According to the promoter, the neo-Nazis and street gangs’ bare-knuckle Free Match is a great way to bring the two extremes together. The expert considers the concept questionable.
In Helsinki, a free match event is organized, where, according to the promoter, neo-Nazis and street gang members measure each other without gloves. Former drug offender, current social media influencer and writer Omos “Opa” Okoh acts as promoter.
The bare-knuckle MMA event will take place in Helsinki on January 18. There are 6 matches where gang members and neo-Nazis measure each other. The matches are streamed live on X. In addition to the guide, the host of the Leveli podcast is also behind the event Nico Giansanti.
– We want to make this an international event, says Opa.
Future events are already in sight.
An example from Sweden
Fighting without gloves will return the free fight to its roots, thinks the promoter of the event. PDO
The event is organized by The Underground Kings (UGK). According to Opa, an example has been sought from the Swedish King of the Streets (KOTS), a Gothenburg fight club that has grown into a social phenomenon and attracted attention for its violence as well as due to the presence of neo-Nazis.
KOTS resembles a real street fight. Matches are held, for example, in parking garages on a hard concrete floor, which increases the risk of injury to the participants. Local MMA influencers have criticized KOTS and don’t consider it a sport. UGK also aims to resemble a street fight as a concept, says Opa. However, the purpose is to create a more professional, controlled and legal environment for this. A referee is present at the matches and first aid is offered to the fighters.
The event is about “bare knuckle MMA”. As the name suggests, it is a freestyle match where the gloves have been omitted. You can kick someone lying on the ground. There are no draws: matches end by knockout, submission or stoppage. Regardless of the format, there are rules in the sport: No poking in the eyes or hitting or kicking, for example, in the groin area. According to the organizer, there will be a professional judge.
– Gentleman’s rules, summarizes Opa.
In Opa’s opinion, not wearing gloves means returning freestyle to its roots. He points out that in the early 1990s, UFC also fought without gloves.
– It has been stripped of everything extra. When you take it without gloves, it looks even more ragged to the spectators, he says.
The incident has been reported to the police.
Jesse
One of the men participating in the event is Jessewho agrees to speak about the matter only under a pseudonym. He justifies this by saying that appearing under the name could endanger his job and safety. His real name is known to Iltalehti.
Jesse is not willing to talk about his criminal background because he considers it a private matter. According to Iltalehti’s information, he has not been convicted of violent or hate crimes. Although Jesse acts as a neo-Nazi at the event, he does not consider himself one.
He points out that the event is truly multicultural.
One of the contestants participating in the event is Jesse, who does not consider himself a neo-Nazi but a nationalist. Ottelija’s home album
– I am not a fan of things from the time of Nazi Germany, but I am a nationalist, Finnish and patriotic person who has been in the army, he says.
Jesse says that he is a twenty-something working man from Helsinki who attended elementary school and does martial arts. He has a background in kickboxing and Thai boxing, currently he does freestyle wrestling.
Jesse mentions in passing that he has previously wrestled in underground-type wrestling events with only cloths in his hands. He hopes to be able to make a career out of wrestling. The completely gloveless Free Fight is new to him, but the concept is attractive because of the authenticity of the struggle.
– Gloves mainly protect the hands, support the wrists and protect against open wounds. With gloves on, their block is bigger. When you have free hands, there is no other protection than your fists, he says.
Opposite extremes
Opa says that he found suitable matches for the event through Tiktok, among other things. Some of the contestants are connected to street gangs, such as Mantaqa and L-City. The match concept is meant to be provocative.
– The concept was confrontation and then I went looking for fighters who are not from my own bubble, he says, referring to neo-Nazis.
Jesse thinks it’s great that the extremes meet at an event and not on the street.
– Competitors and spectators come from different nationalities, backgrounds and subcultures. The political point of view has no meaning here. Here we are going to have a fair fight in the cage and that’s where you can sort out those things. I’d rather be in a controlled space than on the street, he says.
It is precisely the presence of neo-Nazis that has attracted negative attention. The guide says that he received direct feedback on Tiktok.
– I think the most ridiculous thing is that I, as a dark person, have thought about this matter and then some people start complaining. I myself am anything but a Nazi. I think this is the right way to meet and bring two extremes together, says Opa.
The expert knocks out
Jaakko Dahlbacka considers the concept of the event questionable. Jenni Gästgivar
Iltalehti’s martial arts expert Jaakko Dahlbacka considers the concept of the event questionable. He criticizes the promotion of neo-Nazis and gang criminals in marketing.
– It can potentially stigmatize honorable athletes and bring even harmful attention to combat sports. As if all combat athletes represent these reference groups, when this is not the case, he says.
According to Dahlbacka, gloves and rules have entered combat sports for a good reason.
– Gloves have been introduced in boxing because boxers’ careers ended when their hands and the corners of their eyes went to shit. Competitors had to end their careers before they became stars or the match ended before it was clear who was better. The rules have come so that they can maintain better competition. That way we can keep the sport better, developing and growing, he says.
No circus
According to Dahlbacka, wearing gloves is part of the development of martial arts. PDO
Opa himself has no freestyle background, but he is interested in martial arts. His speech buzzes with names from Jake Paul to Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali to Floyd Mayweather. The match between Paul, who turned from a piper to a boxer, and the 58-year-old Tyson gathered a huge audience, even though its sporting value was non-existent.
– How good you are at fighting is secondary. At the end of the day, it’s all about whether someone sells the thing. If you don’t have charisma or personality, the gang isn’t interested, says Opa.
The athletic merits of the event that will come from him are more significant than those of Paul and Tyson or Mika “Immu” Ilménin and a Tiktok star Joni “Stagala” Takalan of wrestling matches between. The upcoming match between Ilmén and Takala was announced as an epiphany.
– I think this is anything but a circus. After all, there are young guys in our event who want to make this their profession. The best thing about this is that we get these guys off the streets and into a proper environment where they can have a decent career.
“If the rules are clear”
Although Dahlbacka is not one of the fans of fighting without gloves, he does not consider bare knuckle MMA to be problematic in itself.
– I’m not a fan of old-fashioned rules, but if the rules are clear to both parties and two fighters of the same size and level have a free fight without gloves in the presence of the medical staff, I don’t think it’s a crime. It is their personal decision to bash themselves and each other.
Dahlbacka knows the event organizer Giansanti and says he has nothing against the organizers. However, he hopes that none of the contestants participating in Kuvittele similar events will help them in their careers in actual freestyle wrestling.
– Freestyle wrestling promotes a career in freestyle wrestling. This is not a free match, he says.
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Free fight, or MMA
Freestyle wrestling is a combat sport whose rules allow the use of versatile martial arts techniques, such as punching, kicking, wrestling and various locking techniques. Its English abbreviation MMA comes from the words mixed martial arts, which means combining different martial arts.
The Finnish Freestyle Association (Svol) belongs to the Olympic Committee and oversees both amateur and professional wrestling. The sets of matches played under professional rules are typically five minutes long and their number varies from three to five. In contrast to amateurs, the protective equipment used in professional matches is limited to freestyle gloves and mouth guards and bottom guards.
Amateurs compete in competitions under the international umbrella organization IMMAF. In the West, Vapaatoletu started gaining popularity in 1993, when the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) started its operations. The sport’s popularity has grown since then.