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205: Main Event: Simon Adebisi v Urho "FinnFury" Itaniemi
The Main Event of NFC 120 was the war we expected, as I thought, Adebisi spent best part of the fight trying to take this fight to the mat, and over the course of the first two rounds he was successful in doing so as he took down Urho "FinnFury" Itaniemi to really frustrate the Finn in the opening few rounds. However, by Round 3 the tide had changed, Itaniemi really started to open up on the body of the Champion who looked in serious trouble as he couldn’t get the fight to the mat and was being really punished – In my view this fight went to the final round two each in rounds but the tide was really with the Challenger Itaniemi who had really worked over the Champion with his Boxing in Rounds two and three. I had expected “FinnFury” to go on and take it at that stage, however that famed toughness and Granite chin of Adebisi really came into play in the final round as he really struggled to take this fight to the mat and took some punishment before he did score with the takedown he’d been desperately searching for since Round 2 – With little time to work, the Champion Simon Adebisi had to work quick, and quick he did as he worked over Itanemi for the Submission before wrapped it up eventually deep in the final round via an Arm Bar Submission. Credit to Adebisi, he really stepped it up when this fight hit the ground and showed just how tough he was – But Urho "FinnFury" Itaniemi will really think back on what could have been here. Simon Adebisi was always going to be a danger on the mat, and he’s now won two straight via Submission and the Light-Heavyweight Champion will be defending his title next against the last man to defeat him as Simon Adebisi and Esko Morko go for the third time at NFC 123 with the series between these men currently at 1-1 and advantage Adebisi, who won the last one, by, you guessed – Submission.
155: Co Main Event: Otso "Spartacus" Jokinen v "The Future" Arturo Gatti III
Otso Jokinen came into this Co Main Event Lightweight bout facing what on paper was supposed to be one of his biggest challenges to date, the fight went the distance but it wasn’t particularly competitive as Otso "Spartacus" Jokinen just smothered another opponent with his Wrestling here. With his game plan being centred around using the clinch to tie up the dangerous stand up of Gatti, Jokenin knew he was going to be half way to victory if he could keep him in this position with no room to manoeuvre, perhaps Jokinen will be critical of himself in that he missed with a great deal of efforts to take this fight to the ground over the course of the five rounds but in reality, the clinch sapped the fight from "The Future" Arturo Gatti III, whilst he didn’t receive serious punishment from this position, Jokinen certainly knows how to put fights in his favour and by the time this fight got to the final round, Gatti was exhausted and was unable to make use of the fact that both men were striking at distance because Jokinen knew he had done enough at this stage, he just had to keep out of trouble – Which he did picking up his sixth straight win, and improving to 17-3-0. What is next for the undisputed number one Lightweight, not only in NFC, but Worldwide?
185: Lauri Torni v "Kuuma" Kalle Reinikainen
We knew this fight was destined to be settled on the feet, and we knew it could finish early and we certainly we not disappointed here as this fight lasted just past the 2:27 mark of Round 1 and resulted in us having a new NFC Middleweight Champion. Reinikainen was supremely accurate here as he scored with nearly everything he attempted and punished Torni for every move he made in what was a great game plan that ended with Torni being rocked badly by a nasty hook, before "Kuuma" Kalle Reinikainen swarmed all over him and finished this one with the referee stepping in to stop this one. This was a seriously impressive performance from the new Champion, who has claimed NFC gold for the first time with the win. He somewhat soured the win with a foul mouthed rant after the fight, but I think that might well be attributed to the huge surge of adrenaline he must have had coursing through his body as his lifetime goal was finally fulfilled. Kalle Reinikainen has always been one of the most popular fighters in NFC due to his aggressive and relentless style, but in this fight he fought much more cleverly and he’s now the NFC Champion due to it – Reinikainen said ‘He will not be denied’ that is the case, but will he be able to hold on to the Middleweight crown, something that has been unable to stick to anyone past their first defence recently? Kalle Reinikainen will have some serious competition for his gold, he knows that to be considered a true Champion he’ll have to defend that gold – He’ll want his first opponent named as soon as possible you feel.
170: Sean Michaels v Led Zeppelin
It didn’t take long for this one to be settled as late in Round 1 after a thoroughly entertaining four or so minutes, this one was all over as Sean Michaels ended this one via Head Kick KO (Haven’t we seen that before somewhere?). Up until that point it was pretty even and both fighters have to be commended for really going at it, but in the end Michaels came into this bout in some form having ended his previous two fights via Round 1 KO, and it now stands at three as he improves to 10-3-1 with it. This should be considered something of an upset but the manner of the victory cannot be disputed and Michaels can really torque those kicks – It was his shots to the body that did the trick though, it forced Zeppelin to think more about those shots and resulted in the insanely flexible Sean Michaels scoring with the Head Kick following a desperate hook from a tired and already rocked Led Zeppelin. This victory will have sent shockwaves around the NFC Welterweight division for sure, and all eyes are on the next move for Michaels who surely must be one of the best prospects in NFC right now.
205: Mega "FAIL" Fredriksson suffered one of the those highlight reel defeats here against Eric "88" Lindros that he might well never recover from. Eric Lindros was the more aggressive fighter and that was why he was able to connect with a lot of head shots and kicks en route to one of the sensational uppercut KO win that was one of the highlights of NFC 120 here. Lindros picked up his eleventh career win here and his second over "FAIL" in just a matter of months.
185: "Roar!" Alfa Uros had absolutely no answer to Joey Silvera in this Middleweight bout, it was a vicious beat down and Silvera wasted little time in picking up the tenth win of his career taking his one down after just 1:47 of Round 1, with his combinations especially damaging for “Roar!” who did well to get himself back to his feet after being rocked badly before the inevitable.
265+: "Painkiller" Mikael Samoth took Rick "One Minute Man" Thompson the distance in this Super-Heavyweight bout, but there was no doubt that Thompson was the superior fighter here taking home a clear 27:30 Decision via all three judges. Thompson stuffed all the takedowns from his opponent, indeed landing two of his own during the course of the bout as he was rarely in trouble in victory here at NFC 120.
265: Hessu "Tupla-Hoo" Hopo knew the writing was on the wall against Grigori Lebedev here in their Heavyweight bout, he was tagged twice in Round 1 that opened "Tupla-Hoo" right up, and in the second round he wasted little time in finishing what he started forcing the Doctor to call an end to this bout after 3:37 of Round 2. This was Grigori Lebedev’s first win in four bouts, and it’s a welcome return to form for this Sensational Boxer, who really did let his fist do the taking here.
205: Thomas Pinta took home a Split Decision against Al "Put It" Inyourbutt here in this Light-Heavyweight bout, with Pinta desperately looking to keep the fight standing, "Put It" was only interested in taking it to the floor and do so with 4 of 6 attempts during the course of the bout. The game breaker was that Pinta was much more effective whilst standing, than Inyourbutt was on the mat and thus he took home the win to improve to 15-5-1.
185: Hans Gruber took the opening round against "Sheriff" Roscoe P Coltrane in the opener to NFC 120, reversing the takedown that P Coltrane scored with, Gruber worked him over with some ground and pound, however in Round 2 P Coltrane really opened up – With Gruber unable to land any leg kicks which was his major stand up offence, “Sheriff” wasted little time in ending this one after 2:50 of Round 2 via (T)KO due to his increased aggression whilst standing because Gruber offered little else bar leg kicks.
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