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Maybe they’re not all thunder gods, but it’s safe to say that the Scandanavians have something of a fighting heritage. Blame the Vikings who conquered most of Europe, or blame Wagner for writing the immortal Ring Cycle, I don’t know, blame Stan Lee for the Thor comics. But it’s hard to think of that peninsula without images of reindeer hide capes, helmets with mastadon horns pointing from either side, slaying giants, killing wabbits, and so on. Sure, they’ve got great pancakes too, but mostly, it’s warrior country.

So it may surprise you to learn that the good people of Norway and Sweden have often found their modern combatants in MMA, boxing, and kickboxing with no battles to fight. Yep, all three sports have been struggled to survive legally on the professional level. That’s why last year, following the sale of PRIDE, Norway’s Joachim Hansen took a series of amatuer boxing bouts to stay in shape, and not make a dime, as his career was left in limbo. In a video interview Hansen revealed that his trainer and manager left the sport behind entirely, and “had to go back to his normal job… because he has to make a living.”

So it’s tough going for a Viking in 2008, but there’s signs of hope too. This year, Sweden’s MMA community has rallied together to re-attain legal status. The Zone FC promotion ran a show in Solna, Sweden last month which featured an appearance by Enson Inoue. Earlier this month, the fine folks at Asgard MMA ran a story on Jörgen “The Last Viking” Kruth, the Swedish Muay Thai standout now making the switch to MMA.

Several things strike me about this guy.

First, he’s got an unusual kickboxing pedrigree — while he isn’t among the best in K-1, he’s going to be way ahead of the vast majority of the MMA pack. He’s recorded wins against the likes of Stefan Leko in 70 or so pro bouts. The record can get a little spotty, but he’ll be campaigning at light heavyweight, so we can forget the fact he has suffered losses to the likes of Jan Nortje.

I certainly don’t know of an MMA fighter at light heavy with kicks like these (Kruth is in the red gloves):

Second, he’s a lifelong martial artist with experience in judo and jiu-jitsu. In interviews with Kakutogi and Asgard he mentions that he started grappling at age ten.

Third, he hasn’t rushed into it. His MMA training began more than three years ago and has included stints at Team Quest, and most recently, Pancrase Sweden. At 33, he would seem to have a few years left to make a mark.

I don’t know if Kruth can bring the Vikings back on top of the world; we probably wouldn’t want that anyway, but he sure looks like an interesting prospect. Let’s hope his native Sweden continues to progress as an MMA locale, and we can see him and his countrymen get a fighting chance. With that foundation set and Hansen back under contract with a strong Japanese organization in DREAM, 2008 looks like a promising year for Scandanavian MMA.