Rupponen & Jomhod Overwhelming in Fight Festival 14

TAMPERE, FINLAND, April 9th - Mikko Rupponen continued his domination of Fight Festival promotion's light heavyweight category by stopping the game Pride Bushido veteran Egidijus Valavicius in the first round by strikes from the mount. Mikko "Rujo" Rupponen controlled the fight from the beginning and, by the time of the stoppage, Valavicius was already cut in the eye brow from Rupponen's strikes.

Egidijus Valavicius was a late replacement for Shannon Ritch, who was unable to travel due to difficulties in receiving the plane tickets from UPS courier in Anchorage, Alaska. Valavicius was originally scheduled to fight two days earlier in Shooto Lithuania Chaosas event, but his opponent backed up in the last minute, thus he was left out of the fight in Chaosas, and was happy to accept the offer to take on Mikko Rupponen in the MMA main event of FF14.

In the K-1 Rules main event, 13-times world champ Jomhod Kiatadisak proved that he is still the King of the Ring. Jomhod knocked out the European Champion Youri Boreiko, of Riga Latvia, with a knee kick to midsection in the 2nd round. Jomhod demonstrated crisp kicks and punches, and wore his opponent mentally and physically down right from the beginning. Jomhod is fighting next time in K-1 Scandinavia on the 21st of May.

Jomhod's dream is to get in to the K-1 MAX, and today's result clearly demonsrates that Jomhod has all what is needed to win the jackpot. Jomhod sens a message: "I am the is the best 155 lbs standup fighter in the world and I am ready to fight anybody, anywhere, K-1 rules or muay thai, it does not matter". Jomhod will turn 35 on July 5th, but he is still in a fantastic condition. He has been a professional muay thai fighter since the age of 12, and has competed in more than 230 fights.

Results:

Fight Festival 14
9th April 2005
Hervannan vapaa-aikatalo, Tampere, Finland

1. K-1 Rules 3x3 min -52 kg female
Heidi Lehtinen, Tampereen Kamppailu-urheilijat - Finland vs Outi Louhimo, Combat Academy of Finland
Winner: Lehtinen by Unanimous Decision

2. Vale Tudo 2x5 min -73 kg
Janne Peltola, Tampereen Kamppailu-urheilijat - Finland vs Evgeni Andrieev, Rigas Rings - Latvia
Winner: Peltola by TKO 2.round at 4.18

3. K-1 Rules 3x3 min heavyweight
Marko Vuori, Tampereen Kamppailu-urheilijat - Finland vs Pasi Karell, Lappeenrannan Thai-Kickboxing Club - Finland
Winner: Vuori by Split Decision

4. Vale Tudo 2x5 min +93,0 kg / +205 lbs
Atte Backman, Espoon Kehahait - Finland vs Jason Guida, USA
Winner: Guida by Sumbmission (Guillotine Choke) 1.round at 1.54

5. K-1 Rules 3x3 min -78,0 kg
Jani Makela, Tampereen Kamppailu-urheilijat - Finland vs Niklas Winberg, Combat Academy of Finland
Winner: Makela by TKO (injury) 1.round at 1.06

6. Vale Tudo 2x5 min -83,9 kg / -185 lbs
Niko Puhakka, Espoon Kehahait - Finland vs Valdas Pocevicius, Lithuania
Winner: Pocevicius by TKO 1.round at 0.55

7. K-1 Rules 3x3 min heavyweight
Sampo Seppala, Tampereen Kamppailu-urheilijat - Finland vs Deniss Melnik, Rigas Rings - Latvia
Winner: Seppala by Split Decision

8. Vale Tudo 2x5 min +93,0 kg / +205 lbs
Henri Prinz, Tampereen Kamppailu-urheilijat - Finland vs Marco de Wit, Fysio Sportline - Holland
Winner: Prinz by Submission (Kimura) 1.round at time 1.57

9. K-1 Rules 3x3 min -60 kg
Jesse Palanto, Tampereen Kamppailu-urheilijat - Finland vs Evgeni Fjedorov, Rigas Rings - Latvia
Winner: Palanto by TKO 2.round at 0.52

10. Vale Tudo 3x5 min -93,0 kg / -205 lbs
Mikko Rupponen, Espoon Kehahait - Finland vs Egidijus Valavicius, Lithuania
Winner: Rupponen by TKO 1.round at 3.45

11. K-1 Rules 5x3 min -71 kg
Jomhod "King of The Ring" Kiatadisak, Thaimaa vs Youri Boreiko, Rigas Rings - Latvia
Winner: Jomhod by KO 2.round at 1.05