Top prospect Tobias ‘Bad Intention’ Harila has been told he is no longer able to compete in his scheduled bout on Dana White’s Contender Series.
The 29-year-old finisher from Sweden was due to face Luis Pajuelo on the popular series for up-and-coming mixed marital artists, but the fight has fallen through due to visa issues.
The fight was due to take place on August 22nd but because of past offences for which he was fined, he was unable to obtain a P-1A visa needed to compete on U.S soil.
In 2016, Harila competed in the IMMAF world championships and did not disclose information regarding pervious crimes committed.
“Tobias did what probably multiple fighters worldwide who wanted to follow their dreams do as well,” Harila’s manager Jörgen Hamberg told MMA UK.
“The summary in this tragic story when giving all facts to UFC is not only the old criminal record, but also admitting to competing in the country before this got to be a real issue to compete in Contender Series in August,” said Hamberg.
He added: “UFC Vice-President of global immigration Gina Paglione says that normally these applications take on average 90-180 days to process and by the misrepresentation of his criminal history in former ESTA (electronic system for travel authorization) this will take much more if it’s even possible. The recommendation is to get an immigration law attorney.”
“UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby says there will not be a DWCS fight in August, but he is more than interested to sign Tobias if we solve the athlete visa issue.”
Harila will return to Cage Warriors in the meantime where he has a 4-2 record – all 4 wins coming by way of knockout.
“So the grind continues,” said Hamberg. “With a 91.6% finish rate in his 12 professional wins, we hope there still are people out there who like to see the killer clown knock out people in a show close to you.”
Tobias Harila will now have to wait a little longer for a chance to secure a UFC contract.
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