tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38778867506671595042024-03-13T08:13:21.438+02:00Beatings from the NorthNews, Previews and Event Reports on European MMANorthernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-36976696364524596622011-10-31T08:20:00.001+02:002011-10-31T12:48:08.728+02:00Beatings From The North joins forces with MMAViking.com!This is my 100th post on this blog and it could be the last one. But don't worry, if you like following Scandinavian MMA you can now do it even easier at MMAViking.com. Me and Ryan of MMAViking have decided to put our content together on one website that serves a very clear purpose: all about Scandinavian MMA in English on one site. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mmaviking.com/wp-content/themes/newmmaviking/images/MMAVIKING_Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="122" width="302" src="http://www.mmaviking.com/wp-content/themes/newmmaviking/images/MMAVIKING_Logo.png" /></a></div><br />
Thanks to everyone who has read my scribblings over the past three years and I hope you all follow me to the MMAViking.com.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mmaviking.com/beatings-from-the-north-and-mma-viking-merge/">Announcement of the merger (big business) at MMAViking</a><br />
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You can still reach me at NorthernmostMMA AT gmail.comNorthernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-28623315002283753552011-10-17T12:36:00.001+03:002011-10-17T12:36:26.393+03:00Botnia Punishment X videos onlineVideos from Botnia Punishment's event X are now online at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BotniaPunishment">Youtube</a>. You can also view the vids at <a href="http://www.mmaviking.com/botnia-punishment-x-videos/">MMAViking</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-36020439385746437052011-10-09T12:24:00.007+03:002011-10-09T16:16:15.959+03:00Cage 16: Kuivanen beats Meller, Niinimäki knocks out FracheyBeforehand Cage 16's main event fights were seen as final tests for Finnish MMA stars Anton Kuivanen and Tom "Stoneface" Niinimäki who have been patiently waiting for their shot at the major leagues. The wait should be over as both fighters passed their test with flying colors.<br />
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In the extremely exciting main event fight hometown hero <a href="http://www.antonkuivanen.fi/">Anton Kuivanen</a> (16-4) defended his Cage Lightweight belt against Blackhouse MMA's Thiago Meller (17-4) of Brazil. In the first round Kuivanen controlled the action with crisp striking and used his speed advantage to stay out of harms way. Near the end of the round Meller however caught Kuivanen with a overhand right that sent the Finn on floor. Kuivanen quickly recovered, but as he was working on his way up, Kuivanen ended up in Meller's guillotine choke. Kuivanen kept his calm and waited for the round to end. In the second round Kuivanen turned up the volume punishing fading Meller on the feet with fast strikes. With one minute left in the round Kuivanen connected with blazing combination that sent the Brazilian dazed against the cage. Kuivanen threw everything but the kitchen sink at Meller who absorbed an unbelievable amount of punishment refusing to give up. In the third round exhausted Meller caught Kuivanen once more in a guillotine choke that looked very tight but again Kuivanen did a marvelous job defending the choke, popped his head out and rained down elbows from the top position. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kulmassa.fi/wp-content/gallery/vapaaottelu-cage-16-espoo-8102011/098_pic_cage16_10_anton_kuivanen-thiago_meller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="210" width="300" src="http://www.kulmassa.fi/wp-content/gallery/vapaaottelu-cage-16-espoo-8102011/098_pic_cage16_10_anton_kuivanen-thiago_meller.jpg" /></a></div>Anton Kuivanen is ready for the big stages (Photo by <a href="http://www.kulmassa.fi">Kulmassa.fi</a>)<br />
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In the end Kuivanen kept his Cage lightweight belt with a lopsided unanimous decision. The Finnish striking machine has now won his last nine fights including wins over Ivan Buchinger (16-2) and Tim Radcliffe (11-4). Convincing win over a highly regarded veteran in Thiago Meller should be enough for Kuivanen to land a deal with a major promotion.<br />
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Number two featherweight in Europe Tom "Stoneface" Niinimäki returned to action after almost a year away from the cage. In the Cage featherweight title fight the defending champion showed no signs of ring rust as he crushed his French opponent Johnny Frachey in a little over minute. Frachey, a powerful grappler who had won his last five fights, was stunned by Niinimäki's beautiful headkick. Niinimäki quickly followed up with a shattering uppercut that sealed the deal and left Frachey unconscious on the floor. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kulmassa.fi/wp-content/gallery/vapaaottelu-cage-16-espoo-8102011/080_pic_cage16_09_tom_niinimaki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="210" src="http://www.kulmassa.fi/wp-content/gallery/vapaaottelu-cage-16-espoo-8102011/080_pic_cage16_09_tom_niinimaki.jpg" /></a></div>Tom Niinimäki is a beast who has gone 6-0 at featherweight (Photo by <a href="http://www.kulmassa.fi">Kulmassa.fi</a>)<br />
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Since dropping down to featherweight Niinimäki (16-5) is still undefeated after six bouts winning them all in a dominating fashion. In the Euro circuit there are no meaningful fights left for the young Finn so the most reasonable next step for him would be signing with the UFC. Another option is the Bellator that has been lately signing a lot of Euro talent.<br />
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Also on the main card was the welterweight bout between Finnish grappler Olli-Jaakko Uitto and Sweden's Nicholas Musoke. In a quite uneventful fight Musoke won the decision as he was able to stuff Uitto's takedown attempts and got the better of the striking exchanges on the feet.<br />
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In the women's bout Finland's Katja Kankaanpää (5-0) kept her record clean by outgrappling Spain's Karla Benitez (5-1) to a decision win. <br />
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<b>Full results:</b><br />
Cage Lightweight title bout: Anton Kuivanen (16-4-0) vs Thiago Meller (17-4-0), Brazil: Kuivanen by UD<br />
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Cage Featherweight title bout: Tom “Stoneface” Niinimäki (16-5-0) vs Johnny Frachey (13-8-0), France: Niinimäki by KO R1<br />
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Welterweight: Olli-Jaakko Uitto (8-1-1) vs Nicholas Musoke (7-2-0), Sweden: Musoke by UD<br />
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Lightweight (women 55kg / 122 lbs): Katja Kankaanpää (5-0-0) vs Karla Benitez (5-0-0) Spain: Kalliokoski by UD<br />
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Heavyweight: Jarno Nurminen (6-2-0) Team Scandinavia vs Catalin Zmarandescu (6-2-0) Romania: Nurminen by Submission strikes R1<br />
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Bantamweight: Heikki Tiilikka (5-3-0) vs Mikhael Daboville (4-4-0), France: Tiilikka by UD<br />
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Lightweight: Antti Virtanen (5-3-1) vs Viktor Tomasevic (3-2-1) , Lithuania: Virtanen by Split Decision<br />
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Lightweight: Lauri Väätäinen (5-3-0) vs Makwan Amirkhani (3-1-0): Amirkhani by Heelhook R1<br />
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Welterweight: Lauri Tonteri (3-2-0) vs Johan Vänttinen (5-2-0): Vänttinen by KO R1<br />
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Welterweight: Jussi Halonen (2-0-0) vs Sergei Kabalinov (1-0-0): Halonen by UDNorthernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-52706935376883377262011-10-08T16:27:00.011+03:002011-10-08T21:26:50.251+03:00Cage 16 LIVE resultsLIVE results from Barona Arena at Espoo, Finland. Fights starts at 17.00 CET.<br />
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Cage Lightweight title bout: Anton Kuivanen (15-4-0) vs Thiago Meller (17-4-0), Brazil: Kuivanen by UD<br />
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Cage Featherweight title bout: Tom “Stoneface” Niinimäki (15-5-0) vs Johnny Frachey (13-8-0), France: Niinimäki by KO<br />
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Welterweight: Olli-Jaakko Uitto (8-1-1) vs Nicholas Musoke (6-2-0), Sweden: Musoke by UD<br />
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Lightweight (women 55kg / 122 lbs): Katja Kalliokoski (4-0-0) vs Karla Benitez (5-0-0) Spain: Kalliokoski by UD<br />
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Heavyweight: Jarno Nurminen (5-2-0) Team Scandinavia vs Catalin Zmarandescu (6-2-0) Romania: Nurminen by Sub strikes<br />
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Bantamweight: Heikki Tiilikka (4-3-0) vs Mikhael Daboville (4-4-0), France:Tiilikka by Ud<br />
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Lightweight: Antti Virtanen (4-3-1) vs Viktor Tomasevic (3-2-1) , Lithuania: Virtanen by UD<br />
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Lightweight: Lauri Väätäinen (5-3-0) vs Makwan Amirkhani (2-1-0): amirkani by Heelhook<br />
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Welterweight: Lauri Tonteri (3-2-0) vs Johan Vänttinen (4-2-0): Vänttinen by KO<br />
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Welterweight: Jussi Halonen (1-0-0) vs Sergei Kabalinov (1-0-0):Halonen by UDNorthernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-79637590467770333202011-10-05T11:54:00.006+03:002011-10-06T09:37:09.916+03:00Cage 16 - 1st Defense PreviewCAGE 16 - 1st Defense on October 8th 2011 at the Espoo Barona Arena.<br />
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<b>Cage Lightweight title bout: Anton Kuivanen (15-4-0) vs Thiago Meller (17-4-0), Brazil</b><br />
Finnish Lightweight star and hometown hero Anton Kuivanen defends his Cage belt against the dangerous Thiago “Minu” Meller from Brazil. <br />
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The main event of the night features once again hometown hero Anton Kuivanen who is the biggest draw in Finnish MMA and thus a vital fighter also for the Cage promotion. The young Finn is known for his flashy striking and entertaining fighting style. American Top Team’s Kuivanen has a great record of 15-4, but it’s getting even better all the time. He’s 11-1 in his last twelve with the only loss coming in the hands of Bendy Casimir in a fight that Kuivanen was clearly winning before getting caught in a knee bar. Since that loss the rapidly improving Finn has won all his fights in a dominating fashion and is currently riding a eight fight win streak that includes wins over top ranked Euro lightweights like Ivan Buchinger (16-2) and Tim Radcliffe (11-4). Kuivanen’s highly versatile and explosive striking is still his main weapon of choice but during the last couple of years he has managed to take his wrestling and ground game to another level also. <br />
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Like Kuivanen, also the Brazilian veteran Thiago “Minu” Meller is far from a one trick pony. Most of his wins have become via submission but Meller is competent on the feet too and has a record of 15-1 in Muay Thai. Meller has snatched eight of his eleven submission wins by guillotine choke. He hunts for his opponents head in the clinch, locks in the arm in guillotine, drops down on his back and applies the choke perfectly leaving his opponents no choice but to tap out. On the feet Meller’s best weapon are the vicious kicks he throws, thanks to his Muay Thai background. Meller is a gutsy and iron chinned fighter who has never been knocked out and submitted just once. His four career losses have become in the hands of top level talent like current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo and UFC lightweight contender Rafael Dos Anjos.<br />
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<b>Cage Featherweight title bout: Tom “Stoneface” Niinimäki (15-5-0) vs Johnny Frachey (13-8-0), France</b><br />
Europe’s number two featherweight Tom Niinimäki finally returns to the cage after being almost a full year without an MMA fight. Notable challenger comes in a form of Frenchman Johnny Frachey who tries to give Niinimäki his first loss at Featherweight.<br />
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According to information that I’ve receiving, the reason for the layoff was mainly due to no one wanting to fight Niinimäki in the Euro circuit while for some reason major promotions didn’t sign him. During this time Niinimäki however kept himself busy by taking amateur boxing fights and competing at the 2011 FILA European Championships where the 27 year old Finn won gold in submission wrestling. Niinimäki is a complete fighter: technically solid boxing on the feet, powerful wrestling and takedowns coupled with airtight grappling and heavy ground and pound. Niinimäki is undefeated at featherweight and has been lately crushing highly touted fighters. In his last three fights Niinimäki has beaten Dutch Ben Boekee (13-1), UK’s Dave Hill (9-2) and Lithuanian submission ace Sergei Grecicho (10-4).<br />
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France’s Johnny Frachey is an experienced veteran who has been fighting since 2003 and faced world class opponents like David Baron, Luciano Azevedo and Mizuto Hirota during his long career. Frachey is a strong and technically sound grappler who has fought at Lightweight for the most part of his career. Frachey trains at his own gym that is located in Athis Mons. Frachey’s strong points are his quick takedowns combined with versatile skills on the ground. His striking isn’t weak by any means but in most cases short and stocky Frachey will try everything to take the fight to the floor. This will Frachey’s second fight in Finland. At the Helsinki Fight Night event in November 2009 he suffered a decision loss to Niko Puhakka in a lightweight bout. Frachey is currently on a five fight win streak but the level of competition that he has fought lately has been weak compared to Niinimäki’s recent opponents. <br />
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<b>Welterweight: Olli-Jaakko Uitto (8-1-1) vs Nicholas Musoke (6-2-0), Sweden</b><br />
Two skilled fighters meet in a traditional Finland versus Sweden match up. <br />
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The Finn Olli-Jaakko Uitto has been defeated just once during his ten fight long pro career. Cage WW champion Ville Räsänen was able to stuff Uitto’s takedowns and outstrike him on the feet. In his other fights Uitto has forced the fight on the ground and finished most of his opponents by submission. <br />
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Nicholas Musoke fights out of Stockholm Shoot, the gym that also serves as a home for the UFC star Alexander Gustafson. While Musoke is competent on the feet, he is at his best on the ground. In his latest fight Musoke choked out Scottish Steven Ray (8-2) late in the first round with RNC and got a good win under his belt. Both Uitto and Musoke know their stuff on the ground and actively hunt for submissions so this fight could end up being an entertaining grappling fest.<br />
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<b>Also on the card:</b><br />
Lightweight (women 55kg / 122 lbs): Katja Kalliokoski (4-0-0) vs Karla Benitez (5-0-0) Spain<br />
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Heavyweight: Jarno Nurminen (5-2-0) Team Scandinavia vs Catalin Zmarandescu (6-2-0) Romania<br />
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Bantamweight: Heikki Tiilikka (4-3-0) vs Mikhael Daboville (4-4-0), France<br />
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Lightweight: Antti Virtanen (4-3-1) vs Viktor Tomasevic (3-2-1) , Lithuania<br />
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Lightweight: Lauri Väätäinen (5-3-0) vs Makwan Amirkhani (2-1-0) <br />
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Welterweight: Lauri Tonteri (3-2-0) vs Johan Vänttinen (4-2-0) <br />
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Welterweight: Jussi Halonen (1-0-0) vs TBA<br />
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Don't forget to check out my blog for live results on fight night and event report afterwards!Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-6987421335829264202011-10-02T15:24:00.003+03:002011-10-02T18:34:04.409+03:00Fight Festival 31: Robertson knocks out Linhares, Victorious Vänttinen announces deal with BellatorFight Festival 31 offered a long and entertainment night for the fight fans on the 1st of October at the Töölö Sports Hall in Helsinki, Finland. Even though most of the fights on the card went to distance, the night was filled with exciting back-n-forth battles between evenly matched fighters. <br />
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In the main event UFC veterans in Lucio Linhares and Kenny Robertson were hunting for their ticket back to the biggest show on the planet. Early in the round Robertson landed a heavy right on the jaw of Linhares but the Brazilian born Finn pressed forward with punches. Linhares was able to crack Robertson with couple shots of his own but the American countered with takedowns. In the closing seconds of the fighters round when the fighters broke off from a clinch situation, Robertson exploded with a spinning back fist that landed clean on Linhares and knock him out cold. A spectacular win for the high school teacher from Illinois whom we’ll probably see soon back in the UFC.<br />
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In the co-main event Finnish lightweight powerhouse Niko Puhakka take on Xtreme Couture’s very experienced John Gunderson. Gunderson started strong landing a quick combo and took Puhakka down where he was able the Finn’s back. Puhakka kept his calm and defended well. In the second round the momentum switched to Puhakka’s side who was able to get dominant position on the ground and land strikes. Puhakka also had Gunderson in a very tight looking anaconda choke but the American did an awesome job defending the choke. In the final round Puhakka was able to set the pace as Gunderson begun to fade away. After three rounds of grueling ground fighting, the judges awarded Puhakka with an unanimous decision. This was probably Puhakka’s biggest win ever so it’ll be interesting to see where his next fight will take place.<br />
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In the light heavyweight bout Finnish top prospect Marcus “Caveman” Vänttinen dominated France’s Malid Merak. Vänttinen was clearly the stronger fighter and took his opponent down easily from the clinch. On the ground the long limbed Frenchman quickly tried to apply a kimura on Vänttinen but the Finn tucked his hand deep and punished Merak for the rest of the round. In the second round Vänttinen again took his opponent down from the clinch and started raining down elbows and punches. Eventually Vänttinen moved to mount and hit Merak with couple of horrendous elbows that cut and possibly broke something in Merak’s face, leaving him no choice but to tap out. In the post fight interview Vänttinen announced that he has signed with the Bellator and will participate to promotion’s Light Heavyweight Tournament that starts in early 2012. Excellent news for the talented young Finn but also for the whole Finnish MMA scene that has had some trouble getting its top fighters to major promotions. <br />
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Finnish JP Vainikainen and American Steve Lopez fought a draw in an exciting lightweight bout. Lopez scored points early by taking Vainikainen down and spinning to his back but Vainikainen but the young Finn defended skillfully. In the second and third round Vainikainen was able to hit Lopez with heavy shots and the American was in survival mode for latter part of the fight. Few seconds left in the fight Lopez broke the rules by upkicking grounded Vainikainen from the bottom and received a yellow card from the ref. The fight was scored as a draw which was a bit controversial considering Lopez’s yellow card. After the fight Vainikainen's team issued an official protest about the decision. The protest was then processed by the Finnish MMA Federation's jury (five judges) who re-evaluated the fight under FMMAF rules. The jury decided that Vainikainen won the fight based on effective striking, aggression and the point deduction to Lopez.<br />
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Another controversial draw decision was ruled in the welterweight fight between Bellator signee Janne Tulirinta and France’s Sebastien Garguier. The fight was real slugfest where both fighters were landing heavy shots on the feet without backing up an inch. The Frenchman got the better of the striking exchange after Tulirinta, who had been sick the week before the fight, begun to gas out. The majority of the crowd seemed to think that Garguier won the fight but the judges thought otherwise and the fight was declared as a draw.<br />
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Finnish featherweight prospect Joni Salovaara extended his winning streak to seven consecutive wins by beating Jeremy Pender of USA. Salovaara got the better of the striking on the feet and scored numerous takedowns. In the third round Salovaara cracked Pender with a shattering shot and finished the job on the floor with strikes. Salovaara, currently at ranked 10th on the European Featherweight top ten, has improved by leaps and bounds during the last two years. It will be interesting to see if he gets matched up with a big name 145er for his next fight.<br />
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Full results:<br />
Catchweight 80 kg / 178 Lbs: Lucio “Spartan” Linhares (16-6) vs Kenny Robertson (10-1), USA: Robertson by KO R1<br />
Lightweight: Niko Puhakka (24-11) vs John Gunderson (32-11), USA: Puhakka by UD<br />
Light heavyweight: Marcus ”Caveman” Vänttinen (21-3) vs Malid Merak (11-7), France: Vänttinen by TKO R2. <br />
Welterweight: Janne Tulirinta (12-3) vs Sebastien Garguier (9-7), France: Draw<br />
Lightweight: Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (17-5) vs Steve Lopez (12-5), USA: Draw<br />
Featherweight: Joni Salovaara (9-4) vs Jeremy Pender (7-2), USA: Salovaara by TKO R3<br />
Bantamweight: Janne Elonen-Kulmala (4-2) vs Donatas Karlonas (2-3), Lithuania: Jamba by UD<br />
Bantamweight: Mikael Silander (2-0) vs Perttu Paatola (2-0): Silander by UD<br />
Kickboxing WAKO European Championship 64,5 kg Jarkko Jussila vs Petar Zivkovic: Zivkovic by split Dec<br />
Muay thai: Jaakko Dahlbacka vs Paulius Sileikis: Sileikis TKO cut R5Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-75682303926212141442011-10-01T10:06:00.018+03:002011-10-01T23:53:18.231+03:00Fight Festival 31 Live ResultsFights start at 18.00 EET (6 PM EET).<br />
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Catchweight 80 kg / 178 Lbs: Lucio “Spartan” Linhares (16-6) vs Kenny Robertson (10-1), USA: Robertson by KO R1<br />
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Lightweight: Niko Puhakka (23-11) vs John Gunderson (32-11), USA: Puhakka by UD<br />
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Light heavyweight: Marcus ”Caveman” Vänttinen (20-3) vs Malid Merak (11-7), France: Vänttinen by TKO R2. in the post fight interview Vänttinen announced that he will participate to Bellator's LHW tournament in 2012!<br />
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Welterweight: Janne Tulirinta (12-3) vs Sebastien Garguier (9-7), France: Draw<br />
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Lightweight: Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (17-5) vs Steve Lopez (12-5), USA: Draw<br />
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Featherweight: Joni Salovaara (8-4) vs Jeremy Pender (7-2), USA: Salovaara by TKO R3<br />
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Kickboxing WAKO European Championship 64,5 kg Jarkko Jussila vs Petar Zivkovic: Zivkovic by split Dec<br />
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Bantamweight: Janne Elonen-Kulmala (3-2) vs Donatas Karlonas (2-3), Lithuania: Jamba by UD<br />
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Bantamweight: Mikael Silander (1-0) vs Perttu Paatola (2-0): Silander by UD<br />
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Muay thai: Jaakko Dahlbacka vs Paulius Sileikis: Sileikis TKO cut R5Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-32549105783934945282011-09-29T12:28:00.003+03:002011-09-29T17:47:14.212+03:00Fight Festival 31 PreviewBeforehand Fight Festival's 31th event looks to be it's biggest events ever. The card is stacked with world class talent and young talented prospects.<br />
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<b>Catchweight 80 kg / 178 Lbs: Lucio “Spartan” Linhares (16-6) vs Kenny Robertson (10-1), USA</b><br />
In the main event of the evening the fighters are both hunting for their ticket back to the UFC. The fight is a matchup between two aggressive and heavy handed fighters who both have a lot to gain here. <br />
Brazilian born Lucio Linhares has found himself a new home in Helsinki where he has stayed for years now. The BJJ black belt got a rough welcoming in the UFC middleweight division as he was set up with two of the strongest grapplers in the division in Yushin Okami and Rousimar Palhares. Even though Linhares was eventually submitted by Palhares, he did show excellent ground game in that fight and even had Palhares in a tight triangle. In addition to his polished ground skills Linhares is also dangerous on the feet. His striking might not be very technical but he packs a mean punch and has shown that he can end fights on the feet too. Since his two losses in the UFC Linhares has gone 3-0 finishing all opponents including UFC vet Xavier Foupa-Pokam. Foupa-Pokam’s kick shattered Linhares’ elbow in the first round but in the second round gutsy Linhares managed to submit the French with a triangle. Linhares is now all healed up and looking for a win here that would launch him back to the UFC, only this time in the welterweight division.<br />
Like Linhares also Robertson drew short end of the stick when his UFC debut opponent was decided by the promotion. In his debut in February 2011 then undefeated Robertson was matched with Mike Pierce a hard hitting wrestling powerhouse. In the first round Robertson did well and had Pierce even in a solid choke attempt but early in the second round Pierce dropped Robertson with a heavy punch and finished him on the ground. Robertson hasn’t fought since so it has been a good eight months since he has been in action. Robertson is a modern day allrounder, a fighter who can threat his opponents in every area of MMA. On the feet Robertson likes to be aggressive, push forward and let his legit Muay Thai skills do the work. Robertson’s ground game is also on a high level. He didn’t have any trouble grappling with Igor Almeida, who is a very good grappler, once they fought in 2010.<br />
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<b>Lightweight: Niko Puhakka (23-11) vs John Gunderson (32-11), USA</b><br />
In the co-main event Finland’s lightweight powerhouse Niko Puhakka gets a challenge from another crafty veteran in John Gunderson. The Finn throws heavy leather on the feet while the American has won most of his fights by submissions.<br />
Puhakka, who is ranked 5th on the European LW top ten, has done very well in his recent fights. During the last year Puhakka has fought seven times winning all but one of those bouts. The loss came in a fight against Chute Boxe’s Luiz Azeredo who was able to able squeeze a decision win over the Finn at Fight Festival 28. Since that loss Puhakka has won his latest three fights all by submission. One of those wins was over Poland’s Maciej Gorski who Puhakka beat in the final of KSW lightweight tournament. Puhakka, who earlier in his career was known as a brawler with susceptible submission defense, has shown strong grappling skills in his recent bouts. On the feet Puhakka’s main weapons are tight boxing and constant pressure.<br />
Fighting pro since 2002 and as a veteran of nearly fifty fights John Gunderson has seen it all: from small casino events in indian reservations to luxurious shows by the UFC with crowds of thousands. Gunderson fought three times in the UFC in 2010 winning a decision over Mark Holtz and dropping decision losses to Yves Edwards and Rafaello Oliviera. Since then Gunderson has gone 2-1 and won his last fight by submission. Short and stocky Gunderson is a well rounded fighter but he is definitely at his best on the ground which is obvious when you look at his record: Gunderson has snatched 25 submission victories in his career.<br />
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<b>Light heavyweight: Marcus ”Caveman” Vänttinen (20-3) vs Malid Merak (11-7), France</b><br />
Finnish LHW prospect Marcus Vänttinen takes on the Frenchman Malid Merak who steps in on short notice for injured Victor Välimäki.<br />
Vänttinen’s eleven fight long win streak came to end in his latest fight against Attila Vegh. The heavy handed Slovakian was able to crack Vänttinen with couple of overhand rights in the first round and that set the pace for the rest of the fight. After the disappointing loss Vänttinen has been training like crazy. He also went to Sweden to train with UFC star Alexander Gustafsson and made a trip to the famous London Shootfighters gym. Physically strong Vänttinen likes to play the clinch game where he can land lethal knee strikes and elbows on his opponents. On the ground he likes to grind his opponents with short punches and elbows while maintaining positional control.<br />
Over 2 meter (6’7”) Malid Merak has been fighting pro since 2009. In 2011 The lanky Frenchman has gone 2-2 including a solid win over Egidijus Valavicius and a TKO loss to Mikhail Zayats in M-1. Merak obviously has a huge reach that usually gives an advantage on the feet. Merak’s striking isn’t top notch from a technical standpoint but he is not afraid to throw down which is always a good quality in a fighter. On the ground Merak again uses his long limbs well as he hunts for triangles and kimuras but there are also some holes in his ground game. Merak’s biggest weakness is his takedown defense that for example looked non-existent in his fight against Zayats.<br />
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<b>Welterweight: Janne Tulirinta (12-3) vs Sebastien Garguier (9-7), France</b><br />
Bellator signee Janne Tulirinta makes a comeback after a two year hiatus against France’s Sebastien Garguier.<br />
Before taking two years off from fighting, Tulirinta went 4-0 in his last four fights as a welterweight. Following the success in M-1, Tulirinta was then signed to Bellator’s Lightweight tournament but delayed visa processing in the USA lead to him being unable to participate. Tulirinta usually relies on his grappling heavy game where he looks to score takedowns, achieve top control and punish his opponent with strikes. Addition to having good ground and pound, Tulirinta’s submission game is nowdays also on a very high level.<br />
Garguier is a pretty good grappler also so it might be that this fight will offer exciting grappling for the crowd. The proof of Garguier’s ground skills is in his record: eight of the nine career wins have become by a submission while he hasn’t been submitted once. However, like Tulirinta, Garguier is also competent on the feet. The Frenchman has solid boxing skills and heavy low kicks.<br />
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<b>Lightweight: Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (17-5) vs Steve Lopez (12-5), USA</b><br />
In a high quality Lightweight bout Finland’s rising star Vainikainen locks horns with UFC vet Steve Lopez. A win for Vainikainen should lead to him getting signed by a major promotion.<br />
Vainikainen has been on a roll lately winning six of his last seven fights with one bout ending to a draw. In 2011 Vainikainen has already scored legit wins over Brian Geraghty and Josh Pulsifer among others. Tall and lanky Vainikainen has a long frame and limbs for the LW division. His long reach combined with his technically solid striking makes him a tough fight for anyone. On the ground Vainikainen can certainly handle himself too and has numerous submission wins to back this up. <br />
After racking up a sweet record of 12-1, Lopez got then signed by the UFC in 2009. However things didn’t go too well for the Xtreme Couture fighter. First he got smacked around by LW top talent Jim Miller and then lost by split decision to Waylon Lower in a horribly boring bout that lead to him being cut from the promotion. After his UFC stint Lopez has fought twice with no success as he was first TKO’ed by Fabricio Camoes and then KO’ed by Justin Buchholz in May of 2011. Lopez hails from a high school wrestling background but he uses his wrestling skills usually for defending rather than taking people down. Lopez has solid striking on the feet and his ground game isn’t too shabby either.<br />
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<b>Featherweight: Joni Salovaara (8-4) vs Jeremy Pender (7-2), USA</b><br />
Finnish featherweight prospect Joni Salovaara tries to keep his winning streak alive against a slick grappler in Jeremy Pender.<br />
After his fighting career got off with a rocky start Joni Salovaara has found his rhythm and won his last six bouts against respectable competition earning him a spot on the European FW top ten list. In his fight against the German based American Anthony Durnell, Salovaara showed the whole versatility of his skill set. The young Finn landed good shots on the feet, took his opponent down few times and eventually slapped on a fight ending triangle choke. Salovaara’s latest fight was against Estonian Jorgen Matsi who despite being a strong wrestler couldn’t take the Finn down and was then outstruck on the feet. Besides MMA Salovaara has recently competed also in boxing and worked on his already good striking skills.<br />
Pender fights out of Vision MMA gym where he trains with guys like TUF alumni Victor O’Donnell and Daniel Straus who has done well in Bellator. Pender knows his stuff on the feet but he usually prefers to fight on the ground where he can use his slick jiu-jitsu skills. Pender has won six out of seven bouts by submission and is currently riding a four fight win streak. It will be interesting to see if the American can force the fight on the ground and keep it there.<br />
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<b>Also on the card:</b><br />
Kickboxing WAKO European Championship 64,5 kg Jarkko Jussila vs Petar Zivkovic: Finnish striking machine Jarkko Jussila faces his pro careers toughest challenge in Zivkovic. A win over Zivkovic would move Jussila close to WAKO world championship title fight. <br />
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Bantamweight: Janne Elonen-Kulmala (3-2) vs Donatas Karlonas (2-3), Lithuania<br />
Young and talented “Jamba” makes a comeback after a serious injury and takes on a combat sambo veteran in Karlonas.<br />
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Bantamweight: Mikael Silander (1-0) vs Perttu Paatola (2-0)<br />
Finnish MMA amateur champion Paatola fights undefeated Silander in a bout between two young guns. <br />
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In the nights lone Muay Thai bout Finland’s Jaakko Dahlbacka battles with Paulius Sileikis, a skilled striker from Lithuania.Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-42411448089705976692011-09-28T11:53:00.000+03:002011-09-28T11:53:13.594+03:00Vänttinen interviewed by MMAVikingMMAViking keeps its focus on Finland and puts out this <a href="http://www.mmaviking.com/marcus-vanttinen-interview/">interview of Finnish LHW prospect Marcus Vänttinen</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-77697671530668793442011-09-26T17:15:00.001+03:002011-09-26T17:15:15.517+03:00Botnia Punishment event report at SherdogReport by MMAViking. <a href="http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Gonzalez-Rebounds-with-Submission-of-Latomaki-in-Finland-35883">Check it out</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-30095626061214218182011-09-20T09:24:00.002+03:002011-09-20T09:26:03.927+03:00MiddleEasy takes a look at upcoming Finnish MMA eventsCat Von C has put together a piece based on my blog entry about upcoming MMA events here in Finland. Thanks Cat!<br />
<a href="http://middleeasy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5898:brace-yourself-the-finland-2011-2012-mma-season-starts-this-weekend&catid=34:organizations">Brace yourself! The Finland 2011-2012 MMA season starts this weekend</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://middleeasy.com/images/stories/Author_Cat/2011/09/finland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="135" width="340" src="http://middleeasy.com/images/stories/Author_Cat/2011/09/finland.jpg" /></a></div>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-37429175793065655112011-09-18T17:56:00.002+03:002011-09-20T09:27:07.418+03:00New MMA season starts off with a bang in FinlandIt has become a tradition here in Finland that MMA promotions will be on the shelf for the summer time and most of the activity will happen during the winter time. As most people know winter here in Finland means freezing weather and dark days which makes the Finns want to spend time indoors watching their hockey games and of course sanctioned violence in a form of MMA.<br />
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The season 2011-2012 looks to be a great one. For the following month we got great events coming up back to back. Botnia Punishment on 23th of September is the first one, Fight Festival 31 on 1th of October will follow and Cage 16 on the 8th of October will be the third major event inside of three weeks. And of course smaller local shows are putting on shows in the fall too. It's good to be a MMA fan now in Finland!<br />
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<a href="http://botniapunishment.com/?p=689">Botnia Punishment "X"</a>. 23.9.2011 at Seinäjoki: In the main event hometown hero Jarkko "Forging Hammer" Latomäki will fight Sweden's experienced Diego Gonzalez (Sengoku, M-1, Bodog vet). After a disappointing loss to Ivan Buchinger, Latomäki has racked up couple of wins over lesser competition and now it's time to up raise the ante. Gonzalez has lost his last two and he needs a win here to get his career back on track. Finland vs Sweden setting is always a good starting point for a great fight and I don't think still will be an exception. <br />
Other fights on the card include Norwegian vet Thomas "moon Lee" Hytten vs UK's James "Scraps" Saville. Finland rising welterweight talent Olli-Jaakko Uitto looks to bounce back to winning ways against the French Manuel Sully.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kamppailuopisto.com/fightfestival/kalenteri.html">Fight Festival 31:</a> On the paper FF 31 might be the promotion's most stacked card ever. The card is loaded with UFC veterans, European top tenners and high quality prospects. In the main event Lucio Linhares, who is fighting his way back to the UFC only this time to welterweight division, gets a dangerous challenge from UFC vet Kenny Robertson who undoubtedly has the same plan as Linhares.<br />
Finnish Lightweight powerhouse Niko Puhakka looks to keep his winning streak alive against gritty UFC vet John Gunderson. <br />
LHW prospect Marcus "Caveman" Vänttinen has been furiously training after Attila Vegh ended the Finn's eleven fight win streak with a decision win. The young Finn is really hungry for a win here but Vänttinen's job won't be easy as he faces off with UFC vet Victor Välimäki who returns to the land of his great grandfather.<br />
In a super exciting lightweight bout Finland's rising LW star J-P Vainikainen gets a tough challenge from the UFC vet Steve Lopez.<br />
Joni Salovaara, a young Finn who's riding a six fight win streak, will lock horns with UK's seasoned vet Paul Reed.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mmafinland.fi/tapahtumat.php">Cage 16</a>: Cage promotion relies once again on Finland's most popular MMA fighter Anton Kuivanen to deliver an exciting main event for the fans. Kuivanen was supposed to meet UFC vet Curt Warburton of UK but unfortunately Warburton injured his leg and is out. A replacement hasn't been announced officially yet but there are some very interesting names on the table. <br />
Number two ranked featherweight in Europe Tom "Stoneface" Niinimäki returns to the cage after a eleven month lay-off that was caused mainly by guys not wanting to fight him. France's Johnny Frachey has the balls to face Niinimäki and is currently riding an impressive five fight win streak.<br />
Finland's top welterweight Ville Räisänen defends his Cage belt against Sweden's Assan Njie who has an excellent record of twelve wins and just two losses in his career.<br />
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More detailed previews of FF31 and Cage 16 will be published a week before the events.Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-34730098225096719762011-09-09T15:09:00.000+03:002011-09-09T15:09:33.726+03:00Finn-fueled DARE promotion interviewed by MMAVikingFinns are doing big things in Thailand. Read more about it:<br />
<a href="http://www.mmaviking.com/finnish-team-dares-to-grow-mma-in-thailand/">http://www.mmaviking.com/finnish-team-dares-to-grow-mma-in-thailand/</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-91454553376239198312011-09-06T19:22:00.000+03:002011-09-06T19:22:24.771+03:00A look at Botnia Punishment X by MMA VikingMMAViking has a great interview of the guys behind the Botnia Punishment and their views on the upcoming event named "X". The event will take place in Seinäjoki on the 23th of September with Jarkko Latomäki and Diego Gonzalez in the main event.<br />
<a href="http://www.mmaviking.com/botnia-punishment-x/">Check out the interview at MMAViking.com!</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-32740494959275127242011-08-18T15:19:00.001+03:002011-08-25T10:51:57.948+03:00Back in Business....Upcoming events, Niinimäki Interview at MMAHQIt seems that the summer is fading away and turning into fall. That maybe sad for some folks but for us MMA fanatics it means one thing: Finnish MMA scene comes back to life! We got two big events coming up in October: Fight Festival 31 on the 1st and Cage 16 on the 8th. Both events have awesome cards coming up. Check out the line-ups and event info from the promotions websites: <a href="http://fightfestival.com/">Fight Festival</a> and <a href="http://www.mmafinland.fi/">Cage</a>.<br />
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Also check out the new <a href="http://www.mmahq.com/blog/2011/08/17/interview-tom-niinimaki-calm-before-the-storm/">interview of Tom Niinimäki by the MMA HQ</a>. Finland's top ranked featherweight is fighting at the Cage 16 event. <br />
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Niinimäki is featured also on the Cage Junkie website in it's <a href="http://cagejunkies.com/2011/08/the-next-big-thing-tom-%E2%80%9Cstoneface%E2%80%9D-niinimaki/">Next Big Thing section.</a> Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-21788485398510501612011-05-14T07:39:00.000+03:002011-05-14T07:39:52.723+03:00Rock And Brawl PreviewRock And Brawl show that will place this saturday 14th of May in Kouvola, Finland is a newcomer in the Finnish MMA scene. This first event by the promotion has been bundled together with the Finnish national amateur MMA championships and a rock concert. Quite a mix, huh? Amateur bouts will take place during daytime and in the evening it's time for the professional MMA fights. After the fights hard rock bands will take over, so people can stay on the same spot, get hammered and party on. Sounds like a good concept to me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vho4ocVfq-6RnCdNzf3YiFE8IyjUzy3s8ZQ2zlFGfKHOfm229yX2He4_WQE8js6tHqdS1WiuoRFGmthVsFuka91LHjp2shu55PgxCbzfTCKctxq38dvBaQVJ9LTMkZ4vzW3waWOnUlc/s1600/julisteweb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="233" width="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vho4ocVfq-6RnCdNzf3YiFE8IyjUzy3s8ZQ2zlFGfKHOfm229yX2He4_WQE8js6tHqdS1WiuoRFGmthVsFuka91LHjp2shu55PgxCbzfTCKctxq38dvBaQVJ9LTMkZ4vzW3waWOnUlc/s1600/julisteweb.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b>LHW fight: Marcus “Caveman” Vänttinen (20-2) vs Attila "Pumukli" Vegh (21-4-2)</b><br />
In the main event of the evening Finland’s top prospect Marcus “Caveman” Vänttinen meets the dangerous Attila “Pumukli” Vegh of Slovakia.<br />
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In his last two fights Vänttinen has completely manhandled two UFC veterans. Vänttinen first crushed Ron Faircloth in two minutes with vicious knees and ground and pound. Second victim was Edwin Dewees who could hang with Vänttinen for three minutes before he got smashed on the ground by Vänttinen’s ground and pound. The Dewees bout at Fight Festival 30 was Vänttinen’s fifth fight in six months. In October 2010 Vänttinen dominated UFC vet Ivan Serati on the ground and finished him in just four minutes. This was followed a unanimous decision win at Cage 14 over American Victor O’Donnell who fans might remember from the Ultimate Fighter show. Since dropping a decision to Rodney Wallace back in 2009, tall and lanky Vänttinen has made massive improvements during the last two years both to his physical performance and to his MMA skill set. Vänttinen uses his reach very well keeping his opponents on the outside with a stiff jab. In the clinch his solid Muay Thai skills and brute force come in to play. On the ground he likes to grind his opponents with short punches and elbows while looking for submissions and maintaining tight positional control. The young Finn walks around at 220 pounds but for a big light heavyweight he has shown excellent stamina in his fights that have gone full rounds. Vänttinen is currently riding an amazing eleven fight win streak and has openly stated that getting signed by the UFC is his goal at the moment. A win over a top level European fighter in Vegh would move the 24 year old Finn a step closer to reaching his goal.<br />
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Fighting since 2008 Slovakia’s Attila “Pumukli” Vegh has been working hard and slowly making his way towards the top of European Light Heavyweight division. For a pro fighter working hard means fighting a lot and that is exactly what Vegh has done. In 2009 he fought eleven times and in 2010 ten times, making him the busiest fighter in the Euro circuit. In his last three fights “Pumukli”, which means little devil in fairy tales, has gone 1-1-1. First he fought for the ISKA European LHW belt against Denmark’s Simon Carlsen. In the second round the Dane slammed Vegh on his head and finished the Slovakian with ground and pound. In February of 2011 Vegh fought a draw in a two round bout against the highly regarded Dutchman Hans Stringer. Vegh won his latest fight via a corner stoppage over Russia’s Baga Agaev who just few days ago armbarred Kevin Randleman at the WAFC. Fighting a draw with Stringer and beating a legit veteran in Agaev prove that Vegh isn’t far from the European top ten in his weight class. <br />
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In summary: Vegh is at his best on the feet where he uses his reach well and has a good arsenal of striking skills. However, Vegh’s wrestling and clinch work are average at best and that could lead to trouble in this fight. Vänttinen’s increasingly imposing strength allows him to strong-arm his opponents in the clinch and punish them with crushing knee strikes. While Vegh is certainly a dangerous opponent for Vänttinen both standing and on the ground, I expect the young Finn to continue on his winning ways and finish his opponent within two rounds.<br />
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<b>LW (155 lbs/70 kg): Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (16-5, Finland) vs Josh ”Platypus” Pulsifer (16-5, USA)</b><br />
Finnish striker JP Vainikainen faces American grappler Josh Pulsifer in an exciting lightweight bout. <br />
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Espoo’s JP Vainikainen is on a roll right now and steadily making his way to the top ten of European Lightweight division. The young Finn is riding a five fight win streak, finishing four of those fights. In his last two fights Vainikainen has beaten experienced Americans in Brian Geraghty and Ryan Bixler. At the Fight Festival 29 Vainikainen outstruck UFC veteran Gegarthy and won by decision. In his latest fight at the Fight Festival 30 Vainikainen dropped Team Quest’s Bixler with a beautiful overhand right and finished him on the ground. Six foot tall (183 cm) Vainikainen has a long frame and limbs for the LW division. Long reach combined with his technically solid striking makes him a tough fight for anyone who isn’t a powerful wrestler. On the ground Vainikainen can certainly handle himself too and has numerous submission wins to back this claim. <br />
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American Josh “Platypus” Pulsifer has been fighting pro since 2006 and during that time gathered a pretty good record (16-5 at the UG, 12-5 according to Sherdog) against moderate competition. Pulsifer comes from a wrestling background that can be seen in his grappling heavy fighting style. He has been training for a long time under BJJ black belt Piet Wilhelm who has transformed him for a pure wrestler to a submission grappler. His ground skills can be seen from his record too as eight of his twelve wins have become via submission. Pulsifer, who teaches history to high school kids for a living, has been fighting down at featherweight before and this will be his first fight in the lightweight division.<br />
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In summary: Pulsifer will shoot for takedowns right from the start and try to get this fight to the ground. While Pulsifer will probably be smaller than his opponent, I believe his high level wrestling will lead to successful takedowns. However, keeping Vainikainen on the ground is another story. Vainikainen will have a significant reach advantage on the feet that he will surely want to use. I believe Vainikainen will try to use his crisp straight punches to control the distance and punish Pulsifer when he tries to close the distance.<br />
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Other fights on the card:<br />
3x5 min -155 lbs / -70,3 kg<br />
Lauri Väätäinen MMA Utti vs<br />
Tadas Aleksonis Lithuania<br />
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2x5 min -170 lbs / -77,1 kg<br />
Johan Vänttinen Fight Factory Porvoo vs<br />
Jake Anttila Mäntän Sutemi/Team BP<br />
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2x5 min -170 lbs / -77,1 kg<br />
Lauri Tonteri MMA Utti vs<br />
Dmitri Chelpanov Russia<br />
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2x5 min -205 lbs/ -93 kg<br />
Saku Heikkola Valkeakosken Heracles vs.<br />
Grigory Gordeiko, Russia<br />
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2x5 min -185 lbs / -83,9 kg<br />
Aleksandr Efimov MMA Utti vs<br />
Nikita Golovchanskiy Russia<br />
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2x5min -205lbs/-93 kg<br />
Antti Kästämä GB-Gym Helsinki vs<br />
Antti Kinnunen Edge Vantaa<br />
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2x5 min -155 lbs / -70,3 kg<br />
Lauri Kinnunen MMA Utti vs<br />
Roman Porval Russia<br />
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2x5 min -145 lbs / -65,8 kg<br />
Tommi Marttinen Mikkelin Full Contact vs<br />
Rashad Muradov RussiaNorthernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-88782624684773393902011-04-30T21:20:00.000+03:002011-04-30T21:20:03.581+03:00Cage 15: Kuivanen takes the Lightweight belt; Puhakka wins by submission<a href="http://www.mmafinland.fi/">Cage 15</a> event offered a night full of exciting Mixed Martial Arts bouts for the fight fans at the Barona Arena in Espoo, Finland. <br />
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Main event of the night was the Lightweight title fight between the champion Ivan Buchinger (16-3) and the challenger Anton Kuivanen (15-4). Beforehand the fight was seen as a classic striker versus grappler fight and that is also pretty much how it played out. Hometown hero Kuivanen came out strong with a heavy straight right that landed flush and seemed to set the tone for the fight. Buchinger looked slow on the feet against the explosive Finn and resorted to pushing Kuivanen against the cage. Buchinger worked hard for takedowns but Kuivanen stuffed them with ease and scored a takedown of his own near the end of the first round. In the second round Buchinger tried to push the pace by pressing forward but Kuivanen got the better of the striking exchanges, punished Buchinger on the ground with hard shots and sprawled out of the takedown attempts. Near the end of second round Kuivanen landed couple of hard low kicks that made Buchinger’s front leg buckle. In the third and final round Kuivanen managed to hit Buchinger with a flurry of strikes that wobbled Buchinger on the feet. In survival mode Buchinger shot for a takedown but ended up on the bottom. Kuivanen rained heavy strikes from the top and the referee was very close to stopping the fight with a minute left but the gutsy Slovakian pulled through and made it to the bell. Kuivanen was awarded with a lopsided unanimous decision and the Cage lightweight belt. The Finnish striking machine has now won his last eight fights. A dominant performance over a high level Euro lightweight in Buchinger proves that Kuivanen is definitely ready for bigger stages and tougher challenges.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gbgym.com/kamppailu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/kuva_vapaaottelu_cage15_09_anton_kuivanen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="450" width="265" src="http://www.gbgym.com/kamppailu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/kuva_vapaaottelu_cage15_09_anton_kuivanen.jpg" /></a></div>Finnish Lightweight star Anton Kuivanen is ready for big leagues. Photo by Kulmassa.fi<br />
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In the second title fight of the night Finnish warriors Ville Räsänen and Olli-Jaakko Uitto locked horns for the Cage welterweight belt. In the first round the strong grapplers fought a lot in the clinch against the cage and exchanged knee strikes. Near end of the round Räsänen stuffed Uitto’s takedown and dropped down for a guillotine choke. The choke looked tight but experienced submission grappler Uitto defended well and eventually popped his head out. In the second round Räsänen got in couple of heavy shots on the feet that made Uitto shoot for takedowns. It looked like Uitto hurt his knee in one of those takedown attempts and couldn’t continue after the second round. Uitto’s injury meant that Ville Räsänen got a TKO win in his first title defense and took the belt back to Imatra.<br />
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Finnish lightweight powerhouse Niko Puhakka (23-11) made short work of Spain’s Manuel Garcia (20-12). Garcia, who has been fighting since 1995, is a true veteran of the sport and a very good grappler with twelve submission wins on his record. It was obvious that Puhakka had the advantage on the feet and that Garcia wanted to take the fight to the ground as soon as possible. After a feeling out period Garcia got what he wanted and took Puhakka down but the strong Finn quickly swept his opponent and got on top. Puhakka landed couple of hard elbows on Garcia on the ground. As Garcia was working his way up, Puhakka quickly spun to his back and slapped a rear naked choke on the Spaniard. Puhakka didn’t even have any hooks in but the Finn squeezed tight and forced Garcia to tap out. Puhakka has now won six of his last seven fights with the only loss coming to Chute Boxe’s Luiz Azeredo who beat Puhakka by decision at the Fight Festival 28.<br />
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The fourth fight on the main card was a featherweight bout between Finland’s rising young star Joni Salovaara (8-4) and then undefeated Estonian grappler Jorgen Matsi (5-1). Right off the bat physically strong Matsi pressed forward, put Salovaara against the cage and worked for takedowns. Salovaara however kept his calm, stuffed the takedown attempts and circled away from the cage. On the feet Salovaara landed hard upper cuts and a beautiful flying knee on Matsi but the bull headed Estonian kept pressing forward. The fight went to the judges who awarded Salovaara with the unanimous decision. The young Finn has made massive improvements to his game and is now riding a six fight win streak.<br />
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<b>Cage 15 results</b><br />
Cage LW title fight 155 lbs / 70,3kg: Ivan Buchinger vs Anton Kuivanen: Kuivanen by UD <br />
Cage WW title fight 170lbs / 77,1kg: Ville Räsänen vs OJ Uitto: Räsänen by TKO R2<br />
70,3 kg: Niko Puhakka vs Manuel Garcia: Puhakka by RNC R1<br />
65,8 kg: Joni Salovaara vs Jorgen Matsi: Salovaara by UD<br />
77,1 kg: Kai Puolakka vs Serfei Bigisev: Puolakka by UD<br />
Women 65,8 kg: Katja Kalliokoski vs Ekaterina Tarnavskaja: Kalliokoski by RNC R1<br />
79,0 kg: Reza Faezi vs Valts Visnevskis: Visnevskis by armbar R1<br />
65,8 kg: Antti Virtanen vs Greger Forsell: Forsell by UD<br />
65,8 kg Ilja Soisalo vs Viktor Tomasevic: Tomasevic by armbar R1<br />
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Check out the Cage 15 photo galleries at <a href="http://www.kulmassa.fi/">Kulmassa.fi</a> and <a href="http://www.pakkotoisto.com/copper/thumbnails.php?album=337">Pakkotoisto.com</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-5539418992843419402011-04-29T17:48:00.008+03:002011-04-29T22:11:04.806+03:00Cage 15 LIVE resultsLive results from Cage 15 at the Barona Arena in Espoo, Finland<br />
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fight card:<br />
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Cage WW title fight 170lbs / 77,1kg: Ville Räsänen vs OJ Uitto: Räsänen by TKO R2<br />
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Cage LW title fight 155 lbs / 70,3kg: Ivan Buchinger vs Anton Kuivanen: Kuivanen by UD<br />
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70,3 kg: Niko Puhakka vs Manuel Garcia: Puhakka by RNC R1<br />
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65,8 kg: Joni Salovaara vs Jorgen Matsi: Salovaara by UD<br />
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77,1 kg: Kai Puolakka vs Serfei Bigisev: Puolakka by UD<br />
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Women 65,8 kg: Katja Kalliokoski vs Ekaterina Tarnavskaja: Kalliokoski by RNC R1<br />
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79,0 kg: Reza Faezi vs Valts Visnevskis: Visnevskis by armbar R1<br />
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65,8 kg: Antti Virtanen vs Greger Forsell: Forsell by UD<br />
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65,8 kg Ilja Soisalo vs Viktor Tomasevic: Tomasevic by armbar R1Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-44100414342007259862011-04-28T22:26:00.001+03:002011-04-28T22:26:38.062+03:00Cage 15 weight-in resultsCage 15 weight-in report (in Finnish) with pics at the <a href="http://www.kulmassa.fi/?p=7379#more-7379">Kulmassa.fi</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kulmassa.fi/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/kuva_vapaaottelu_cage15_vaaka_09_ivan_buchinger-anton_kuivanen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="220" width="315" src="http://www.kulmassa.fi/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/kuva_vapaaottelu_cage15_vaaka_09_ivan_buchinger-anton_kuivanen.jpg" /></a></div>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-41065780816714106172011-04-28T17:51:00.002+03:002011-04-28T17:54:30.417+03:00M-1Global Challenge XXV Live streamYou can watch the M-1 Challenge fights live at the <a href="http://www.m-1global.com/">M-1 Global website</a><br />
Fights start at 11.30 AM EST which is 19.30 EET.Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-33164284941490400412011-04-23T18:00:00.004+03:002011-04-24T14:09:19.238+03:00Cage 15 Preview<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.mmafinland.fi/tapahtumat.php"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666;">Cage promotion</span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"> has been quickly making its way to the very top of European fight promotions and this Cage 15 event could pump up the promotion’s stock even higher. The card features Top Ten European fighters in Anton Kuivanen, Ivan Buchinger and Niko Puhakka . The crown of the evening is the lightweight title fight between two top euro LW’s in Anton Kuivanen and Ivan Buchinger. Both guys are looking to get signed by a major promotion so there’s a lot in stake in this fight. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mmafinland.fi/sivukuvat/11301301781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.mmafinland.fi/sivukuvat/11301301781.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><b>Cage Lightweight Title Fight: Anton Kuivanen (14-4-0) vs Ivan Buchinger (15-2-0) Slovakia</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">Two top level European lightweights on the verge of breaking into international MMA scene fight for the Cage lightweight belt in a classic striker versus grappler bout.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">The main event of the night features once again hometown hero Anton Kuivanen who is the biggest draw in Finnish MMA and thus a vital fighter also for the Cage promotion. The young Finn is known for his flashy striking and entertaining fighting style. American Top Team’s </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Kuivanen has a great record of 14-4, but it’s getting even better all the time. He’s 10-1 in his last eleven with the only loss coming in the hands of Bendy Casimir in a fight that Kuivanen was clearly winning before getting caught in a knee bar. Since that loss the rapidly improving Finn has won all his fights in a dominating fashion and is currently riding a seven fight win streak. Kuivanen’s highly versatile and explosive striking is still his main weapon of choice but during the last couple of years he has managed to take his wrestling and ground game to another level also.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Cage lightweight champion Ivan “Buki” Buchinger trains at the Ultra Fight Club that has produced many high quality and exciting fighters like Attila Vegh, Miodrag Petkovic and the talented UFC fighter Goran Reljic. The Slovakian was awarded with the belt when he beat Finnish wrestling powerhouse Jarkko Latomäki at the Cage 14. In that fight Buchinger displayed his excellent ground skills. After getting taken down by Latomäki, Buchinger quickly swept his opponent and took his back. As Latomäki tried to escape, Buchinger saw an opening and applied a fight ending rear naked choke on Latomäki. Buchinger has very good positional grappling as seen in the Latomäki fight that he uses to get the back of his opponent. Once the back mount is achieved, he maintains his position with great technique and goes for the RNC or some other submission. His striking isn’t on the same level as his grappling, but he can hold his own on the feet too. Buchinger’s career opened up with 12 straight victories mainly from local shows before he got beat twice in a row: first by the renowned Swede Hamid “Akira” Corassani and then by the Russian Sergey Golyaev who knocked out Buchinger in May of 2010. However, Buchinger has quickly bounced back from those losses and won his last four fights.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">In summary: Because of the difference in the skill sets of these two, it should be quite easy to predict how this fight will play out. Buchinger, who is armed with super slick jiu-jitsu and friction pants, knows that he’s going to get smoked on the feet in this fight. I expect Buchinger to shoot for the takedowns early and often and even resort to pulling guard if he can’t get the fight on the ground otherwise. Kuivanen will look to use his improved grappling to stuff the takedown attempts by Buchinger and keep the fight on the feet where he can use his devastating striking to pick his opponent apart. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><b>Cage Welterweight Title Fight: Ville Räsänen (9-3-0) vs. Olli-Jaakko Uitto (7-0-1)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">Cage Welterweight champion Ville Räsänen defends his belt for the first time against Olli-Jaakko Uitto who beat Räsänen back in 2008 with an armbar submission.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Former Finnish national MMA champion Ville Räsänen has stepped up his game considerably during the last two years. Räsänen is 4-1 in his last five with the only loss coming to UFC vet David Bielkheden in a fight that Räsänen took on a very short notice. Räsänen captured the Cage welterweight belt by beating tough Gustavo Picone (13-3) of Switzerland via unanimous decision at Cage 14. The fight was a grueling back and forth slugfest where both fighters were on thin ice at times. In the end Imatra MMA’s pupil’s strong physique, high quality grappling and pure gameness got him the nod from the judges.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">The challenger Olli-Jaakko Uitto is still undefeated mostly thanks to his excellent grappling skills and great conditioning. In his recent fights Uitto beat fellow Finns Toivianen and Puolakka who are just starting their professional career but who both are already highly skilled MMA fighters. Uitto, who has competed victoriously also in submission grappling, has powerful takedowns and a suffocating top game that he uses together with strikes to grind out his opponents. Uitto has technically solid striking but so far he has used strikes mainly just to set up takedowns.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">In Summary: While Uitto is not the most exciting fighter, as a versatile and powerful grappler he is a difficult opponent for most European fighters. However, I don’t think that is the case with Räsänen who fought very well on the ground with BJJ black belt in Picone. The hardnosed Räsänen should have the advantage on the feet it but it remains to be seen if he can keep the fight standing. This fight might not be the prettiest but I believe it’ll be a grueling battle between two hungry fighters who will leave it all to the cage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><b>Lightweight fight: Niko Puhakka (22-11-0) vs Manuel Garcia (20-11-0)</b></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><b> Spain</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Finnish lightweight powerhouse Niko Puhakka has been keeping himself busy lately fighting five times in 2010 and this will be his third fight already in 2011. Puhakka has found great success in his recent fights, going 8-2 in his last ten. Puhakka’s two losses were to Marcus Aurelio by sub and to Luiz Azeredo who managed squeeze a decision win from the Finn. Over the years Puhakka has transformed from a brawler to a technically versatile fighter. His striking has been crisp and tight for a long time but he has also shown very good ground skills lately. Especially in his fights against Azeredo and Maciej Gorski, Puhakka displayed great jiu-jitsu on the ground.<span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">Spain’s Manuel Garcia is a true veteran of MMA. Fighting since 1995 the Spaniard has fought a lot of tough guys ranging from UFC vets Dan Hardy, Jess Liaudin and Luigi Fioravanti to top European talents Diego Gonzalez and Kenneth Rosfort. Garcia has a strong base in jiu-jitsu so it’s natural that ground fighting is his foundation in MMA and twelve of the twenty career wins have become via submission. Garcia has fought at middleweight in the past and at welterweight in his recent bouts but I believe this is the first time he cuts down to lightweight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">In Summary: While Garcia as a very experienced fighter can handle himself anywhere the fight ends up, it's obvious that he would prefer a ground fight against the hard hitting Puhakka. Garcia might very well score a takedown on Puhakka but keeping the Finn on the ground is a different story. Puhakka should have the advantage on the feet with his technically sound boxing skills. It’s hard to predict how much Garcia’s weight cutting to lightweight will tax his performance but the longer the fight goes; the more it should favor Puhakka. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><b>Featherweight fight: </b><span class="apple-style-span"><b>Joni Salovaara ( 7-4-0 ) vs Jorgen Matsi ( 5-0-0 ) Estonia</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">After his fighting career got off with a rocky start Joni Salovaara has found his rhythm and won his last five bouts against respectable competition. In his latest fight against the German based American Anthony Durnell, Salovaara showed the whole versatility of his skill set. The young Finn landed good shots on the feet, took his opponent down few times and eventually slapped on a fight ending triangle choke. Besides MMA Salovaara has recently competed also in boxing and worked on his already good striking skills. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Like most guys from the Team Scared and Paranoid also Jorgen Matsi has a strong base in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Matsi is still quite green in MMA and hasn’t fought very recognizable names but his latest two opponents Antti Virtanen and Nikolajs Haustovs are legit wins for a young up-n-comer like Matsi. In the various grappling competitions Matsi has competed he has played a very active submission oriented game, so it has been a bit surprising that he has won his last four MMA fights by decision. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">In Summary: Beforehand this fight looks like yet another striker versus grappler match up. While Matsi isn’t clueless on the feet, I would be shocked if he can strike competitively with Salovaara. I expect the Estonian to try to push Salovaara against the cage and work for takedowns from there. Matsi also has very good flying triangles and flying armbars that he can try to pull off from the clinch. Salovaara knows he has a significant advantage on the feet so good foot work and accurate striking are the keys to victory for him.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"><b>Prelims: </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">Featherweight fight: Ilja Soisalo ( 1-5-1 ) vs. Viktor Tomasevic ( 1-2-0 ) Lithuania</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333;">Featherweight Antti Virtanen ( 4-2-1) vs Greger Forsell ( 2-0-1 )</span></span> <br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333;">Welterweight fight: Kai Puolakka ( 4-2-0 ) vs. Sergei Bigisev ( 2-0-0 ) Lithuania<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;">Middleweight fight:Reza Faezi (0-0-0 ) vs Nerijus Slepetis ( 1-2-0 ) Lithuania</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333;">Womens fight: Katja Kalliokoski ( 3-0-0 ) vs. Ekaterina Tarnavskaja( 0-0-2 ) Ukraine<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
Remember to check out LIVE results from my blog on the fight night and event report the day after!<br />
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<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-35889305122183718272011-04-02T20:30:00.002+03:002011-04-02T20:30:47.267+03:00M-1 Ukraine International Club Grand PrixM-1 Ukraine GP stream is now available at the <a href="http://www.m-1global.com/">M-1 website.</a> Awesome fights coming up!Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-90085315781320956632011-04-02T13:21:00.000+03:002011-04-02T13:21:39.216+03:00Fight Festival 30 fight videos now available online at Fast TVYou can now watch all the Fight Festival 30 fights from Fast TV. The event had loads of absolutely awesome fights.<br />
<a href="http://www.gymtv.fi/index.php?viewkey=0780a2142a6eb7bc4f3c">Fight Festival 30 at Fast TV</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-70004352892797863692011-04-01T16:50:00.001+03:002011-04-01T18:23:51.724+03:00M-1 Selection Europe - live streamM-1 Selection Europe event will start in an hour or so and they will air the whole event live on the net.<br />
Check it out:<br />
<a href="http://www.m-1global.com/">http://www.m-1global.com/</a>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877886750667159504.post-32771406722180490522011-03-17T19:19:00.000+02:002011-03-17T19:19:47.158+02:00UFC 128 Ennakkokatsaus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">19.3.2011 Prudential Center, Newark, USA</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.heavy.com/media/2011/01/ufc128poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.heavy.com/media/2011/01/ufc128poster.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><br />
</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Pääkortti:</span></strong><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><br />
</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4) vs. Jon “Bones” Jones (12-1)</b>: Aijai tätä herkkua! Yhdessä kaikkien aikojen LHW-matsissa kohtaavat entinen ihmelapsi Shogun Rua ja nykyinen ihmelapsi Bones Jones. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Kohta kolmenkymmenen vuoden ikään ehtineen Shogunin ottelulistaa kun katsoo niin ”murderers' row ” on ensimmäinen asia mikä tulee mieleen. Lista on täynnä kevyen raskaansarjan legendoja: Liddell, Rampage, Machida, Coleman, Little Nog, Arona ja niin edelleen. Vastuksen taso huomioiden uran neljän tappiota yli 20 matsissa on todella vähän, mutta tappioita analysoi vielä vähän pintaa syvemmälle niin Shogun näyttää entistä paremmalle. Babalulle kärsitty kuristustappio vuodelta 2003 on selvä homma, mutta muissa kolmessa on hieman jossiteltavaa. Coleman-tappio tuli alasviennin yhteydessä tapahtuneen loukkaantumisen takia ja Forrest-tappion syynä oli polvivammasta johtunut paha keskenkuntoisuus. Ja suurin osa asiantuntevista MMA-faneista lienee yhtä mieltä siinä, että Shogun ei todellakaan hävinnyt Machidalle heidän ensimmäisessä kohtaamisessaan. Joka tapauksessa takana on loistava, mutta myös valitettavan vaivainen ura. Polvileikkauksia on nyt takana ainakin kolme, eikä mistään pienistä operaatioista ole kysymys. Tähänkin otteluun Shogun tulee polvioperaation aiheuttamalta ottelutauolta. Brassin taitopaketti (hieno suomennos skillsetistä) on varmasti kaikkien tiedossa: jäätävä tekninen thaikku pystyssä, keskinkertainen pystypaini ja hyvä mattopeli. Lisäksi vanhan koulun Pride-fanit muistavat kuinka vihaisesti Shogun lyö päältä. Heikkouksia ovat olleet tietyssä määrin alasvientien puolustus ja fyysinen suorituskyky, jotka liittyvät molemmat ainakin osittain polvivammoihin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Kun Jonesin typerä diskaustappio jätetään huomioimatta, on poikkeuksellisen lupauksen rekordi vielä puhtoinen. Jones on poikkeuksellinen, ei pelkästään fysiikkansa ja omaperäisten liikkeiden takia, vaan myös kehittymisen nopeuden suhteen. On uskomatonta, että mies ottelee UFC LHW-tittelistä vain kolme vuotta ammattilaisuran aloittamisen jälkeen ja astelee otteluun vielä suosikin paineet niskassa! Jonesin tähänastiset vastustajat eivät ole olleet Shogunin tasoa, mutta tapa, jolla Jones on heidät hoidellut, puhuu tylyä kieltä. Nuoren jenkin kreikkalaisroomalaistyylinen pystypaini tuntuu olevan varsinainen killeri vastustajille, jotka ovat tottuneet puolustamaan alasvientejä lähinnä sproolaamalla. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Yhteenveto: Jonesin alasvieminen on lähes mahdotonta, ja matossa Jonesin kontrolloiminen alta vaikuttaa olevan erittäin tuskallinen tehtävä (ks. Vera, Matyshenko, Bonnar ottelut). Pystyssä Jonesilla on aina valtava ulottuvuusetu puolellaan ja clinchissä hänen greco-taidot jyräävät. Kohtalaisen kova pähkinä Shogunille purtavaksi, mutta lääkkeitä on. Shogun luultavasti lähtee otteluun pitkälti samalla taktiikalla kuin Machidaa vastaan. Hyvä liike pystyssä, monipuolisia thaikkukombinaatioita tarpeeksi läheltä ja terävät alapotkut kontrauksena aina kun vastustaja liikkuu sisään. Oma veikkauksen mukaan Shogun pärjää alussa hyvin, mutta jossain vaiheessa Jones saa ottelun tonttiin ja se on lopun alku. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jones by TKO strikes R3<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Urijah Faber (24-4) vs. Eddie Wineland (18-6-1)</b>: Siviilissä leppoisa Faber on häkissä kuin ahma: pieni, helvetin kiukkuinen, sitkeä, nopea ja vahva. Entinen WEC-champpi Wineland on myös kova jannu, mutta otellut pääasiassa huomattavasti Faberia heikompia tyyppejä vastaan. Miesten tasoero näkyy selvimmin tappioita katsoessa. Siinä missä Faber on hävinnyt vain painoluokan absoluuttiselle kärjelle (Aldo, Brown, Griffin) , on Wineland hävinnyt Yahyan ja Beeben kaltaisille ottelijoille. Faber jyrää nopeudella ja painilla. Faber by TKO strikes R2<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Jim Miller (19-2) vs. Kamal Shalorus (7-0-2</b>): Aavistuksen ihmeellistä match makingia Joe Silvalta. Miller on voittanut viimeiset kuusi otteluaan, mikä on todella hyvin kivikovassa UFC LW-divarissa. Lisäksi työmyyrä on pieksänyt kahdessa viimeisissään Tibaun ja Oliveiran kaltaiset arvostetut tekijät, joten tuntuu ihmeellistä, että nyt vastaan laitetaan WEC-tuloaks Shalorus. Varsinkin kun Shaloruksen viime matsit ovat kovin tiukkoja splittituomioita Milleriä kevyempää vastusta vastaan. Iranilaissyntyinen Shalorus on erinomainen painija ja varsinainen kivilihasmöykky, mutta ottelemista leimaa jäykkyys ja sitä seuraava kaasuuntuminen. Miller on erittäin monipuolinen tekijä ja lyöntipeli on parantunut kokoajan. Toissa kerralla Miller löi Tibaulta polvet veteläksi. Shalorus pysyy alun hyvin mukana, mutta Miller kiristää pystyssä tahtia ottelun edetessä ja nappaa väsyneestä vastustajasta kuristusvoiton kolmannessa. Miller by RNC R3.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Nate Marquardt (30-10-2) vs. Dan Miller (13-4)</b>: Dan Miller korvaa loukkaantuneen Akiyaman ottelussa, jonka voittaminen on hänelle erittäin vaikeaa, varsinkin lyhyellä varoitusajalla.. Marquardt on ollut vaikeuksissa supervahvoja painijoita kuten Sonnenia ja Okamia vastaan, mutta isomman Millerin painipuoli tai fysiikka ei ole edellä mainittujen herrojen tasolla. Bisping ja Maia naputtivat Milleristä helposti pistevoiton pystyssä, mutta Marquardtilla on kovemmat kädet. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Marquardt by TKO R2.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Brendan Schaub (7-1) vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (27-8-2)</b>: Fighters Onlyn John Joen tekemästä muutaman päivän takaisesta <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMu_uhQVlVA">haastattelusta</a> käy hyvin ilmi miksi CroCop ei ole enää entisensä: lukuisat loukkaantumiset ja leikkaukset ovat syöneet parhaan fysiikan ja harjoittelumotivaatio on kaukana parhaista ajoista. Jacksonin leirin lupaava nuorukainen<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schaub dominoi viimeksi Gonzagaa pystyssä kolmen erän ajan. Nyrkkeilytaustalta ponnistavan Schaubin nopeus ja tekninen boksaus oli liikaa brassille ja mielestäni on hyvin todennäköistä, että se on liikaa myös Mirkolle. CroCop ei ole koskaan ollut mikään boksaaja, eikä herra pärjännyt hyvin käsillä lyöviä vastustajia vastaan. Nopeutensa turvin Schaub naputtaa tässä tyylipuhtaita osumia pysyen itse kohtalaisen koskemattomana. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Schaub by UD<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Prelit SpikeTV:llä:</span></strong><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><br />
</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Luiz Cane (10-3) vs. Eliot Marshall (10-2)</b>: Marshall korvaa sairastuneen Vemolan. Erinomaisesti UFC:ssa jo vuosia sitten aloittanut Banha Cane on kärsinyt pari kovaa tappiota viimeisessä kahdessaan. Ensin Pikku-Nogi täräytti brassin katolleen ja sitten Ranskan Cyrille Diabate toisti tempun UFC 114:ssa. Väkivaltaisesti häkissä käyttäytyvä Banha on pystyssä kovakätinen iskijä, mutta koppeja tulee omaan päähän vähän turhan helposti. Tuskastuttavan tylsän Matyshenko-matsin ja siinä tulleen tappion takia yllätyspotku saanut Marshall on voittanut tuon jälkeen kolme matsia UFC:n ulkopuolella. Marshall ei ole mikään erityisen hyvä ottelija millään osa-alueella, mutta matossa BJJ musta vyöllä pitäisi olla tässä matsissa etu puolellaan. Toivoisin kuitenkin, että Cane löytäisi vaihteeksi maalinsa ja päräyttäisi tähän kunnon highlight reel KO:n Cane by KO R1.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>Anthony Njokuani (13-4) vs. Edson Barboza Jr. </b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>(7-0</b>): Hehkuttelin tätä matsia jo UFC LW-divaria käsitelleessä <a href="http://beatingsfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2011/02/kansakunnan-tila-ufc-lightweight.html">jutussa</a>. Molemmat herrat ovat aivan karmeita Muay Thai terminaattoreita, joten odotusarvo matsin osalta on tapissa. Voihan se toki olla, että tämä menee kyttäilyksi niin kuin huippuiskijöiden väliset kohtaamiset joskus menevät. Molemmat ovat kuitenkin sen verran aggressiivista sorttia, että eiköhän tässä lyödä niin, että miestä kaatuu tai ainakin kilon paloja irtoaa. Barbozan potkupeli on luita murskaavaa, mutta Njokuanilla puolestaan kippiä lyönneissään. Barboza on suosikki, mutta itse kallistun Njokuanin puoleen. Njokuani by UD.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Prelit Facebookissa: </span></strong><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><br />
</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Ricardo Almeida (13-4) vs. Mike Pyle (20-7-</b>1): Pyle on viimeisissään paininut voitot Jesse Lennoxista ja John Hathawaysta, joka oli veteraanin uran suurin voitto. Tällä kertaa on vaikeampaa, sillä Almeidaa Pyle ei pysty painilla voittamaan. Epäilisin, että viimeksi TJ Grantin helposti voittanut Almeida on parempi pystyssä. Almeida by UD.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Kurt Pellegrino (16-5) vs. Gleison Tibau (21-7)</b>: Kahden voimapainijan kohtaaminen ei herätä kummemmin tuntemuksia puoleen jos toiseen. Tibau loistaa keskinkertaisuuksia vastaan, mutta huippu-ukkoja vastaan brassi tuntuu jäävän hieman vajaaksi. Pellegrinolla vähän sama tarina, joten siinä mielessä sopiva matsi. Pellegrino otteli hyvin pystyssä Sotiropoulosta vastaan, joten veikataan UD-voittoa New Jerseyn suuntaan. Pellegrino by UD.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Prelit:</span></strong><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><br />
</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Joseph Benavidez (13-2) vs. Ian Loveland (14-7</b>): Jopa 135-paunaisiin alikokoinen Benavidez on raju pikku-ukko, eikä tässä matsissa ole hirveästi järkeä. Ennen 145:ssa otellut Loveland on kyllä seitsemän voiton putkessa, mutta vastustajien taso on valovuosien päässä Benavidezesta. Benavidez by TKO strikes R2.<br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Erik Koch (11-1) vs. Raphael Assuncao (16-</b>3): Erittäin lupaava 22-vuotias Koch on hävinnyt vain kerran. Tuo tappio tuli pisteillä FW-sarjan ykköshaastaja, painijyrä Chad Mendesille. Assuncao on tasaisesti suorittava kovan luokan brassi , joka puristi viimeksi pistevoiton laadukkaasta LC Davisista. Uskoisin, että pystyssä Kochilla on kuitenkin etu. Koch by KO R1.</span></div><div style="line-height: 13.85pt; margin-bottom: 6.9pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>Nick Catone (8-2) vs. Costantinos Philippou (7-1):</b> Kotiyleisölle tehty matsi, jossa New Jerseyn Catone kohtaa Philippoun, joka on Renzon suojatti. Jesse Forbesista pistevoiton paininut Catone on kärsinyt polvivammoista ja ottelutaukoa on nyt yli vuosi. Philippou on ollut viime matseissaan ihan tekijämiehen oloinen. Philippou by UD </span></div>Northernmosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909141975881567739noreply@blogger.com0