Photos courtesy of www.skogmoo.com​

In March, news surfaced of upstart MMA promotion Venator FC acquiring the services of disgraced former World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares.

The news was somewhat surprising given the Brazilian was still contracted to fight for WSOF—as well as the fact the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave him a two-year suspension from competing in professional MMA.

Toquinho was stripped of his WSOF title and was suspended by the NSAC for two years after being adjudged to have deliberately held onto a kimura submission for too long despite his opponent, Jake Shields, tapping out and the referee’s efforts in calling a stop to the fight. This was the latest instance which has seen Palhares accused of purposefully holding onto submissions for longer than acceptable—a run which has seen the likes of Tomsz Drwal and Mike Pierce fall foul of the Brazilian’s habit in 2012 and 2013 respectfully—the latter of which led to Toquinho’s release from the UFC.

While the ban only applies to the USA in a cynical sense, fragrantly flouting an NSAC suspension is career suicide as a mixed martial artist. The USA is the undoubted land of opportunity for MMA combatants and most of the money in the sport resides in the country. Ignoring a ruling from the NSAC is a big deal.

However, despite the personal consequences, it’s happening: on May 21st, Palhares will be ignoring both WSOF and the NSAC by making his return to MMA for Venator FC in Milan, Italy.

Considering the fact a reputable American MMA promotion such as WSOF couldn’t find regular match-ups for a tough, talented fighter with a penchant for tearing their opponents knees to shreds, you would be forgiven for thinking those in Europe would also be running well clear of a showdown against Toquinho.

If you thought that, you were wrong. In fact, an emerging fighter from the north of Europe actually asked for the fight. His name is Emil “Valhalla” Weber Meek.

After reporting on Palhares’ intentions back in March, I received a rather eye-catching email from an unfamiliar name. It was Valhalla himself. One excerpt read: “I’m a Norwegian Viking with the power of Thor, the mind of Odin and the charisma of Loki.” It wasn’t the most innocuous of emails, so I had to enquire further.

So what is Valhalla really like as a person and a fighter? His response was a riposte to what he had said in his email. “As a person I set many goals and I follow them strictly,” said Meek. “The situation I’m in today is not by coincidence or by luck, it’s by hard work. Nothing came easy to me like every other fighter out there. People are jealous of me for having sponsors and the spotlight, but there’s a reason for that. I’ve been working my ass off to get my name out there and I will continue to do so to build my empire.”

Meek’s country of Norway is one I’ve followed for a long time for the progression of its MMA scene. Despite the popularity of MMA among Norway’s Swedish Scandinavian neighbours, MMA is still outlawed in Valhalla’s homeland. This is due to a law which forbids professional sporting events from promoting knockouts as we had reported in 2013.

The waters have since been muddied somewhat, as 2014 saw Norway reintroduce boxing as a legal professional sport—ending a 33-year hiatus which saw Norway hold the title of being one of three countries to outlaw professional boxing alongside human rights nightmares Iran and North Korea. However, the ban on MMA in Norway very much remains in place.

Laws such as these make it tricky for a budding mixed martial artist. Though, it hasn’t stopped Meek from compiling in impressive resume of wins. With a record of 7-2, Valhalla has finished all of his opponents, five of which coming by way of knockout.

The laws imposed in Norway mean Meek has had to ply his trade across Europe. But, the reintroduction of boxing into Norway’s consciousness gives him hope for MMA to receive the same treatment someday—and he believes he’s the name to help move that process along.

“This is the first time I’m fighting in Italy. But, I’ve fought in England, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Poland so I’m used to travelling for my fights. Basically, the rule in Norway is you can’t organise competition where knockouts are involved. Last year they made professional boxing legal. So now the rule is you can’t organise competition with knockouts involved unless it’s professional boxing or the King allows it. So I’m going to have to write a letter to the King to get to fight in Norway.”

“I’ve been fighting professionally since 2012 and the MMA scene in Norway can’t be compared to now both in the amount of MMA gyms and fighters coming out of the country. When Norway has a fighter in the UFC, hopefully me, a guy that they can root for, I feel MMA would be huge in this country just like how it helped in Sweden with Alexander Gustafsson in Sweden and with Conor McGregor in Ireland. Norwegians need a fighter they can relate to.”

“That’s why boxing was made legal in Norway. Cecilia Brækhus is the WBO champion—she’s a great boxer and is a big media figure in Norway and that’s the only reason why they pushed boxing through. Hopefully I can be that figure for MMA in Norway.”

One thing which would help with that is to become the fourth Norwegian to fight in the UFC. At 27 years old, Meek isn’t a young prospect but a man who is now at most fighter’s peak performance years.

“For me, I always focus on the next fight. But, my big goal is to become a successful fighter in the UFC. I want to be the next Norwegian in the UFC – we’ve had three guys before and none of them had any real success. I want to be the next one to have a crack at it and I want to give the Norwegian people a fighter to root for. I’m matured as a fighter. I’m not angry or doing any stupid mistakes. I feel the age of 27, 28 or 29 is a fighter’s peak and when I beat Palhares, I believe I will get that phone call.”

Should Valhalla emerge victorious against Palhares later in May, it would be hard to argue against that. Despite the fallout following his successful title defence against Jake Shields, Toquinho remains one of the biggest names in the welterweight division outside of the UFC. To beat a man with the stature of Palhares outside of the UFC would surely alert the attention of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

The result hasn’t been determined yet. But, Meek was the only man willing to step up and fight Palhares after his migration to the European MMA scene and that alone deserves credit. When asked why he was the only fighter to take the fight against such a big name, Valhalla was unequivocal in his response. “The coolest thing about fighting Palhares is that everyone wants me to win except for the Brazilians. All I ever hear is ‘oh man, please beat him!’ Unlike the other guys, I see him as a human. He will break mentally and physically if you give him enough pressure as would everybody else.

“He is absolutely beatable. 100%. I’m not afraid—I wanted this fight and there’s no way I’d take a fight unless I thought I would win. If I could ask for any fighter outside of the UFC, it will be Palhares as he is the biggest-known and highest-ranked welterweight out there—that’s the kind of fight I want.”

“I had some contact with Venator before for appearing on future cards. But, they were having trouble matching Palhares so I asked for the fight myself. They checked with him and here we are. I can’t really understand why people won’t want to fight him. For me, it’s all about taking big risks. It’s make or break time for me and if I were to lose, there’s no shame in that as he’s probably one of the world’s top five welterweights and I think I could live with that. If I win, it’s the greatest day of my career and I can’t in my wildest dreams refuse a fight like this."

It’s the vicious ground arsenal of Palhares which deters his peers from wanting to fight him. The impressive simplicity of his gameplans have worked time and time again despite his opponents knowing exactly what the Brazilian wants. Meek is all too familiar with this, but is determined to not become another victim to the submission stylings of Palhares. However, he is under no illusions that this is the toughest fight in his career to date.

“I see the fight as a tough fight. It’s without the toughest fight in my career. But, it’s also a tough fight for him. If I do what I’m supposed to do or if he does what he’s supposed to do, it will be over in the first round or it will go to a decision.

“I think my striking is definitely better than his. I feel that’s my biggest advantage. I’m faster and my cardio and condition is a lot better than his. I feel if I were to drill heel hooks and leg locks every day for the next six weeks, he will still be better at it than me. I need to make Palhares play my game and there are lots of areas and situations I have to manage and stay away from before he even has a chance for a leg lock. If I do my job right, I won’t end up in that position.”

Meek certainly talks a good game and has backed it up in his career so far. But, this is an opponent on a whole different level to what he’s experienced in the past. However, Meek will be roared on by his travelling contingent of fans, dubbed the “Valhalla Army”, who will be as loud and vociferous as ever in Milan’s Palasesto.

Will we see the birth of Norway’s equivalent to Conor McGregor on May 21st? Who knows? It will be damn interesting either way.

Check out these related stories:

Rousimar Palhares: Too Dangerous for MMA?

Rousimar Palhares Turns to the Dark Side