Table of Contents
Who is Igor Vovchanchyn?
Igor Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist known for his lethal strikes and punching power. Igor has won nine open-weight mixed martial arts contests since making his MMA debut in 1995, and he has the second-longest unbeaten record in MMA.
Similarly, he is the second most successful MMA fighter, with multiple knockout victories.
Despite his diminutive stature, Igor is well-known for his strength and toughness.
Igor Vovchanchyn | Childhood, Family, and Education
Igor Vovchanchyn, a retired MMA fighter, and kickboxer were born on August 6, 1973, in Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, the Soviet Union, to Yaroslav Losifovich and Kladiya Michaylovna.
Growing up, Igor was renowned for making problems, getting into street fights, and getting into various mischiefs.
As a result of his conduct, there was famous folklore that suggested that anytime Igor became agitated, the villagers would ring a bell located in the center of town, signaling everyone to stay in their houses until he calmed down.
However, in an interview, Igor indicated that the story was a prank, despite the fact that there was a bell in the middle of town. The complete interview may be seen here: Igor Vovchanchyn – Life after PRIDE.
Furthermore, at the age of 17, Igor relocated to Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and began competing in track and field.
He eventually decided to box under trainer Oleg Ermakov due to his passion for fighting.
Similarly, in 1993, Igor met Eugenia Borschevskaya, the general secretary of the All Eurasian Kickboxing Federation, and began learning kickboxing.
Later, he represented the Ukrainian national team at the World Kickboxing Amateur Championships, where he won the world title.
Similarly, Igor won the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) kickboxing championship in 1994.
Age, Height, and Body Dimensions
In 2022, Igor will be 49 years old.
He has a muscular frame and stands at 5’8″ (173 cm) and weighs 205 pounds as a mixed martial artist and kickboxer (93 kgs).
Furthermore, Igor has grey eyes and brown hair, and his zodiac sign is Leo.
Education
There is no information known on Igor’s educational background.
We might presume that because he was born and reared in Ukraine, he attended Ukrainian educational institutions.
Carrer and Profession | Igor Vovchanchyn
The Warrior’s Honour
Igor made the shift from kickboxer to MMA fighter after Honor of the Warrior invited him to compete.
During the eight-man competition, Igor knocked out two opponents before falling by submission to fellow Ukrainian fighter Sambist Andrey Besedin.
International Supreme Military Council
He also competed in the inaugural International Absolute Fighting Council event in Russia after competing in a 32-man tournament.
Igor’s TKO victory over Sergei Akinen was one of his most stunning performances.
Furthermore, Adilson Lima Igor won a match against a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt by knockout 56 seconds into the fight.
Lima’s cornerman Renzo Gracie, on the other hand, protested with the tournament administrators and requested an immediate rematch.
As a result, an immediate rematch was permitted, and during the bout, Lima’s nose fractured, forcing the fight to be stopped for the second time.
As a result, Igor won the match via TKO once more.
SEKAI, Mr. Strongman
On January 23, 1996, Igor’s powerful kickboxing skills were displayed during his victory in the 8-man Mr. Strongman Sekai event in Minsk, Belarus.
He rose to prominence as one of the few solely stand-up fighters to defeat grappling-based opponents.
Furthermore, in March 1996, Igor competed in and won three distinct tournaments: the DNRF: Ukrainian Octagon, the IFC event: IFC 1: Kombat in Kyiv, and the UCMAL: Ukrainian No Rules Championship.
Igor won nine fights in three competitions, none of which went past the first round.
Similarly, throughout the IFC competition, all of the competitors he faced weighed more than 136 kilograms/300 pounds.
Furthermore, Igor’s IFC Tournament bout against Paul Varelans became one of the most notable fights in European MMA history.
In September 1996, UFC 11 invited Igor to compete in their events due to his great accomplishments.
However, due to unhappiness with the offer and visa complications, he was unable to compete in the event.
Vale Tudo World Championship
Igor competed in the World Vale Tudo Championship in Brazil after enjoying victory in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Israel.
He won all three fights in a single night, using TKO/KO and a horrific 14-second knockout in the final.
Igor also won eight MMA tournaments on the World Vale Tudo Championship stage during his career.
FC PRIDE
After winning the World Vale Tudo Championship 5, Igor was invited to the Japanese promotion PRIDE.
For his debut, he faced Gary Goodridge and was knocked down twice.
Furthermore, following his most recent journey outside of PRIDE, Igor competed in the InterPride, a four-person event in Ukraine.
He won his first match in the InterPride via TKO and the finals by submission.
Furthermore, during Pride 7, Igor confronted Mark Kerr and knocked him out with a knee from a north-south posture.
The battle, however, was declared a “no-contest” because the fighting technique of knee strikes to the head on a grounded opponent was prohibited.
During a fight, Igor
Igor challenged Mark Kerr once more for the unofficial title of world heavyweight champion.
Almost every mixed martial arts publication regarded Igor or ADCC Champion and two-time UFC Champion Mark Kerr as the finest pound-for-pound and heavyweight fighter in the world.
Good knockout
Following his bout with Mark Kerr, Igor faced Francisco Bueno, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist.
Igor knocked out Bueno with a brutal combination during the match.
The knockout is still regarded as one of the most violent in MMA history.
Furthermore, after overcoming Bueno, Igor went on to overcome other rivals and become a huge favorite in the Pride Grand Prix 2000.
Pride Reduction
Igor considered dropping down to the Middleweight division at the start of 2002, believing he had a good chance of becoming a champion in that weight class, but the move did not take place.
Igor ended his losing skid in 2004 when he defeated Dan Bobish, a former King of the Cage Super Heavyweight champion.
Furthermore, following his outstanding performance, he was scheduled to compete in PRIDE’s upcoming 16-man heavyweight Grand Prix. He did, however, withdraw from the competition due to an injury.
Reduce to Middleweight
In addition, in 2005, Igor dropped a weight class and defeated Takahashi, a former Pancrase Heavyweight champion.
Takahashi commented after the fight-
“Until today, I had never been knocked out by a single punch; I’m still disoriented and have a headache.”
Igor also competed in PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix after defeating Takahashi.
Igor commented after going down to the Middleweight division-
“It’s all about training.” When weight divisions were introduced in PRIDE, I was only 93 kg for the previous two years.
However, my natural weight is between 103 and 104 kg. I didn’t feel as strong as I used to after losing weight.
104 kg is the ideal weight for me, and I am quite happy with it.
I felt full of vitality, robust, and powerful as a result of decreasing weight; nonetheless, I had a loss of self-confidence.”
Similarly, some analysts believe that Igor should have fought in the PRIDE Welterweight class because he was an undersized heavyweight fighter.
Retirement
There was a buzz going around that Igor will face Wanderlei Silva at PRIDE 34.
Igor retired at the age of 32 owing to a number of injuries, including a catastrophic right-hand injury.
Moreover, numerous rumors indicated that his previous few fights were passive because of Ignor’s right-hand injury.
Thus, Igor concluded his tenure in PRIDE with an 18-8 record and one no-contest.
He had the second-most matches, second-most wins in PRIDE history, and third-most wins through KO/TKO.
Likewise, Igor is one of the greatest European mixed martial artists, one of the best mixed martial artists of the 1990s, one of the best fighters in history to have never competed in the UFC, and MMA’s toughest punchers.
According to FightMatrix, Igor was one of the top 10 heavyweight fighters from April 1996 to January 2001.
Igor Vovchanchyn | Awards and Accomplishments
Mixed Martial Arts
- The honor of the Warrior Runner-up- 1995
- Ukrainian No Rules Championship Champion- 1996
- Mr. Strongman SEKAI Champion- 1996
- Ukrainian Octagon/Octagon 2 Champion- 1996
- International Fighting Championship- 1996
- Absolute Fighting Russian Open Cup 3 Champion- 1997
- 1st Absolute Fighting World Cup Pankration Champion- 1997
- Absolute Fighting Championship 2 Superfight Champion- 1997
- World Vale Tudo Championship 5 Tournament Champion
- WVC 6 Super Fight Champion
- InterPride 1999: Heavyweight Final Champion- 1999
- WVC 7 Super Fight Champion
- 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix Runner-Up
- Second most bouts in PRIDE history
- Third- most wins via KO/TKO in PRIDE history
- Second most wins in PRIDE history
- World Kickboxing Amateur Championships Winner- 1993
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS/USSR) Kickboxing Champion- 1994
Igor Vovchanchyn | Net Worth
MMA Legend Igor has been a professional fighter since 1995.
The highest-paid MMA fighters have a salary of approximately $10 Million.
Although Igor has never published anything about his professional profits, we can guess that-
The presumable net worth of Igor Vovchanchyn lies around $3 million.
Igor Vovchanchyn | Wife and Children
Igor is quite discreet about his personal life and has not shared anything about his family in any of his interviews.
However, numerous sources have reported that he is married and has a daughter named Zlata.
Igor Vovchanchyn | Social Media Presence
Igor’s social media presence is absent.
However, his supporters still post about him on numerous social media networks.
Here we have given you Igor’s most active hashtags on social media sites.
Twitter- #IgorVovchanchyn
Instagram- #IgorVovchanchyn
Also, read Montana De La Rosa, Gregory Burke, Kaitlin Nowak
Interesting Facts about Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor is good pals with a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist, Fedor Emelianenko.
In a 2008 interview, Igor revealed that after he resigned from the MMA, he started a small coffee bar called ‘Champion.’
Ukrainian authorities have developed an MMA event named after Igor called the Igor Vovchanchyn Cup.
Quote
“One should be able to think strategically and logically, possess firmness, be cold-blooded and patient.”
— Igor Vovchanchyn.
