You don’t see too many Finnish prospects in MMA, with only seven Finnish fighters having ever competed in the UFC. The name Makwan Amirkhani probably rings a bell, and currently, the UFC has a high-level bantamweight from Finland in Abdul Hussein. This Saturday at Hamara MMA Vol. 10, Theo “Ei Leiki” Kolehmainen looks to add another knockout to his record as he tries to establish his name next to Niko Aikonen and Omar Tugarev as one of the best Finnish fighters outside the UFC.
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The 26-year-old had an extensive amateur career of over 30 fights across two sports. Initially, Kolehmainen began competing in boxing, but after putting together a record of 11-9, he transitioned to MMA. He had his last boxing match in September 2022 and didn’t even wait a year before making his amateur MMA debut in April 2023. After a rough 0-2 start, Kolehmainen ended up with a 9-6 record and competed in two IMMAF tournaments. In both instances, he won his first matchup but was knocked out of the tournament by his second opponent.
In May 2025, Kolehmainen made the decision to go pro and racked up four fights before the end of the year. He got off to a good start, winning his debut by unanimous decision, but was given far too big of a step up in competition for his second bout. Somehow, Kolehmainen ended up standing across from UFC veteran Makwan Amirkhani in his second fight. Obviously, this didn’t go well for Kolehmainen, and he was submitted in under a minute. Since then, Kolehmainen has gone on a four-fight win streak, including three KO/TKOs and two wins this year.
The boxing background is as clear as day in Kolehmainen’s skill set. Just like his fighting style, the boxing influence is also obvious in his very bladed stance. Southpaw seems to be his natural stance, but he flows between both stances so smoothly. There also isn’t a drop-off in how comfortable he looks when he switches into orthodox.
From the jump, Kolehmainen likes to get in his opponents’ faces and stay on the front foot. He fights with a very patient but pressure-heavy style. Kolehmainen likes to keep his opponents moving backwards with feints while he looks for openings to let his hands go. At range, he tends to use a stiff jab that is followed by a straight down the pipe, but he is at his best once he closes the distance. After feinting his way into a closer range, Kolehmainen will unload slick three-to four-punch combinations. He does a good job mixing body shots into those combos and has a knack for landing a left hook around his opponent’s guard. As for a kicking game, Kolehmainen is very limited. He does mix in rear-leg calf kicks, but they seem to be mixed in more for variety than with the intent to break down an opponent’s leg.
When it comes to grappling, Kolehmainen is very clearly competent and will be able to mix in takedowns against guys who are primarily strikers. However, grappling will never be his main game plan. One of my gripes with his striking is that sometimes, when he closes range, he will overthrow and end up in the clinch. These are typically the moments when he will decide to attempt a takedown. Unless there is more to show in his takedown bag, Kolehmainen mainly relies on grinding for a double-leg takedown to get his opponents to the ground. From there, he has shown some decent ground-and-pound out of his opponent’s guard, but he does struggle to do much else.
The guy is a tank, so Kolehmainen’s takedown defense has held up quite well, and he is tough to hold down if grounded. While this has been the case in his five wins, Amirkhani ran over him in the grappling. He also suffered two submission losses as an amateur. For the most part, he has been able to get away with this hole in his game on the Finnish regional scene, but it will be a problem if he fights at a higher level.
It will be interesting to see how that part of his game develops, but it isn’t my biggest issue with how he fights. Kolehmainen doesn’t concern himself with striking defense. The forward pressure and feinting are his first layer of protection to keep opponents at bay, but after that, he is very hittable. The second you can get him moving backwards, Kolehmainen does none of the right things. He moves backwards in a straight line, he will lean back to try to avoid shots, and he will shell up to try to weather attacks. Kolehmainen also has a bad habit of dipping his head down when he shells up, and it almost got him knocked out against Simone Manno.
Overall, Kolehmainen is a very raw prospect with an exciting striking game. His forward pressure paired with some good boxing will get him far on the regional scene, but there are definitely big improvements to be made if he wants to compete at the highest level. Kolehmainen has an experienced but very beatable opponent this weekend, and I would be surprised if he didn’t score another knockout.
