Thomas Narmo ready to show his skills on the KSW stage

Thomas Narmo ready to show his skills on the KSW stage

Rolling along during the pandemic times, KSW has continued to put on shows month after month. After a successful KSW 59 show in March 2021, KSW 60 is set for April 24, 2021. The main event may feature a champion vs champion matchup, but another matchup on the main card could easily steal the show. Making his way to Poland by way of Norway, “The Last Viking” Thomas Narmo, is set to bring his striking and undefeated record to the KSW cage for a huge debut matchup.

Transition to the Sport and Early Days of MMA

Especially in the United States, it is common to see fighters transition from the world of American football and wrestling. It is not so often for us to see an athlete like Narmo make his transition. Narmo made the transition from the world of hockey where he played goalie throughout his career. Narmo’s best season came in 2012-2013 when he played for Valerenga U20 where he had a save percentage of 93.3 along with a “goals-against-average” of 1.77. Once an NHL draft prospect, Narmo is now one of the top heavyweight prospects in the world. So how can hockey skills transition over to the cage? “The competitiveness of playing a sport at a high level is valuable,” Narmo told MyMMANews. “Something I don’t think you can train and needs to develop over time. Also balance and strength in the legs.”

After retiring from the sport of hockey, Narmo decided MMA would be his best route to take. After a brief amateur career, Narmo took his first professional bout in July 2019. Displaying the amazing strength of his 6’7″ frame, Narmo locked in a standing guillotine choke to take the victory. After two more victories (both TKO finishes) in 2019 under the Battle Arena banner, Narmo earned a knockout victory in his lone 2020 bout.

Staying Busy During COVID 2020 MMA-Stall

2020 affected many fighters and organizations. Narmo won his lone fight of 2020 but found something else to keep him busy. The Netflix series Ragnarok featured Narmo during season one. The show is based on a Norwegian town poisoned by pollution and rattled by melting glaciers. “Ragnarok was fun. I hope there can be more acting in the future! Just need to keep my face pretty!” stated Narmo. Acting is not at the forefront right now for Narmo though. MMA is still his top priority and this was shown with his KSW signing.

Viking Pride and the March Toward Legalization

Of all the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway) Narmo’s home-land of Norway is the only one where professional MMA is illegal. In April 2019, MMA was recognized and welcomed into the Norwegian Martial Arts Federation with the goal to grow the sport at the amateur level. Without the legality in place, it makes it very difficult for the sport to grow. Narmo is hoping to bear the banner of Norwegian MMA and help legalize the sport throughout the country. “I will be carrying the Norwegian flag and the nordic banner with pride and honor. The Viking blood is running in our veins, and I do believe that we produce great talent here. Wish we could legalize MMA so the younger fighters will get more opportunities to compete!” said Narmo

Norway is ripe for the MMA picking and Narmo may be the Viking to conquer. KSW is a huge stage for the Norwegian to showcase his skills. Still very young in his career, Narmo only has four professional bouts under his belt and just turned pro in mid 2019.

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Matt Bricker
I am a life-long MMA fan who has been a fan since UFC 1. I was born in Illinois but raised in South Louisiana, home of many great mixed martial artists. I started martial arts at the age of 4 and continued into my adult years where I served nearly 10 years in law enforcement. I feel my job is to convey the stories of the MMA fighters we enjoy to watch and share their stories with the world. Follow me on Twitter @LAknockoutMMA