the FOX Sports 1-televised prelims prior to the main card on FOX.

The 26-year-old received his “Mr. Finland” nickname after placing second at a national beauty pageant. He knows the dangers of fighting, but he said he’s going to keep his face intact should he enter again.

“I was in a Ms. Finland-type competition, but (it was) the Mr. Finland competition,” Amirkhani said. “It was like a joke for me, but I wanted to do something other fighters don’t do. I got second place in the competition. Maybe in the future I will do it again.”

With 10 wins in 12 pro fights, Amirkhani’s career has only seen a few bumps in the road. He said those losses were due to a lack of preparation. He claims to have trained no more than three weeks for each of his previous dozen bouts.

After receiving a call to compete on the big show, though, he decided to go all in on his career. He recently graduated from school with a degree in physical education, so the timing to put all his eggs in the MMA basket couldn’t have been better.

“My school ended this summer, and now I told my family I put would everything on hold and give it my 100 percent on this one shot,” Amirkhani said. “I quit my job and I told my family, ‘Can you wash my clothes and make food? That’s all I ask. I want to train 100 percent for this sport.’ My family was a big help.

“It’s the first time I’ve prepared for a fight for more than three weeks. My background is wrestling, so I’ve been doing that, but I was in school and working (as a bouncer). This is the first time I’ve trained six months for an MMA fight. I’ve never been this prepared.”

Amirkhani well become the fourth Finnish-born fighter in UFC history. He joins Tom Niinimaki, Anton Kuivanen and Tina Lahdemaki, who have combined for a 2-7 UFC record.

Although Finnish fighters have clearly struggled in the UFC, Amirkhani is confident he can turn the tide for his country.

“Some other Finnish fighters have come and done not so well. Now it’s my shot and all eyes are on me,” he said.

He then added, with a wink and grin: “I will win in the first round.”

For more on UFC on FOX 14, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.