Finally the UFC sign Tom Niinimaki, fights Rani Yahya TUF 18 finale

Finally! So happy for my finnish bros/non-Royal underlings. This is your first baby steps to establishing yourselves as the ugly kid brother of The Royal Kingdom of Sweden in mma as well. ;)

Rani is a good match-up for Tom imho. I think he can win the fight both on the feet and on the ground regardless what it says on paper.

He did, but up until today, he's spent a total amount of maybe 1,5 months there? 2 months tops, and that was a long time ago aswell.

I talked to him about Blackzilians at the weigh-ins for Cage 18, and he said that it was an interesting experience and that the things he picked up on the most were modern training methods, not so much new or better technique.

I couldn't help but to feel that, for him, it was just a casual visit to see how they do things abroad, not a trip to improve and revolutionalize himself as a fighter. To beat Yahya, a different level of dedication is required.

Hopefully he goes to Allstars Stockholm. I think they can get his tdd, boxing and cardio up to snuff and his bff Niklas B
 
Great news. Whats with the UFC signing all these top prospects lately? they've really stepped their game up and have been signing the best prospects.
The Okami cut freed up some cash.
 
Cool, but that's a really, really tough debut.

Yahya is a true veteran and specialist. Even when people manage to keep the fight standing against him his tenacity in trying to bring the fight to the ground can make fights awfully ugly.

I don't know much about Niinimaki, but I know he's going to have a tough first fight in Octagon.
 
Finally! So happy for my finnish bros/non-Royal underlings. This is your first baby steps to establishing yourselves as the ugly kid brother of The Royal Kingdom of Sweden in mma as well. ;)

Rani is a good match-up for Tom imho. I think he can win the fight both on the feet and on the ground regardless what it says on paper.

:eek:
 
Not so sure what so shocking about Niinimaki winning if it's on the ground. He's got good grappling, he has the tools to take Yahya down, not get subbed and win.
 
Not so sure what so shocking about Niinimaki winning if it's on the ground. He's got good grappling, he has the tools to take Yahya down, not get subbed and win.

It wouldn't be shocking at all to be honest. He's shown himself to be a very methodical and smart grappler with solid fundamentals and good base. You raise a valid point in that it's possible to outgrapple someone without scoring a submission in MMA, and that's certainly one path to victory for Tom.

Also helps that he's probably going to be physically stronger than Yahya.
 
Bruce Buffer's job just got a lot tougher!

Oh man. This is going to be awesome.

Expect Yahya to be annihilated on the feet if he can't get this to the ground.



Here's Tom's highlights.


Stomps, soccer kicks, even the dreaded twelve-to-six elbows! So many deliciously illegal techniques in that video.
 
Stomps, soccer kicks, even the dreaded twelve-to-six elbows! So many deliciously illegal techniques in that video.

Don't forget the headbutt! :wink:
 
It wouldn't be shocking at all to be honest. He's shown himself to be a very methodical and smart grappler with solid fundamentals and good base. You raise a valid point in that it's possible to outgrapple someone without scoring a submission in MMA, and that's certainly one path to victory for Tom.

Also helps that he's probably going to be physically stronger than Yahya.

Exactly. Good points.

I've seen people on here and other places call Yahya by sub, it just makes me think they don't know who he is and saw he had 2 sub losses 7/8 years ago, and that's how they came to their conclusion.
 
Stoneface belongs there but this is rather though debut. Hopefully he doesn't freeze.
 
Niinimaki is decent but he don't deserve Yahya and that's one tough debut fight.

I agree but you might as well see what he can do right off the bat and see if he's worth all the hype
 



Well he's not a spring chicken. He's got good kickboxing, footwork, trips, wrestling, bjj and enough good sense to keep weight on his opponents chest and be aware of his own posture and limbs when his opponent's strength is the ground. IF Rani can close distance and IF he can get the clinch then odds are he'll end up on bottom with an opponent who's crafty enough to score but not risk anything. The way I see it Tom will chop the fight in half, impose his will on the feet and do just enough on the ground to get the nod there too.
 
Every time I think about hard debus, reminds me of Lucio Linhares

I feel bad for him

2 fights. Okami and Palhares... Got cut after those losses.


Yeah that was a tough run.

Maybe Niinimaki can cause the upset, some in this thread think so.
 
Rani is a good match-up for Tom imho. I think he can win the fight both on the feet and on the ground regardless what it says on paper.

Hopefully he goes to Allstars Stockholm. I think they can get his tdd, boxing and cardio up to snuff and his bff Niklas B
 
Finally! After his Cage 23 win this was expected. Yahya is winnable, but there's no denying the fact that they sure are giving Tom a tough first fight.
 
Someone please explain me why Yahya keeps facing unknown fighters...first Clopton,now this guy?

Ridicolous.He deserves a top 15 opponent at least.

I agree with you.
If he keeps this pace, he will have to put together a 40 fight winning streak to get a title shot.
 
Great news. Tough fight for Tom but he's shown some good wrestling lately. If he keeps the fight standing, I'd say he wins by TKO or UD. Tom's ground game is good but Rani is on another level.

Here goes everything from Finland (at least for a while).
 
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