This weekend will mark the debut of the latest promotion to join the European MMA scene, Euro FC. With the roster CEO Jarno Kukila has established, the Finland-based promotion may have already surpassed Cage MMA as the top destination for fighters in Scandinavia. MMA fans will recognize plenty of names on this 10-fight card, as UFC veterans Tom Niinimaki, Jonathan Brookins, Alan Omer, Hiroyuki Takaya and Andreas Stahl will all compete on the inaugural Euro FC card. The promotion isn’t relying strictly on established names, however, as undefeated European prospects such as Alexander Poppeck and Soren Bak also look to make their mark. The main event of Euro FC 1 pits Niinimaki against Brookins in a featherweight bout, as the Finn makes his first appearance since being cut from the UFC following a three-fight losing streak. Following a 12-fight win streak that included a victory over Rani Yahya, big things were expected of Niinimaki, but he was submitted with rear-naked chokes in his next three UFC bouts to mark his exit from the promotion. His last fight was in December 2014, and he has since relocated to the Blackzilians, so it will be interesting to see how he responds. Brookins defeated current Top-10 lightweight Michael Johnson to win TUF 12 all the way back in 2010, but he left the organization following a 3-3 stint primarily at featherweight. Following a brief retirement in which Brookins went to India to Eat, Pray, Love, he returned as a malnourished flyweight to split a pair of bouts in Legacy FC (the second at bantamweight). Following that, he split bouts with Pancrase bantamweight champion Shintaro Ishiwatari before getting the call from Euro FC. The co-main event will see massive heavyweight Yosef Ali Mohammad look to avenge his 2015 loss to Fernando Rodrigues Jr. Their first fight happened as part of the IGF Heavyweight Grand Prix, where Rodrigues eventually lost in the final to Oli Thompson. Mohammad has since put a six-second KO win on his record while Rodrigues has not fought since the loss to Thompson on New Year’s Eve. The main card of Euro FC 1 also features a featherweight matchup pitting Omer against Takaya, Karl Amoussou hoping to stop the six-fight win streak of Finn Juho Valamaa and the aforementioned Poppeck facing undefeated Aussie Robert Wilkinson. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for Euro FC 1 today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look below: ——————– EuroFC 01: Espoo Venue: Metro Areena Location: Espoo, Finland Broadcast: FloCombat.com Saturday 10.01.2016 at 12:00 PM ET Fight Card Jonathan Brookins +175 Tom Niinimaki -245 – Fernando Rodrigues Jr +155 Yosef Ali Mohammad -195 – Juho Valamaa +155 Karl Amoussou -195 – Hiroyuki Takaya +175 Alan Omer -245 – Alexander Poppeck +185 Robert Wilkinson -265 – Marc Gomez +220 Toni Tauru -300 – Georgi Valentinov +250 Andreas Stahl -350 – Roxane Teixeira +335 Izabela Badurek -505 – Nills van Noord +180 Stuart Austin -260 – Aleksi Mantykivi +175 Soren Bak -245 – ——————– Brad’s Analysis: It’s hard to trust Niinimaki at this point since he’s a grappler who has consistently put himself in bad positions and gotten submitted. In retrospect, his win over Yahya has to be one of the most confusing in recent memory. However, against Brookins his size should help him consistently establish top position and keep himself safe. Brookins isn’t the scrambler that those who found success against Niinimaki in the UFC are, and on the feet he’s looked very unsteady — particularly defensively — since returning from his retirement. I think Niinimaki gets back on track with a decision win here. Mohammad and Rodrigues Jr. had a very bizarre first encounter. Mohammad struck first, hurting Rodrigues early, but because Rodrigues spilled out of the ropes the fighters were repositioned and he could recover. After gaining top position and doing some damage, the fight was then stopped again to check a cut, after which Rodrigues landed a few clean shots that put Mohammad out. In a cage, I think Mohammad wins that fight, and he wins here by virtue of being the better athlete that gets the early offense off again. I also think that while Omer looked good in the UFC and probably didn’t deserve to be cut, Takaya is a difficult matchup for him. Takaya has always had good takedown defense and big power, and while Omer is a solid grappler, his wrestling isn’t particularly great. If he gets stranded on the feet with Takaya he could be in for a tough night, and unless Takaya’s skills have degraded significantly — which is quite possible at 39 — he may have some success here, especially early since Omer hasn’t fought since his UFC release 16 months ago.
