Beatings 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.

Thanks to everyone who has read my scribblings over the past three years and I hope you all follow me to the MMAViking.com.

Announcement of the merger (big business) at MMAViking

You can still reach me at NorthernmostMMA AT gmail.com

Botnia Punishment X videos online

Videos from Botnia Punishment's event X are now online at Youtube. You can also view the vids at MMAViking

Cage 16: Kuivanen beats Meller, Niinimäki knocks out Frachey

Beforehand 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.

In the extremely exciting main event fight hometown hero Anton Kuivanen (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.

Anton Kuivanen is ready for the big stages (Photo by Kulmassa.fi)

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.

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.

Tom Niinimäki is a beast who has gone 6-0 at featherweight (Photo by Kulmassa.fi)

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.

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.

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.

Full results:
Cage Lightweight title bout: Anton Kuivanen (16-4-0) vs Thiago Meller (17-4-0), Brazil: Kuivanen by UD

Cage Featherweight title bout: Tom “Stoneface” Niinimäki (16-5-0) vs Johnny Frachey (13-8-0), France: Niinimäki by KO R1

Welterweight: Olli-Jaakko Uitto (8-1-1) vs Nicholas Musoke (7-2-0), Sweden: Musoke by UD

Lightweight (women 55kg / 122 lbs): Katja Kankaanpää (5-0-0) vs Karla Benitez (5-0-0) Spain: Kalliokoski by UD

Heavyweight: Jarno Nurminen (6-2-0) Team Scandinavia vs Catalin Zmarandescu (6-2-0) Romania: Nurminen by Submission strikes R1

Bantamweight: Heikki Tiilikka (5-3-0) vs Mikhael Daboville (4-4-0), France: Tiilikka by UD

Lightweight: Antti Virtanen (5-3-1) vs Viktor Tomasevic (3-2-1) , Lithuania: Virtanen by Split Decision

Lightweight: Lauri Väätäinen (5-3-0) vs Makwan Amirkhani (3-1-0): Amirkhani by Heelhook R1

Welterweight: Lauri Tonteri (3-2-0) vs Johan Vänttinen (5-2-0): Vänttinen by KO R1

Welterweight: Jussi Halonen (2-0-0) vs Sergei Kabalinov (1-0-0): Halonen by UD

Cage 16 LIVE results

LIVE results from Barona Arena at Espoo, Finland. Fights starts at 17.00 CET.

Cage Lightweight title bout: Anton Kuivanen (15-4-0) vs Thiago Meller (17-4-0), Brazil: Kuivanen by UD

Cage Featherweight title bout: Tom “Stoneface” Niinimäki (15-5-0) vs Johnny Frachey (13-8-0), France: Niinimäki by KO

Welterweight: Olli-Jaakko Uitto (8-1-1) vs Nicholas Musoke (6-2-0), Sweden: Musoke by UD

Lightweight (women 55kg / 122 lbs): Katja Kalliokoski (4-0-0) vs Karla Benitez (5-0-0) Spain: Kalliokoski by UD

Heavyweight: Jarno Nurminen (5-2-0) Team Scandinavia vs Catalin Zmarandescu (6-2-0) Romania: Nurminen by Sub strikes

Bantamweight: Heikki Tiilikka (4-3-0) vs Mikhael Daboville (4-4-0), France:Tiilikka by Ud

Lightweight: Antti Virtanen (4-3-1) vs Viktor Tomasevic (3-2-1) , Lithuania: Virtanen by UD

Lightweight: Lauri Väätäinen (5-3-0) vs Makwan Amirkhani (2-1-0): amirkani by Heelhook

Welterweight: Lauri Tonteri (3-2-0) vs Johan Vänttinen (4-2-0): Vänttinen by KO

Welterweight: Jussi Halonen (1-0-0) vs Sergei Kabalinov (1-0-0):Halonen by UD

Cage 16 - 1st Defense Preview

CAGE 16 - 1st Defense on October 8th 2011 at the Espoo Barona Arena.

Cage Lightweight title bout: Anton Kuivanen (15-4-0) vs Thiago Meller (17-4-0), Brazil
Finnish Lightweight star and hometown hero Anton Kuivanen defends his Cage belt against the dangerous Thiago “Minu” Meller from Brazil.

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.

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.

Cage Featherweight title bout: Tom “Stoneface” Niinimäki (15-5-0) vs Johnny Frachey (13-8-0), France
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.

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).

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.

Welterweight: Olli-Jaakko Uitto (8-1-1) vs Nicholas Musoke (6-2-0), Sweden
Two skilled fighters meet in a traditional Finland versus Sweden match up.

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.

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.

Also on the card:
Lightweight (women 55kg / 122 lbs): Katja Kalliokoski (4-0-0) vs Karla Benitez (5-0-0) Spain

Heavyweight: Jarno Nurminen (5-2-0) Team Scandinavia vs Catalin Zmarandescu (6-2-0) Romania

Bantamweight: Heikki Tiilikka (4-3-0) vs Mikhael Daboville (4-4-0), France

Lightweight: Antti Virtanen (4-3-1) vs Viktor Tomasevic (3-2-1) , Lithuania

Lightweight: Lauri Väätäinen (5-3-0) vs Makwan Amirkhani (2-1-0)

Welterweight: Lauri Tonteri (3-2-0) vs Johan Vänttinen (4-2-0)

Welterweight: Jussi Halonen (1-0-0) vs TBA

Don't forget to check out my blog for live results on fight night and event report afterwards!

Fight Festival 31: Robertson knocks out Linhares, Victorious Vänttinen announces deal with Bellator

Fight 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Full results:
Catchweight 80 kg / 178 Lbs: Lucio “Spartan” Linhares (16-6) vs Kenny Robertson (10-1), USA: Robertson by KO R1
Lightweight: Niko Puhakka (24-11) vs John Gunderson (32-11), USA: Puhakka by UD
Light heavyweight: Marcus ”Caveman” Vänttinen (21-3) vs Malid Merak (11-7), France: Vänttinen by TKO R2.
Welterweight: Janne Tulirinta (12-3) vs Sebastien Garguier (9-7), France: Draw
Lightweight: Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (17-5) vs Steve Lopez (12-5), USA: Draw
Featherweight: Joni Salovaara (9-4) vs Jeremy Pender (7-2), USA: Salovaara by TKO R3
Bantamweight: Janne Elonen-Kulmala (4-2) vs Donatas Karlonas (2-3), Lithuania: Jamba by UD
Bantamweight: Mikael Silander (2-0) vs Perttu Paatola (2-0): Silander by UD
Kickboxing WAKO European Championship 64,5 kg Jarkko Jussila vs Petar Zivkovic: Zivkovic by split Dec
Muay thai: Jaakko Dahlbacka vs Paulius Sileikis: Sileikis TKO cut R5

Fight Festival 31 Live Results

Fights start at 18.00 EET (6 PM EET).

Catchweight 80 kg / 178 Lbs: Lucio “Spartan” Linhares (16-6) vs Kenny Robertson (10-1), USA: Robertson by KO R1

Lightweight: Niko Puhakka (23-11) vs John Gunderson (32-11), USA: Puhakka by UD

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!

Welterweight: Janne Tulirinta (12-3) vs Sebastien Garguier (9-7), France: Draw

Lightweight: Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (17-5) vs Steve Lopez (12-5), USA: Draw

Featherweight: Joni Salovaara (8-4) vs Jeremy Pender (7-2), USA: Salovaara by TKO R3

Kickboxing WAKO European Championship 64,5 kg Jarkko Jussila vs Petar Zivkovic: Zivkovic by split Dec

Bantamweight: Janne Elonen-Kulmala (3-2) vs Donatas Karlonas (2-3), Lithuania: Jamba by UD

Bantamweight: Mikael Silander (1-0) vs Perttu Paatola (2-0): Silander by UD

Muay thai: Jaakko Dahlbacka vs Paulius Sileikis: Sileikis TKO cut R5

Fight Festival 31 Preview

Beforehand 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.

Catchweight 80 kg / 178 Lbs: Lucio “Spartan” Linhares (16-6) vs Kenny Robertson (10-1), USA
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.
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.
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.

Lightweight: Niko Puhakka (23-11) vs John Gunderson (32-11), USA
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.
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.
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.

Light heavyweight: Marcus ”Caveman” Vänttinen (20-3) vs Malid Merak (11-7), France
Finnish LHW prospect Marcus Vänttinen takes on the Frenchman Malid Merak who steps in on short notice for injured Victor Välimäki.
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.
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.

Welterweight: Janne Tulirinta (12-3) vs Sebastien Garguier (9-7), France
Bellator signee Janne Tulirinta makes a comeback after a two year hiatus against France’s Sebastien Garguier.
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.
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.

Lightweight: Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (17-5) vs Steve Lopez (12-5), USA
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.
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.
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.

Featherweight: Joni Salovaara (8-4) vs Jeremy Pender (7-2), USA
Finnish featherweight prospect Joni Salovaara tries to keep his winning streak alive against a slick grappler in Jeremy Pender.
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.
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.

Also on the card:
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.

Bantamweight: Janne Elonen-Kulmala (3-2) vs Donatas Karlonas (2-3), Lithuania
Young and talented “Jamba” makes a comeback after a serious injury and takes on a combat sambo veteran in Karlonas.

Bantamweight: Mikael Silander (1-0) vs Perttu Paatola (2-0)
Finnish MMA amateur champion Paatola fights undefeated Silander in a bout between two young guns.

In the nights lone Muay Thai bout Finland’s Jaakko Dahlbacka battles with Paulius Sileikis, a skilled striker from Lithuania.

New MMA season starts off with a bang in Finland

It 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.

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!

Botnia Punishment "X". 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.
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.

Fight Festival 31: 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.
Finnish Lightweight powerhouse Niko Puhakka looks to keep his winning streak alive against gritty UFC vet John Gunderson.
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.
In a super exciting lightweight bout Finland's rising LW star J-P Vainikainen gets a tough challenge from the UFC vet Steve Lopez.
Joni Salovaara, a young Finn who's riding a six fight win streak, will lock horns with UK's seasoned vet Paul Reed.

Cage 16: 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.
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.
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.

More detailed previews of FF31 and Cage 16 will be published a week before the events.