Here is an interview with the Finnish lightweight fighter who'll face off against Red Devil's Mikhail Malyutin at the upcoming "Battle on the Neva 2" show
What sort of background do you have from other sports?
When I was younger I used to train in all sorts of disciplines such as judo, karate, boxing and kickboxing. I competed in karate when I was around six years old, but I don’t have any achievements from that time worth mentioning.
At what level do you see that MMA is in Finland right now?
The sport has evolved incredibly during the last years. I would say that Finnish fighters have a lot of strengths. Most notably, I feel that we have a strong will to fight and win. Generally you could say that we should work our physical strength levels up a bit.
Was the previous tournament in St. Petersburg the first time that you have been in Russia? What kind of memories do you have from the event?
It was the first time that I have been to Russia. The arrangements were dealt with in a very professional manner.
What do you think about the M-1 Challenge - project?
I find the competing to be very nice. It’s hard to know at this point how things will develope, as this is the first time that the project is being arranged. After the finals at the end of this year we will see where it all leads to.
How have you prepared for the upcoming fight and what do you know about your opponent?
I have plenty of information on Malutin. He is good at boxing and wrestling, plus he has good submission defence. I saw his match against Casimir Bendy and even though he lost, it was a competitive fight. Training has gone well during the last couple of weeks and I have kept my opponent in mind during my preparations.
Who would you like to compete against in the future?
I don’t have anyone specific in mind, but I hope to be able to compete against quality opponents. My goal is to make it to a big promotion at some point in my career.
Which fighters do you respect the most?
My coach Mikko Rupponen is one fighter I look up to. In addition to him, there’s of course Fedor and Randy. In my own weight class I like Joachim Hansen, because he is a really tough fighter.
