| John-Olav Einemo | |
| Other Names: | The Viking |
| Birth Date: | 10 December 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Oslo, Norway |
| Nationality: | Norwegian |
| Weight Lb: | 253 |
| Weight Class: | Heavyweight (265 lb) |
| Reach In: | 81 |
| Style: | Submission wrestling |
| Team: | Golden Glory[1] |
| Rank: | black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years Active: | 2000–2003, 2006, 2011–2012 (MMA) |
| Mma Kowin: | 1 |
| Mma Subwin: | 5 |
| Mma Koloss: | 1 |
| Mma Decloss: | 2 |
| Sherdog: | 2873 |
John-Olav Einemo (born 10 December 1975) is a Norwegian retired mixed martial artist. He is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, with the highlight of his career being the win in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2003 (88–98 kg weight class). He is the only man to defeat multiple-time BJJ champion Roger Gracie in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship tournament.[2] He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.[3]
Einemo made his professional MMA debut in the year 2000. He fought for a number of promotions in Finland and the Netherlands, quickly amassing an undefeated record of 4–0. He made his Japanese debut in 2003 for the Shooto promotion in 2003.
Einemo did not compete from 2003 to 2006 due to complications of contracting a flesh-eating bacterial infection on his left foot following surgery.[4] He completely recovered and returned to fighting in early 2006. He experienced his first professional loss in PRIDE Fighting Championships where he lost to Fabrício Werdum by unanimous decision at Pride 31.
On March 7, 2011, Einemo signed with the UFC to join their Heavyweight Division.[5]
Einemo was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Shane Carwin on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131. However, once Brock Lesnar pulled out of his fight against Junior dos Santos after again suffering with diverticulitis, Carwin stepped in to take Lesnar's place in the main event. Einemo instead fought fellow UFC newcomer Dave Herman. Einemo lost via TKO (punches) at 3:19 of round 2. This fight earned him Fight of the Night honors.[6]
On August 3, 2011, Golden Glory announced that Einemo had been released from his contract by the UFC.[7] The UFC later reversed the decision, reinstating Einemo.[8]
In his second UFC fight, Einemo faced Mike Russow on January 28, 2012 at UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis.[9] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. He was subsequently released from the promotion.
Einemo announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on April 3, 2012. He said he would continue to stay involved in the sport as a coach and help the sport grow in his native Norway.[10]
|-| Loss| align=center| 6–3| Mike Russow| Decision (unanimous)| UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis| | align=center| 3| align=center| 5:00| Chicago, Illinois, United States| |-| Loss| align=center| 6–2| Dave Herman| TKO (knee and punches)| UFC 131| | align=center| 2| align=center| 3:19| Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada| |-| Win| align=center| 6–1| James Thompson| Submission (armbar)| 2H2H: Pride & Honor| | align=center| 1| align=center| 4:18| Rotterdam, Netherlands| |-| Loss| align=center| 5–1| Fabrício Werdum| Decision (unanimous)| PRIDE 31| | align=center| 3| align=center| 5:00| Saitama, Japan| |-| Win| align=center| 5–0| Mindaugas Kulikauskas| Submission (armbar)| Shooto: Wanna Shooto 2003| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:47| Tokyo, Japan| |-| Win| align=center| 4–0| Evert Fyeet| TKO (submission to punches)| Shooto Finland| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:54| Turku, Finland| |-| Win| align=center| 3–0| Olaf in 't Veld| TKO (submission to punches)| Shooto Holland| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:07| Deventer, Netherlands| |-| Win| align=center| 2–0| Erkka Shalstrom| TKO (punches)| Finnfight 4| | align=center| 1| align=center| 2:22| Turku, Finland| |-| Win| align=center| 1–0| Jan Jarvensivu| Submission (armbar)| Focus Fight Night 4| | align=center| 1| align=center| 4:20| Hämeenlinna, Finland| [11]
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Matches, 8 Wins, 5 Losses | ||||||||
| Result | Rec. | Opponent | Method | Event | Division | Date | Location | |
| Loss | 8–5 | Points | ADCC World Championship | Superfight | 2007 |  Newark, NJ | ||
| Loss | 8–4 | Points | ADCC World Championship | rowspan=4 | -99 kg | 2005 | Los Angeles | |
| Loss | 8–3 | Points | ||||||
| Win | 8–2 | Points | ||||||
| Win | 7–2 | Rick Macauley | Submission | |||||
| Win | 6–2 | Points | ADCC World Championship | rowspan=4 | -99 kg | 2003 |  São Paulo | |
| Win | 5–2 | Points | ||||||
| Win | 4–2 |  Larry Papadopoulos | Points | |||||
| Win | 3–2 | Points | ||||||
| Loss | 2–2 | Points | ADCC World Championship | rowspan=4 | -99 kg | 2001 | Abu Dhabi | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Points | ||||||
| Win | 2–0 | Points | ||||||
| Win | 1–0 | Points | ||||||