Mikko “Maniac” Ahmala (6-4) is ready to make his middleweight debut as he faces Vojtech Garba (3-1) at Cage 42 card on 17th of February. Ahmala was sidelined for the most of 2017 until he got the chance to fight Mika Kuronen (3-3) at FNF 15 on last November. On his previous fight Ahmala kept pushing the pace and demonstrated a clear leap in his MMA skills and growing maturity as a fighter. Hear from the Hardknocks Helsinki fighter in this pre-fight interview with MMA Viking.
You defeated Mika Kuronen on November at FNF15. How do you feel about that fight?
-It was nice to get a fight after a long break and it went surprisingly well considering the fact that i basically had no time to prepare at all. Winning feels always nice and i was able to come out of the fight without injuries, so it was an easy call to start immediately looking for a next fight.
You took the fight at FNF 15 on short notice. Is it different this time?
-I got the information about this fight some time before Christmas, so this time i have more time to prepare.
You have fought as professional since 2013. How have you altered your approach to training and fighting during this time?
-Earlier i used to train more and not to rest enough, which had an negative impact to recovery. As i had 2 surgeries in a short time i started thinking that something has to change. Recently i have done things smarter, trained a bit less and not pushed my body to the limit at all the time. Now all these changes are starting to have an positive impact.
You will be facing Vojtech Garba at Cage 42. Have you watched any tape from your opponent? How do you see him as a fighter?
-I did watch couple of his fights. He is 5cm taller than me and has a background in boxing, but i am expecting that he can also grapple.
How do you predict this fight going?
-There will be no holding back, it will not go full time and i will win.
