As we have seen time and time again, bouts between old rivals Sweden and Finland delivers great entertainment more often than not. Look no further than the unforgettable bloodbath between Andreas Gustafsson and Toni Lampinen for proof. Now yet another Nordic derby has been added to Fight Club Rush 18, which will see Raymond Johansson (1-1) defend his home turf against the Finnish "Baby Hulk"; Joona Hannula (2-1)!
Early on in his career Johansson was somewhat of a nomad in regards to his MMA training, taking on the toughest challenges possible against fighters like Tobias Harila and Tobias Söderberg, while not having a stable team.
Eventually Johansson would forge a strong friendship with knockout artist Ebrima Faal and the two have been inseparable since.
Johansson would make his pro debut at FCR 13 against none other than the much avoided Allstars prospect Djaba Murtazaliev. The test would prove to be tough for Johansson, who ended up tapping out to a rear naked choke in the first round.
After that Johansson and Faal would firmly establish the highly successful Team MACC as their home base under the tutelage of Altan Celik.
The results would speak for themselves in Johanssons following fight as he dominated Dimitris Dimitriadis en route to a first round knockout win in a nearly flawless performance.
Hannula currently fights out of Primus Fight Team alongside top prospects like Niko Skonbäck and Hama Dara.
"Baby Hulk" had a successful pro debut, finishing Matas Radvilavičius via third round TKO. Hannula would come up short in his subsequent fight, losing to red hot current Cage Warriors fighter Marko Sarasjärvi.
Hannula would not remain in the loss column for long, though, bouncing back with a sensational submission win over Irakli Makhatadze just two weeks ago.
Based on their fighting styles, Johansson vs Hannula could be one of the standout fights of an already stacked FCR 18.
Comments