The Suomi team is the only team today to have won both times at the M-1 Challenge events. This fact helped Finland conquer the first place in the Group A. Even more impressive is that the Finnish athletes crushed as Korean as American opponents with 4-1 in 5 bouts. Now the leaders are going to be tested by strong Red Devil team members in the context of the 4-th installment of M-1 Challenge that gained the name "Battle on the Neva river".
But before they hit the stage in Saint Petersburg let us depict the fighters in great detail.
Grim tattoo's all over the body, superb physical shape and baleful stare - this is the how lightweight Niko Puhakka looks like. Excellent strategist with and ground savvy has come out victorious in 12 of 18 battles.
One of the better strikers of the team is considered Janne Tulirinta (7-2) who competes at 76 kg. He managed to finish more than half of his victorious bouts with (T)KO. However no slouch on the ground he proved it by winning his second fight at M-1 Challenge 3.
Middleweight of Finland is represented by ... Brazilian Lucio Linhares. Although born in South America he trained and fought mostly in Finland which earned him the right to compete for the country in question. No wonder he has black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was the only fighter to have lost his debut fight at M-1 Challenge 2 but it's worth mentioning he fought injured. After completely healing he demonstrated the skill level he possesses by making his outmatched opponent submit at the third M-1 Challenge event held in Spain. Lucio's professional MMA record is 8-3.
Let's move on to the next heavier (or let's call it lightheavier) Toni Valtonen. Fighting out of Espoon Kehahait just like his fellow companion-in-arms Niko Puhakka, Toni competed in major prestigious tournament of Finland Fight Festival. Actually Toni is the most experienced athlete in the team with 15 victories in 22 battles.One interesting fact: Niko lost to the former Dutch team representative Gegard Mousasi while Toni was submitted by Gegard's own brother Gewik Mousasi.
The last but not the least: the heavyweight fighter is 37 year old veteran Jarno Nurminen. His age and friendly look is definitely deceiving if you judge by his last outings on the ring. At M-1 Challenge in Spain his opponent even had to consult a ringside doctor regarding troubles with breathing after being submitted via rear naked choke by the Finn. Also Jarno gained victories over Korean fighters Ji Hoon Kim and Spirit MC champion Sang Su Lee. Jarno's MMA record is 3-1.
