While it has been 17 years and some change since
Igor
Vovchanchyn last slung leather as a mixed martial artist, he
remains one of the most talked-about figures of the sport’s
formative days.
Vovchanchyn carried a mean streak that belied his stoic persona and
packed hellacious punching power into his 5-foot-8 frame, as he
compiled a 56-10 record with one no contest—he delivered 41 of
those victories by knockout—during a remarkable career that spanned
two decades. The Ukrainian heavyweight was untouchable at his peak.
He pieced together an unheard-of 38-fight unbeaten streak from Jan.
28, 1996 to May 1, 2000, during which he went 37-0 with one no
contest and built a cult following that exists to this day.
Vovchanchyn made his final appearance under the
Pride Fighting Championships banner in August 2005, losing a
unanimous decision to
Kazuhiro
Nakamura. Still widely hailed as one of the greatest fighters
of the 1990s, he retired at the age of 32.
With Vovchanchyn’s unforgettable exploits fading further and
further into memory, a look at a few of the rivalries that came to
define him:
“Big Daddy” welcomed the brick-fisted Vovchanchyn to Pride Fighting
Championships as part of Pride 4 on Oct. 11, 1998 and felt the
wrath of his fabled punching power in the first round of their
encounter at the Tokyo Dome. Goodridge was victimized 5:58 into
Round 1. Vovchanchyn conceded two takedowns and suffered a cut near
his right eye early in the match but never lost his composure
against an opponent who outweighed him by some 30 pounds. He
escaped to his feet after being taken down a second time, cornered
Goodridge along the ropes and uncorked a pair of thunderous left
hooks. The Canadian slumped in the corner and turned away from
contact, necessitating an anticlimactic but just stoppage. The two
heavyweights met for a second time a year and a half later, and
though it took longer to resolve the rematch, Vovchanchyn once
again dispatched Goodridge with punches—this time 10:14 into the
first round.
When Vovchanchyn locked horns with the three-time Abu Dhabi Combat
Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist in the
Pride 7 main event on Sept. 12, 1999 at the Yokohama Arena in
Yokohama, Japan, many observers viewed them as the top two
heavyweights in the world. Kerr executed a pair of takedowns and
largely neutralized the Ukrainian from top position in the first
round, though his inability to pass guard prevented him from doing
real damage. “The Smashing Machine” emerged for Round 2 with
visible fatigue having begun to set in. He delivered two more
takedowns but proved far less effective in keeping Vovchanchyn
bottled up on the canvas. Kerr eventually broke down. Vovchanchyn
escaped to a standing position and blasted his counterpart with an
uppercut and knee before sprawling on an attempted takedown. More
knees followed, until the undefeated Kerr lay prone and
semi-conscious in the center of the cage 4:36 into the second
round. The result was later overturned to a no contest, as knees to
the head of a grounded opponent in the “four-points position” had
been banned prior to the event. They rematched one another a little
more than a year later at Pride 12, where Vovchanchyn outstruck
Kerr to a unanimous decision.
“The Hammer” struck Vovchanchyn into submission with a volley of
knee strikes in the final of the Pride Fighting Championships
openweight grand prix on May 1, 2000 before a crowd of 38,429 at
the Tokyo Dome. Coleman prompted the Ukrainian’s surrender 3:09
into the second round, authoring the signature moment of his
unexpected late-career renaissance. Vovchanchyn mustered no
meaningful offense. Coleman, a onetime NCAA wrestling champion,
executed a takedown inside the first minute and stayed busy with
short punches to the body and head. He later progressed to side
control and threatened Vovchanchyn with a keylock before settling
back in full guard, at which point he resumed his attack with
ground-and-pound. The extended beating took a toll across a
grueling 20-minute first round. Coleman picked up where he left off
the second, where he secured another takedown and cut off an
attempted scramble from the Ukrainian. He then moved to the
north-south position and targeted the top of Vovchanchyn’s exposed
head with a series of knees until “Ice Cold” decided he had endured
enough. It was his first loss since Nov. 25, 1995.
Vovchanchyn became the first of the Croatian killer’s numerous
head-kick victims at Pride Total Elimination on Aug. 10, 2003.
Filipovic cut down the Ukrainian a mere 89 seconds into the first
round, as he his left shin bounced off Vovchanchyn’s skull and sent
a spine-tingling echo through the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama,
Japan. “Ice Cold” was instantly frozen by the concussive blow and
hit the canvas in a defenseless state. Filipovic pounced and
connected with a powerful right hand to the side of his head before
referee Yuji Shamada could arrive on the scene. The high kick
became a “Cro Cop” calling card and certainly left an impression on
the fallen Vovchanchyn. It was the only clean knockout loss of his
distinguished 67-fight career.