Finnfight or Scandinavian open NHB Championships (SNC) is an annual mixed martial arts competition in Turku

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. Contrary to most other mixed martial arts organizations and competitions, elbow strikes

Elbow (strike)

An elbow strike is a strike with the point of the elbow, the part of the forearm nearest to the elbow, or the part of the upper arm nearest to the elbow...

, knee strikes

Knee (strike)

A knee strike is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent...

 and headbutt

Headbutt

A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...

s from any position

Grappling position

A grappling position refers to the positioning and holds of combatants engaged in grappling. Combatants are said to be in a neutral position if neither is in a more favourable position. If one party has a clear advantage such as in the mount they are said to be in a "dominant position"...

 are legal.

The first Finnfight event, FINNFIGHT 1, was held in 1998 at Rantasipi Hotelli (currently called Caribia Hotel), Turku and it featured fighters from Finland and Sweden.

In the opening fight of the evening and at the same time in the very first fight of all the Finnfight events, a local fighter Jari Ilkka, representing the style of Shootfighting, fought against a Sin Moo Hapkido fighter from Pori.

Illka won the fight but was unable to continue the tournament due to an injured leg.

Rules

(Translated extract from www.finnfightersgym.fi)

The fights take place in a ring

Boxing ring

A boxing ring is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring, which is set on a raised platform, is square with a post at each corner to which four parallel rows of ropes are attached with a turnbuckle...

 or arena, which has a padded floor to increase the safety of the fighters. The bouts are 10 minutes long, with no round breaks. During the length of the bout, there is a referee

Referee

A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...

 in the competition area, who oversees the rules. The referee has the right to stop the bout if necessary. The referee's decision is final. Protests lead to the disqualification of the fighter.

Ways to win

• Knockout
  Knockout
  A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
  
   (KO)
• Submission
  Submission (combat sport term)
  A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat...
  
   (tapout, TO)
• Referee stoppage (TKO)
• Doctor stoppage (TKO)
• Cornerman
  Cornerman
  A cornerman, or simply corner, is a combat sports term for a coach or team mate assisting a fighter during the length of a bout. The cornerman remains outside the combat area during the fight, but in proximity, and can assist the fighter through instruction...
  
   stoppage (TKO)
• Disqualification for breaking the rules
• After the full bout time (10 minutes), by three judges deciding the winner (Criteria: stand-up
  Stand-up fighting
  Stand-up fighting is hand-to-hand combat that takes place while the combatants are in a standing position. The term is commonly used in martial arts and combat sports to designate the set of techniques employed from a standing position, as opposed to techniques employed in ground fighting...
  
  , takedowns
  Takedown (grappling)
  A takedown is a martial arts and combat sports term for a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing him or her to the ground, typically with the combatant performing the takedown landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known...
  
  , ground techniques
  Ground fighting
  Ground fighting is hand-to-hand combat which takes place while the combatants are on the ground, generally involving grappling...
  
   and fighting spirit)

Fouls

• Pushing fingers into the opponent's eyes, mouth, ears or groin
  Groin attack
  A groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
  
   area.
• Biting.
• Grabbing the ropes.
• Strikes
  Strike (attack)
  A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...
  
   to the throat
  Throat
  In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx...
  
  .
• Kick
  Kick
  In combat sports and hand-to-hand combat, a kick is a physical strike using the foot, leg, or knee . This type of attack is used frequently, especially in stand-up fighting...
  
  s while wearing shoes (allowed shoes are boxing- or wrestling-shoes).
• Usage of doping
  Doping (sport)
  The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
  
   or illegal substances.
• Small joint manipulation
  Small joint manipulation
  Small joint manipulation, in grappling, refers to twisting, pulling or bending fingers or toes to cause joint locks in the various joints in those appendages...
  
  .
• Stomping
  Stomp (strike)
  A stomp is a downwards strike with the heel of the foot from the stand-up position, and is usually directed at the head or body of a downed opponent...
  
   or soccer kick
  Soccer kick
  A soccer kick is a reference to a kick that is similar to kicks used in association football. For short distanced passes, the instep or the outside of the foot can be used...
  
  ing the head of a downed opponent
  Downed opponent
  A downed opponent is a combatant that is on the ground, as compared to a combatant that is in a standing position. This commonly implies that the downed combatant is lying on the ground, but can technically refer to any position in which anything except the soles of the combatants feet are...
  
   while the other fighter is still standing.
• Strikes
  Strike (attack)
  A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...
  
   to the groin
  Groin attack
  A groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
  
  .
• Throwing or pushing the opponent out of the competition area.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct.

Equipment and other information

• Grappling-model gloves are supplied by the competition hosts.
• Groin
  Groin attack
  A groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
  
   protection is compulsory.
• Mouthguard
  Mouthguard
  A mouthguard is a protective device for the mouth that covers the teeth and gums to prevent and reduce injury to the teeth, arches, lips and gums...
  
   is compulsory.
• Wrestling
  Wrestling
  Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
  
  - or boxing
  Boxing
  Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
  
  -shoes are allowed, but the fighter using shoes is not allowed to kick the opponent.
• The fighter can wear, for instance, a gi
  Keikogi
  or dōgi is a uniform for training, used in martial arts derived from Japan, or budō. . The prototype for the modern keikogi emerged in the late 19th century. The keikogi was developed by judo founder Kano Jigoro...
  
  , wrestling outfit, or shorts.
• The fighter can also wear protective equipment according to their particular style (knee or leg pads).
• Application of any kinds of lubricative
  Lubricant
  A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign particles and of distributing heat...
  
   substances on any bodypart except the face is disallowed.
• The fighters are subject to a medical exam both before and after the bouts.

Weight divisions

Weigh-ins take place at the day of the competition (6h before).

• -70 kg
• -80 kg
• -90 kg
• +90 kg

Notable fighters

• Alexander Gustafsson
  Alexander Gustafsson
  Alexander Gustafsson is a Swedish mixed martial artist who has competed for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, Shooto, FinnFight and UFC in his career. He is currently signed with the UFC fighting in their light heavyweight division. As of August 2011, Gustafsson is ranked the #9 light-heavyweight in the...
  
  
• Timo-Juhani Hirvikangas
• Toni Linden
• Blazej Sawinski
• Tyrone Washington
• Olof Inger
• Jason Fields
• Jarmo Haimakainen
• Derek Renquist
• Joe Feldman
• Hans Ersson
• Joachim Hansen (fighter)

External links

• Finnfight tournament results