March, 15. Suomi capital experienced the next edition of the popular Fight Festival championship. Lots of bouts under the rules of MMA, muay thai, kick and K-1 were held in the overcrowded Olympic arena.
1. MMA rules / under 95 kg / 3x5 min
Nick Struve (Holland) vs Lukasz Porebski (Poland)
This bout was over pretty fast as the Polish took his adversary down and got ahold of his leg. Submission victory ensued.
Winner: Lukasz Porebski by submission R1
2. Female muay-thai/ - 52,5 kg / 5x3 min.
Mappela Lehtonen (Finland) vs Marina Zueva (Portugal)
The only round that went even was the first one. The following 4 rounds of this bout were clearly dictated by Marina Zueva (fighting out of Portugal). No one had any doubts in mind about who the winner will be especially after a knockdown by Zueva. Surprisingly enough the result was declared a draw. The fans booed instantly although it wouldn't change a thing. Marina left the ring followed by the applause from the crowd.
3. MMA / -73 kg / 3x5 min.
J-P Vainikainen (Finland) vs Mikko Broman (Finland)
Capitalizing on the reach advantage Vainikainen was winning in the exchange but he was having less advantage on the ground. In the second J-P attacked with the barrage of strikes to the head with no reaction from the helpless opponent. Luckily he was saved by the bell signalizing the end of the Round 2. Broman decided it was in his own interest to not show up for the final round.
Winner: J-P Vainikainen by TKO R2.
4. MMA / -77 kg / 2x5 min.
Janne Tulirinta (Finland) vs Christos Petroutos (Holland)
This one was relatively close although the Finn had a bit more advantage.
Winner: Janne Tulirinta by unanimous decision.
5. Kickboxing / +91 kg / 7x2 min.
Jukka Saarinen (Finland) vs Rafal Aleksandrowicz (Poland)
More experienced Rafal was more aggressive in the opening round. Nevertheless Jukka drew a good conclusion which resulted in his robust domination in the second. Jukka was pressing the action trying to catch the opponent with single shots in the corner. He reached the goal and Rafal hit the floor.
Winner: Jukka Saarinen by KO R3
6. MMA / -85 kg / 2x5 min.
Timo Suhonen (Finland) vs Roald Hartog (Holland)
Timo was leading in the fight constantly pressing the action. In the second he managed to take the opponent down and finish him in parter.
Winner: Timo Suhonen by TKO R2
7. Muay-thai / -81 kg / 5x3 min.
Ville Aalto (Finland) vs Goran Barjaktarovic (Holland)
Finnish representative turned out to be way more experienced in thai fights than his Dutch adversary. That all resulted in consequent knockdown and knockout courtesy of Finnish own.
Winner: Ville Aalto by KO R2
8. MMA / -63 kg / 2x5 min.
Mathias Klockars (Finland) vs Mikhail Zabaev (Latvia)
By unknown reason Mikhail looked lost before the first bell. As for his opponent, Finn looked very determined and ready to bang. The whole fight went rather swiftly and one-sided. Mathias took his opponent down and started teeing off until the refereecalled the bout.
Winner: Mathias Klockars by TKO R1
9. Muay-thai / -67 kg / 5x3 min.
Tommi Pitkala (Finland) vs Sergio Menig (Holland)
After the relatively even and close opening round Tommi forced the tempo aggressively charging into the battle. The result of his attacks Sergi finding himself on the bad side of KO.
Winner: Tommi Pitkala by KO R2
10. MMA / -95 kg / 3x5 min.
Toni Valtonen (Finland) vs Valdas Pocevicius (Lithuania)
This one didn't look as exciting as other bouts. Heavier Finn was constantly taking Valdas to the ground where he tried to strike from above. Lithuanian returned the favor by kicking his opponent in the groin three times while standing almost deserving DQ. In the last round Valdas realised he was on the losing end and tried to act aggressive while standing but Toni clinched and threw Valdas to the ground thus turning the bout back to its boring ways.
Winner: Toni Valtonen by Unanimous Decision
11. K-1 / -60 kg / 5x3 min.
Jesse Palanto (Finland) vs Lukasz Plawecki (Poland)
One of the best fights of the night. Every single round was filled with
actio. By the fifth round Lukasz got knocked down twice. Summoning his strength he put an effort in knocking his opponent out. But Finn wanted nothing of that and endured all the attacks.
Winner: Jesse Palanto by Unanimous Decision
12. MMA / -85 kg / 3x5 min.
Tor Troeng (Sweden) vs Daniel Acacio (Brazil)
Originally other fighters should've taken part in the main fight of the night. Unfortunately Mikko Rupponen suffered a knee injury shortly before March, 15. So was his potential American opponent. It all resulted in another main event: Swede vs Brazilian.
Having edge in experience Acacio was the one to dominate as in stand-up as on the ground. Tor was all defensive what helped him avoid early stoppage loss. Nevertheless no one doubted the judges' decision
Winner: Daniel Acacio by Unanimous Decision.
Special thanks for making this report happen goes out to the "Fighter" Chief Editor Tuomas Murdoch and Petteri Maunu who's responsible for organizing Figh Festival events.
