By Caoilte Barra
The weekend of the 4th-5th of July saw Amateur MMA return to Finland with the 2021 Finnish Championships. The Pori Fighting Sports Center in the City of Pori along the west coast of Finland welcomed the Finnish MMA Federation for the National Championships.
Over the two days, 44 bouts took place, 32 of those on Saturday and the remaining 12 bouts on the following day. The competition was a major success as 10 national champions were crowned. The winners of each category are now expected to represent Finland in the upcoming IMMAF competitions.
The championships were filled with experienced talent who have previously competed in IMMAF competition. Amongst those was the 2018 IMMAF European open champion, Jenna Horto who defeated Heli Pulkkinen to secure her Finland team for the third successive year. As she approaches her fifth IMMAF competition she will have her eyes locked on securing a third IMMAF medal.
At Featherweight, Miro Honkanen stole the show over the two-day competition. The MMA Imatra fighter endured four fights to secure the national title but did it flawlessly, splitting his victories between submission and decision wins. He has previously competed at the 2019 world championships where his grappling prowess was on show again. In his 3 fight stint, both of his wins came via submission before being outpointed in his final bout of the competition.
Up in the Lightweight division, the Espoon Kehähait gym secured the top two spots of the bracket. Similarly at Middleweight, Finnfighters Gym topped the table with 2019 IMMAF European open silver medalist Kirill Andreev and Roope Koskinen.
Now that the national championships are in the books, Finland can look ahead to the upcoming competitions knowing they have a tested squad of elite amateurs ready to represent the nation. Full results and medalists are as follows.
Saturday
| Fight # | Weight | Blue corner | Red Corner | Winner | Method | Time | Round |
| 1 | M -70,3kg | Rasberg Gwanzura | Leevi Heino | Rasberg Gwanzura | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 2 | M -70,3kg | Markus Isosomppi | Lasse Strömberg | Lasse Strömberg | TKO/KO | 2 | 2:21 |
| 3 | M -70,3kg | Naser Garban | Elmo Peltonen | Naser Garban | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 4 | M -70,3kg | Omar Tugarev | Anssi Toiviainen | Omar Tugarev | Submission | 2 | 2:23 |
| 5 | M -70,3kg | Matias Huotari | Max Sairanen | Max Sairanen | Submission | 1 | 0:47 |
| 6 | M -70,3kg | Joonas Toivola | Joona Kaisanlahti | Joona Kaisanlahti | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 7 | M -77,1kg | Jesse Mutikainen | Otto Saari | Otto Saari | TKO/KO | 3 | 2:25 |
| 8 | M -77,1kg | Oskari Stenholm | Osman Hamdi | Oskari Stenholm | Submission | 2 | 1:54 |
| 9 | M -65,8kg | Jimi Juvonen | Hama Dara | Hama Dara | Split Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 10 | M -65,8kg | Miro Honkanen | Mika Räsänen | Miro Honkanen | Submission | 2 | 1:43 |
| 11 | M -61,2kg | Robin Abdulhamed | Qugrat Dargai | Qugrat Dargai | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 12 | M -61,2kg | Alireza Aholami | Tomi Kasper | Alireza Aholami | TKO/KO | 3 | 2:02 |
| 13 | M -83,9kg | Valtteri Leinonen | Onni Saastamoinen | Onni Saastamoinen | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 14 | F -56,7kg | Minttu Elg | Sonja Pohjalainen | Sonja Pohjalainen | Submission | 1 | 0:36 |
| 15 | F -65,8kg | Jenni Kivioja | Iris Nihti | Iris Nihti | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| Break – 20 min | |||||||
| 16 | M -70,3kg | Mauri-Matti Lahti | Rasberg Gwanzura | Mauri-Matti Lahti | Split Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 17 | M -70,3kg | Waltteri Hakkinen | Omar Tugarev | Omar Tugarev | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 18 | M -70,3kg | Lasse Strömberg | Naser Garban | Naser Garban | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 19 | M -70,3kg | Max Sairanen | Joona Kaisanlahti | Joona Kaisanlahti | TKO/KO | 3 | 2:47 |
| 20 | M -77,1kg | Riku Kyyhkynen | Otto Saari | Otto Saari | Submission | 1 | 2:47 |
| 21 | M -77,1kg | Niko Aikonen | Oskari Stenholm | Niko Aikonen | Submission | 2 | 0:35 |
| 22 | M -77,1kg | Yvan Kasongo | Lemar Khan | Yvan Kasongo | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 23 | M -77,1kg | Niko Korventaus | Sergei Akkanen | Niko Korventaus | TKO/KO | 2 | 2:42 |
| 24 | M -65,8kg | Verneri Hakkinen | Daniel Gratschov | Verneri Hakkinen | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 25 | M -65,8kg | Eero Antti-Poika | Tommi Alatalo | Eero Antti-Poika | Submission | 1 | 1:08 |
| 26 | M -65,8kg | Shuajb Kunushevci | Hama Dara | Hama Dara | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 27 | M -65,8kg | Joakim Rydenfelt | Miro Honkanen | Miro Honkanen | Submission | 3 | 0:30 |
| 28 | M -61,2kg | Qugrat Dargai | Qugrat Dargai | Walkover | |||
| 29 | M -61,2kg | Juuso Renfors | Alireza Aholami | Juuso Renfors | Submission | 2 | 1:34 |
| 30 | M -83,9kg | Kirill Andreev | Onni Saastamoinen | Kirill Andreev | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 31 | M -83,9kg | Patrik Hill | Roope Koskinen | Roope Koskinen | Submission | 1 | 2:12 |
| 32 | F -56,7kg | Janika Antinmaa | Sonja Pohjalainen | Sonja Pohjalainen | Submission | 2 | 1:06 |
| 33 | F -56,7kg | Ida Pauliina Laine | Kati Silander | Ida Pauliina Laine | TKO/KO | 2 | 2:52 |
Sunday
| Fight # | Weight | Blue corner | Red Corner | Winner | Method | Time | Round |
| 1 | M-70,3kg | Naser Garban | Naser Garban | Walkover | |||
| 2 | M-70,3kg | Omar Tugarev | Joona Kaisanlahti | Omar Tugarev | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 3 | M-77,1kg | Otto Saari | Yvan Kasongo | Otto Saari | Split Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 4 | M-77,1kg | Niko Aikonen | Niko Aikonen | Walkover | |||
| 5 | M-65,8kg | Verneri Hakkinen | Hama Dara | Verneri Hakkinen | Submission | 1 | 2:05 |
| 6 | M-65,8kg | Eero Antti-Poika | Miro Honkanen | Miro Honkanen | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 7 | M-61,2kg | Qugrat Dargai | Juuso Renfors | Qudrat Dargai | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 8 | M-83,9kg | Kirill Andreev | Walkover | ||||
| 9 | M-93,0kg | Oliver Elomaa | Daniel Forsberg | Oliver Elomaa | Submission | 1 | 1:01 |
| 10 | M+93,0kg | Akseli Kaasalainen | Aleksi Virta | Akseli Kaasalainen | Submission | 1 | 2:48 |
| 11 | N-52,2kg | Jenna Horto | Heli Pulkkinen | Jenna Horto | Unanimous Decision | 3 | 3:00 |
| 12 | N-56,7kg | Sonja Pohjalainen | Ida Pauliina Laine | Sonja Pohjalainen | TKO/KO | 1 | 1:43 |
| 13 | N-65,8kg | Oona Valkeinen | Iris Nihti | Iris Nihti | TKO/KO | 2 | 2:35 |
| 14 | M-70,3kg | Naser Garban | Omar Tugarev | Omar Tugarev | Walkover | ||
| 15 | M-77,1kg | Otto Saari | Niko Aikonen | Niko Aikonen | TKO/KO | 1 | 2:02 |
| 16 | M-65,8kg | Verneri Hakkinen | Miro Honkanen | Miro Honkanen | Submission | 1 | 3:00 |
Medalists
| Female -52,2kg | Fighter | Club |
| 1 | Jenna Horto | Sisu Gym |
| 2 | Heli Pulkkinen | GB Gym Helsinki |
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| Female -56,7kg | ||
| 1 | Sonja Pohjalainen | Loop Martial Arts |
| 2 | Ida Pauliina Laine | Finnfighters Gym |
| 3 | Janika Antinmaa | Espoon Kehähait |
| 3 | Kati Silander | GB Gym Helsinki |
| Female -65,8kg | ||
| 1 | Iris Nihti | Espoon Kehähait |
| 2 | Oona Valkeinen | GB Gym Helsinki |
| 3 | Jenni Kivioja | Sisu Gym |
| 3 | ||
| Male -61,2kg | ||
| 1 | Qudrat Dargai | GB Gym Helsinki |
| 2 | Juuso Renfors | MMA Team 300 |
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| Male -65,8kg | ||
| 1 | Miro Honkanen | MMA Imatra |
| 2 | Verneri Hakkinen | MMA Team 300 |
| 3 | Hama Dara | Finnfighters Gym |
| 3 | Eero Antti-Poika | Crest Professional fighting center |
| Male -70,3kg | ||
| 1 | Omar Tugarev | Espoon Kehähait |
| 2 | Naser Garban | Espoon Kehähait |
| 3 | Mauri-Matti Lahti | MMA Team 300 |
| 3 | Joona Kaisanlahti | Kickboxing Team Oulu |
| Male -77,1kg | ||
| 1 | Niko Aikonen | MMA Imatra |
| 2 | Otto Saari | GB Gym Helsinki |
| 3 | Niko Korventaus | Combat Society |
| 3 | Yvan Kasongo | GB Gym Helsinki |
| Male -83,9kg | ||
| 1 | Kirill Andreev | Finnfighters Gym |
| 2 | Roope Koskinen | Finnfighters Gym |
| 3 | Patrick Hill | GB Gym Helsinki |
| 3 | Onni Saastamoinen | Mma Joensuu |
| Male -93,0 | ||
| 1 | Oliver Elomaa | Jyväskylän Fight Club |
| 2 | Daniel Forsberg | Finnfighters Gym |
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| Male +93,0 | ||
| 1 | Akseli Kaasalainen | MMA Vantaa |
| 2 | Aleksi Virta | Finnfighters Gym |
| 3 | ||
| 3 |
