Finland's Marcus Vanttinen will take on Emil Samoilov live on Internet PPV during a July 4 M-Challenge event in Seoul. Follow the instructions listed on the red widget to order.
When Sherdog.com published its top ten list of European MMA prospects under the age of 23, a notable omission was Team Finland light heavyweight Marcus Vanttinen.
Despite being just 21-years of age, Vanttinen is one of the M-1 Challenge’s best light heavyweights with a 9-2 record. While consistent success has eluded him thus far in the M-1 Challenge, Vanttinen has been tested early and often against the likes of Rodney Wallace, Chirstian M’Pumbu, and Jason Jones.
While Vanttinen has suffered defeats to M’Pumbu and Wallace, he broke out in a big way with his upset over Jones at the ’09 M-1 Challenge opener in Tacoma, Washington this past February.
Set to face Emil Samoilov on July 4 in Seoul, South Korea, Vanttinen finds himself in the face of his most important fight of his career. With Finland trailing USA East by one win in Group C, the team must win its best-of-five series vs. Bulgaria on July 4 in order to have any chance at qualifying for the post-season.
With the exception of the United States and South Korea, fight fans all over the world will have the opportunity to watch the crucial matchup as a part of M-1Global.com’s Internet PPV (International orders are being processed by cell phone and can be made by following the instructions on the red widget to the right of this story).
Despite the fact that his big fight is fast approaching, Vanttinen recently took time out for an exclusive interview with www.M-1Global.com.
M-1Global.com: Can you talk about your origins as a martial artist and what inspired you to get involved with MMA?
Marcus Vänttinen: I started maybe eight years ago with traditional Asian martial arts and tried about five different styles of them. Then some of my friends began training muay thai and kicked my ass every time we sparred so soon I switched to muay thai, too. A couple years later I also took up BJJ. It must have been by watching early UFC fights and Mikko Rupponen in FightFestival that got me hooked in MMA.
M-1Global.com: MMA is a big sport in the U.S., Japan, and Brazil. Would you categorize MMA as a major or minor sport in Finland?
Marcus Vänttinen: The number of enthusiasts has grown tremendously in just a few years, and there´s a lot of talented amateur fighters but not that many pros yet. At the moment I think MMA is still a minor sport in Finland but not for long.
M-1Global.com: Finland looked great after upsetting Team Benelux during the ’09 M-1 Challenge opener in Tacoma this past February. However, you guys suffered a setback by losing to USA East 3-2 earlier this month. What were you expectations going into the USA East matchup?
Marcus Vänttinen: We were expecting really tough fights but knew we could win. So of course it was a big disappointment losing that closely
M-1Global.com: You were involved with a tough matchup against Rodney Wallace. What are your impressions of Wallace as an opponent and what did you learn from the defeat?
Marcus Vänttinen: He´s a really nice guy and great sportsman. I knew that a strong wrestler would be the toughest matchup for me so I trained more on clinchwork and takedown defense before the fight but clearly not enough.
M-1Global.com: Does suffering a tough loss make traveling such a long way home even more difficult or are you able to let the loss go quickly?
Marcus Vänttinen: I let it go quickly so I can fully focus on my next fight.
M-1Global.com: Both of your fights this year have been on U.S. soil. How do you like competing in America?
Marcus Vänttinen: It has been fun fighting in the USA and I was actually surprised how the crowd treated us when we fought the U.S. team, I got to sign many autographs to American fans after my fight which was nice.
M-1Global.com: You defeated Jason Jones in the opener by decision. Many had expected Jones to win that bout. In addition to a physical fight style he also has a tendency to try psyche out his opponents. Were you nervous or intimidated at all coming into the Jones fight?
Marcus Vänttinen: He tried to psyche me before the fight but I don’t think it affected me at all. You can clearly see that I was nervous in the first round of the fight but I think it had more to do with the environment, fighting in a big show in the USA for the first time.
M-1Global.com: Toni Valtonen moved from light heavyweight to heavyweight in order to create a full-time roster spot for you in this year’s M-1 Challenge. What did the gesture mean to you?
Marcus Vänttinen: The option was that I would fight as heavyweight but we both agreed that it would be smarter that I would fight light heavyweight because I weight less and can easily drop to 93 kg.
M-1Global.com: From a fighter’s perspective, do you enjoy the team vs. team concept?
Marcus Vänttinen: I like it a lot, because of the huge support you get from the team.
M-1Global.com: If you could challenge yourself against any one fighter in the M-1 Challenge, who would you pick?
Marcus Vänttinen: I think the standard has been truly high in the Challenge this year, so a fight against any teams LHW would probably be tough. But of course I want a rematch against Rodney Wallace and Christian M`Pumbu in the future.
M-1Global.com: Lucio Linhares is fighting on Aug. 1 at “Trilogy” against Mikhail Zayats and will be unable to compete for Finland. Can you discuss the anticipated impact of his absence?
Marcus Vänttinen: I´m really happy for him that he gets to fight at Affliction but at the same time sad that he´s not fighting with us. He´s a nice guy and funny to travel with.
M-1Global.com: What can you tell us about Lucio’s replacement for the July 4 matchup vs. Bulgaria, Mikko Suvanto?
Marcus Vänttinen: He´s a talented fighter with excellent jiu-jitsu skills. He always kicks my ass when we grapple. Great replacement for Lucio.
M-1Global.com: You are scheduled to fight Emil Samoilov on July 4 in Seoul. How much do you know about him?
Marcus Vänttinen: I know that he´s got a background in freestyle wrestling and looks explosive just like my last opponents.
M-1Global.com: You’ll be fighting almost 30 days after your tough fight vs. Wallace earlier this month. How do you feel physically?
Marcus Vänttinen: I´m in the best shape of my life!
M-1Global.com: You’re profile is well-known in Finland but your popularity is still growing in other parts of the world. What would you like fight fans from other countries to know about you?
Marcus Vänttinen: Despite my age (21), I´m already quite experienced and after improving some of my weaknesses I will be unstoppable in the LHW category.
M-1Global.com: Finland needs to win in dominant fashion on July 4 and will need USA East to lose on Aug. 15 in Amsterdam. Do you think Finland can beat Bulgaria 5-0?
Marcus Vänttinen: I know we will!
