After being taken off the card for BAMMA 8 (December 10, 2011) in England, Finnish neo-Nazi MMA Niko Puhakka has now apparently been removed from KSW 18 (February 25, 2012) in Poland. The decision to remove the Finn appears to be related to his neo-Nazi politics. To be precise, public revulsion at the organisers of KSW for allowing a neo-Nazi and former member of Blood & Honour Finland’s security detail to once again invade Poland.
Anarchist Organization Between the World Wars
During the inter-war period Syndicalist ideas had repercussion in the Union of Trade Unions (Zwiazek Zwiazkow Zawodowych–ZZZ in Polish) this was 130,000 strong and active from 1931-1939. The association presented itself to join the IWA. It is still active today and assembles Anarcho-Syndicalist and Syndicalist trade unions. During the war the ZZZ and other organizations formed the Polish Syndicalist Union (Zwiazek Syndykalistyczny Polski–ZSP in Polish) which actively battled against Fascists. However it was not isolated from other formations and co-operated with the National Army (‘royal army’–Armia Krolewski–AK) and the People’s Army (‘popular army’–Armia Ludowy–AL). An illegal newssheet, The Syndicalist, was published and ZSP detachments took part in the Warsaw Uprising.
See also : Katyn Forest Massacre.
KSW removes neo-Nazi fighter from roster
Fighters Only
January 10, 2012
Just days after announcing that Finland lightweight Niko Puhakka would be fighting Artur Sowinski for the vacant lightweight title, Polish organisation KSW has pulled him from the bout.
The move was made after fan outcry over Puhakka’s tattoos and political leanings. He has a tattoo of the Nazi slogan ‘Blood and Honour’ on his chest; that phrase was the philosophy behind Nazi government laws against inter-racial marriages.
KSW released a statement to Fighters Only in which it expressly stated that Puhakka’s removal came after a negative response from fans around the world. Poland also suffered heavily under Nazi aggression and the country bears numerous scars from the World War Two era.
The statement reads:
In connection with controversy surrounding Niko Puhakka, KSW Federation decided to cancel his participation in the upcoming KSW 18 event scheduled for February 25th in Plock. The decision is associated with the respect our federation has for public opinion as well as the belief that personal views and ethical standards are equally important as sporting excitement.
KSW Federation never was and will never be an institution promoting any kind of political, religious or social beliefs. We are a sporting organization, which chooses its fighters solely on a basis of their athletic accomplishments. Our goal is to confront skills, records and names not fighter’s views.
However, the amount of negative feedback we received regarding the above- mentioned fighter forced us to exclude him from the competition. Niko Puhakka’s removal from the fight card does not mean that Artur Sowinski’s participation in KSW 18 will also be cancelled.
A replacement opponent for the Polish fighter will be announced soon.
Oddly, Puhakka had fought for KSW on two previous occasions with no issues, the most recent being in March 2011. It seems either the thought of him fighting for a title in Poland proved unpalatable to fans, or the profile of the bout and associated publicity meant it was the first time his presence on a KSW card was widely noted.
It is not the first time that Puhakka has been ostracised as a result of his politics and while he is definitely a fighting talent, his career has no chances of progressing to any significant international level as long as he is wearing the slogans of the Third Reich.
A few things:
1. Yes, ‘Blood and Honour’ is a Nazi slogan, a slogan (‘Blut und Ehre’) used as a motto by the Hitler Youth.
2. Blood and Honour is also the name adopted by a global network of neo-Nazi skinheads, one formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson (1957–1993; singer-songwriter in the English band Skrewdriver) and Nicky Crane (?–1993) in 1987. B&H produces and distributes neo-Nazi propaganda (principally music and zines) as well as organising gigs, meetings and other forms of cultural activity and political activism.
3. Puhakka was a member of Blood & Honour Finland. According to B&H: (‘Scene News’, Blood & Honour, No.28, 2003):
Finland’s B&H security is one of the toughest security in the world. Our security has European, World and Finnish champions in weightlifting, Finnish championship medallists in boxing and wrestling plus the bad ass freefighters [MMAs] we have in our security ranks. [Our] latest title holder comes from this event. 20.10.2003 our security member Niko, who’s never lost a single freefighting match, won the European championship title in freefighting [80kg]. He won the title from Valentin Siouljine from Belarus. We congratulate the new European champion!
The fight referred to took place at Fight Festival 9 in Helsinki and was Puhakka’s seventh fight and seventh straight victory.
4. Puhakka has never repudiated his views and continues to adhere to a neo-Nazi worldview.
