Igor Vovchanchyn the unsung GOAT....?

Typrune Goatley said:
He may not be the overall MMA GOAT but i do believe he is the GOAT of NHB and the GOAT of the 90's.
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I'd give that honor to Sak. He destroyed the Gracie dynasty (including Belfort) and even gave Igor (2-3 weight classes heavier) a good fight after going an hour+ with Royce the same night. Quality wins over quantity of wins.
 
Igor is the greatest Russian heavyweight of all time. (Kharitonov is #2 btw).
 
The GOAT of real fighting.

Won fights via headbutts, karate chops, soccer kicks...

He represented the era of real unlimited unarmed combat.
 
Igor is one of my all time favorites. A violent angel bestowed unto us by the just bleed gods. May his name remain blessed forever.

However, he is not GOAT. One of the best to ever do it. But not GOAT.
 
tenniswhiz said:
Igor and Randy were the original guys to make a case for the undersized HW.
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Yep. That speed and agility helped them alot.

When they dealt with monstrous heavyweights they got outmuscled and the time Igor got out speed by CC.
 
Igor fought most of his career against ginormous HW's, in his prime he didn't care how big a guy was.

I think most people today have no idea who Igor was, between kickboxing and MMA he had over 80 wins by stoppage from strikes, he was pretty worn out by the end of his Pride run after 130+ fights, guys today like Cain can only have 13 fights till their permanently in the hospital.

He was only 5"8 and one of the hardest punches of all time, if he'd cut to MW he'd be knocking guys into a living death.


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Have a vodka and ring dat bell! Maybe the best mma fighter related story ever.
 
Obviously not goat but a fav amongst those who like violence
 
A young prime Igor would absolutely be an elite striker in 2018.

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Igor usually only lost when taken down and there are actually hardly any decent grapplers in today's LHW or HW divisions. Everyone wants to stand and bang in 2018. Igor would have no problem with that.
 
He isn't the 'GOAT', whatever that means (yes I know what the acronym literally means). But guess what, there isn't anything wrong with that. He's still one of the toughest, baddest fighters in the history of this thing we call MMA. This obsession with anointing the 'GOAT' and over-analyzing a fighter's record and accomplishments to fit whatever agenda you're pushing is the mark of the modern UFC fan. Instead of just appreciating how great a fighter is, everyone has to break them down by judging them against whatever biased personal standards they have.
 
Igor is the unsung hero sure. He's mma' s Claude makelele
 
Typrune Goatley said:
All those losses you listed came after the guy had about 50 MMA fights and 60 kickboxing fights.

He started in 1995 and was technically past his prime around 2001 or 2002 due to mileage and injuries.

You say half of those guys suck? Imagine flying to a shady tournament in the 90's with no film of any of your opponents. Back then you had no idea what your opponent(s) even looked like or about his strengths and weaknesses. There was no drug testing and the rules were very limited and dangerous. Sometimes having to fight 3 or 4 times in one night.

I find it incredible that this little 5'8 striker was able to emerge the king in at least 9 tournaments around the world under those conditions. He was also a finalist in other tournaments.

Sure, some of them may have been cans but to go on a 39 fight unbeaten streak is still extremely impressive. He still managed to beat many big names despite arriving too early in the sport.

He was already slowing down around 2001 or 2002 when the HW division was really growing. He peaked just a little too early and had too much mileage and hand injuries. The man threw punches so hard his hands were destroyed.

He may not be the overall MMA GOAT but i do believe he is the GOAT of NHB and the GOAT of the 90's.
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Fantatic post. 100%.
 
Typrune Goatley said:
All those losses you listed came after the guy had about 50 MMA fights and 60 kickboxing fights.

He started in 1995 and was technically past his prime around 2001 or 2002 due to mileage and injuries.

You say half of those guys suck? Imagine flying to a shady tournament in the 90's with no film of any of your opponents. Back then you had no idea what your opponent(s) even looked like or about his strengths and weaknesses. There was no drug testing and the rules were very limited and dangerous. Sometimes having to fight 3 or 4 times in one night.

I find it incredible that this little 5'8 striker was able to emerge the king in at least 9 tournaments around the world under those conditions. He was also a finalist in other tournaments.

Sure, some of them may have been cans but to go on a 39 fight unbeaten streak is still extremely impressive. He still managed to beat many big names despite arriving too early in the sport.

He was already slowing down around 2001 or 2002 when the HW division was really growing. He peaked just a little too early and had too much mileage and hand injuries. The man threw punches so hard his hands were destroyed.

He may not be the overall MMA GOAT but i do believe he is the GOAT of NHB and the GOAT of the 90's.
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Great post. I loved Igor.

Guy must have hands made of brick to survive so many bare knuckle fights.
 
bambammccoy said:
If Igor would have fought at 185 he wouldn't have that insane speed and explosive advantage over most of his opponents. That helped his style though he would have been a fucking hitter at that weight.

Igor was king of one night tournaments through his career. Helped his winning streak get so high.
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I don't think he could have made 185. He was 5'9 but was fucking thick. I think LHW would be more suited to him. He always looked like he had to eat a lot & keep extra fat on to stay a heavyweight.
 
mkt said:
Losses to Telligman and Mikhail Ilyukhin, debatably should have lost to Nick Nutter in their first fight. Igor was definitely one of the best of his era, but pretty much fought cans and freak shows (other than the fights I mentioned) during his win streak. The same is true of Mark Kerr, who ironically went downhill after facing Igor.
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To be fair I think Ilyukhin (sp) cheated to win the fight with a chin to the eye.
 
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