FightSport.fi and Cage promotion announced today that the first fight for the promotion’s upcoming September show “Cage 23” has been signed. In the light heavyweight title bout the champion Marcus “Caveman” Vänttinen (22-5) of Finland will meet a challenger from Denmark in Joachim Christensen (8-2). The fight will go down on September 21st at the Energia arena in Vantaa, Finland.
Cage matchmaker Olli Hartikainen commented the fight to FightSport:
“Christensen has a pretty good record but he is not a top level fighter yet. Marcus suffered few setbacks so we’re making moderate match ups for him now. Still a win over Christensen would take Vänttinen forward on his career but this is no easy fight. The Dane likes to finish fights with submissions instead of hunting for knockouts. Christensen is dangerous even off his back.”
After suffering couple disappointing losses and a long rehab after knee surgery, Vänttinen finally back to his old ways at Cage 22 where made short work of Frenchman Boubacar Balde. Vänttinen didn’t give any opportunities for Balde to use his heavy hands as the Finn took Balde down instantly and kept him there with a steady stream of Ground and Pound. In the second round Vänttinen kept on a constant pressure with ground strikes and then finished the job with a rear naked choke.
Denmark’s Joachim Christensen is primarily a grappler who presents an interesting challenge to the well rounded Finn. The Checkmat BJJ black belt has taken four of eight career wins by submission. In his latest bout At Royal Arena 2 in August of 2012 Christensen won a decision over Sweden’s tough Matti Mäkelä.
