| Mika
Ilmen 
Interview
by Carl Fisher 25 June 2003 Mika
Ilmen casts an imposing figure when he enters the training room; standing six
feet one inches tall and weighing in at a shade over 100K, this man means business
and pray to God you don’t find yourself opposite him in the ring — Ilmen
will fight any time any place anywhere and he takes no prisoners. When you step
into the cage to fight with Ilmen, make sure you’re on top of your game or
you’ll be in a world of serious pain…………
CF
: Let’s begin with your success in the ADCC Qualifiers in Turku earlier this
year and the matches you had. Mika
Ilmen : The first guy was a Turku fighter and I have beaten him five
times before, so I wanted to end the fight early to save energy, so I tried a
leg lock and succeeded; the second guy was a tall Swedish guy and before the points
started I tried a few takedowns and then when the points came I scored on him
and won the match. The next fight was the finals against Midoux and a few times
I was in trouble with his triangles, but as the fight progressed my confidence
grew and I decided to take the fight home and won the match on points 10-0; I
was a little unsure of my conditioning going into a twenty minute match but in
the end I did OK. Out
of the three fights, which was the hardest for you? Mika
Ilmen : By far the final match, I was pushed to the edge How
strong was Midoux? Mika
Ilmen : He was stronger than me, which is quite unusual for me to be
in this position, but he didn’t seem to be in is best shaped and tired quickly,
so it was easy for me to keep him underneath me, which helped me a lot. How
did you feel winning the event? Mika
Ilmen : I felt brilliant it was a great experience and a chance to
show my skills to the rest of the world in Brazil. You
faced Jeff Monson in the first round; how did you feel facing such a big name
in the first round? Mika
Ilmen : Going into the fight I was carrying a bad groin injury and
it was hard to fight, so it spoke to Ricardo Arona for some fight tips and I fought
Monson to overtime and my status was to wait for Monson’s mistake and try
to capitalise on that, but he never made any and going to OT the groin started
to hurt real bad and I could not do anything and Monson won on points. If I had
been a lot fitter I am sure there would have been a different outcome but that’s
life (laughs). What
was it like to fight Monson? Mika
Ilmen : He wasn’t as fast as I expected but was very strong and
he was a very nice guy after the fight and we had a great time together. Who
else did you meet? Mika
Ilmen : Many people, Helio Gracie, Arona, Mark Kerr, Sperry, everyone. How
long did you stay after the event? Mika
Ilmen : I stayed in Sao Paulo until the end of the event and then went
to Rio for eleven days.
Did you do any training in Rio?
Mika
Ilmen : No just sightseeing and relaxing, as I was too injured to train
properly How
is the injury now? Mika
Ilmen : It’s not 100 per cent but is slowly getting better When
do you fight next? Mika
Ilmen : Nothing is agreed upon at the moment, but you never know when
the phone may ring (laughs). What
is your fight record for BJJ, SW and NHB? Mika
Ilmen : In BJJ I am two times Finnish Champion, SW I am two times Finnish
Champion and Finnish Open SW championship from last year; NHB I am 15 and 6 with
no draws. Who
were the guys that beat you and at what stage in your career? Mika
Ilmen : Richard Bohlenius, Juha Tuhkasaari, Hassan Torabi, Melvin Meinhoef
and Murat and a guy from Russia who I can’t recall; the first two were early
in my career and the others were pretty recent. What
happened in Russia? Mika
Ilmen : We traded punches and kicks and I pushed him into the fence
and I got a hit in the groin and I had 90 seconds to recover but I couldn’t
continue so the Russian won, he did not get disqualified.
Would you like a rematch?
Mika
Ilmen : Of course (laughs) Who
do you train with when you prepare for a fight? Mika
Ilmen : I train a lot with the top Finnish boxers in Helsinki and here
at the Alliance How
do the guys manage with you when you’re preparing for a fight? Mika
Ilmen : This is the one of the most successful teams in Europe so the
training is pretty hard and is sufficient for NHB and many can handle me, I don’t
beat them up too bad (laughs). Do
you prefer BJJ or NHB? Mika
Ilmen : NHB for sure, it’s the Formula One of martial arts (laughs) You
have also fought Shooto? Mika
Ilmen : Yes one fight in the Cold War event this year, there isn’t
much to say as the fight lasted five seconds against Jakob Lovstad; he wanted
to try and trade punches which suited me well and was his mistake, as I opened
a four centimetre cut on his cheek and KO’d him. I saw him warming up and
hitting the pads and I knew I wouldn’t have a problem with him, but I think
he was injured more when he fell to the floor and sprained his ankle. How
did you get into NHB? Mika
Ilmen : (Laughs) I was drunk and started to brag how I could beat these
guys and had to put my money where my mouth was and I faced Richard Bohlenius
and he beat me and here I am now. Would
you like to fight in the UK? Mika
Ilmen : With pleasure, if the money and the deal is OK I will fight
for sure. How
often do you train?
Mika Ilmen : Maybe ten times a week, twice
a day for my conditioning and then two days rest, that’s when I prefer for
a fight.
Which
fighter do you admire? Mika
Ilmen : Igor Vovchanchyn Being
that you are so strong do you ever have a hard time when Lucio Linhares is in
town? Mika
Ilmen : No (Laughs) Who
then gives you the hardest time on the mats? Mika
Ilmen : Jussi Tammelin Anyone
else? Mika
Ilmen : Oscar (the translator — many laughs) Mika,
thanks for the interview, thanks for the time and for beating me up on the mats
here tonight. Mika
Ilmen : My pleasure, any time
SFUK
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