Makwan Amirkhani on trial in Finland for rape charge; he denies the charge

The trial of Makwan Amirkhani, the 37-year-old Finnish featherweight who fought in the UFC, opens Oct. 26 at the West Uusimaa District Court. He is charged with rape of the singer Mira Luoti, and he disputes the charge.

The case became public when Luoti described an alleged assault in a Yle documentary about the band PMMP without naming anyone or the show involved. Media later linked it to the 2017 filming of the reality series Julkkisselviytyjät, where she and Amirkhani competed as a couple. Amirkhani then posted that he is suspected of what Finnish law calls coercion into a sexual act, and that he denies it.

The reporting also brought two further police reports from women who do not know each other, one for rape and one for attempted rape. According to police documents seen by Yle, one investigation was closed and no preliminary investigation was opened in the other, because the statute of limitations had expired. Amirkhani is therefore not charged, convicted or suspected in those matters. Police confirmed that a report was filed in August 2025 but did not give the offense classification.

Yle says it interviewed both women and published their accounts without names, but could not confirm them from other sources. Amirkhani has not commented on them to Yle. The broadcaster defends the coverage by pointing to his public profile, including his co-ownership of Ice Cage, which runs popular MMA events in Finland.

Yle also notes an earlier case that Amirkhani wrote about in his autobiography. He, a cousin and a friend were tried in Vaasa over a rape allegation from the early 2000s, when he was a minor, and the charges were dismissed in district court. The reports filed last year do not concern that case.

Yle is following the trial from its first day, so the court proceedings and any ruling are what to watch next.