Bobby Hoffman, Mikhail Ilyukhin, and other forgotten fighters

[TheComebackKid]

It seem like these two have been completely forgotten. They were not great fighters but were definitely solid and big names during their era. I've also seen their names pop up in several old school rankings. Anyway, I just wanted to give them some attention as a reminder for the old school fans and an introduction for some of the newer fans who may have never heard of them.

Bobby Hoffman

Years Active: 1998-2006

Record: 36-10-1

Titles: Rings 2000 Rising Star Champion, KOTC SuperHeavyweight Champion, KOTC HeavyWeight Champion

Notable Wins: Alistair Overeem, Ricco Rodriguez, Heath Herring, Paul Buentello, Mikhail Ilyukhin, Eric Pele

Mikhail Ilyukhin

Years Active: 1995-2005

Record: 30-11-1

Notable Wins: Randy Couture, Igor Vovchanchyn, Volk Han, Justin McCully, T Kohsaka



Who are some other fighters who have seem to be completely forgotten?

 

[Kanster]

Hoffman ducked Fedor.

 

[TheComebackKid]

Did he really? Whats the story on that?

 

[MCS]

Guy Mezger and Pele are others. they only come up when Chuck's grappler curb stomping comes up, or when Pele and Anderson go verbally at it.

I'd say Hoffman was def the better of the two, Illoukhine had some good wins and came from Red Devil, but didn't grasp the striking as well as the Emelianenko bros.

 

[Kanster]

Supposedly he got injured. I'll try to post an interview once I get out of work if I find it.

 

[soohrednaB]

Today's fans don't seem to know who Igor Vovchanchyn is.

This bothers me.

 

[Deleted member 428241]

Good thread! Didn

 

[orangecuse]

I always liked Eugene Jackson. He wasnt the best. The way he schooled Alger was awesome. He was guy who tried to be an all around fighter back then.

 

[Rational Poster]

Spencer Fisher

 

[TheComebackKid]

Guy Mezger and Pele are others. they only come up when Chuck's grappler curb stomping comes up, or when Pele and Anderson go verbally at it.

I'd say Hoffman was def the better of the two, Illoukhine had some good wins and came from Red Devil, but didn't grasp the striking as well as the Emelianenko bros.

Mezger is a good one. He actually looked elite most of the time. Went toe to toe with Chuck and Wanderlei and had them both reeling at times. Wins over Tito, Kondo, Schilt, Funaki, Kunioku, Yamada, Suzuki.

Pele has some good wins over Hughes, Miletich, Patino, Schlemenko.

And I agree Hoffman was better.

 

[TheComebackKid]

Good thread! Didn

 

[europe1]

Did he really? Whats the story on that?

[YT]-tN2v3N_Fcg[/YT]

Didn't really duck him. Just forfited the match due to injury.

And there are a ton of unknown guys. Especially fighters in Japan and Eastern Europe whom reacieved little attention even in their own time.

Really intresting when you watch old events and hear the commentators talk about future mega-stars like Eugene Jackson or Jay R Palmer.

 

[orangecuse]

I've posted highlights here before but you can also find both of the entire one night tournaments Ilyukhin was in to start his career on YT iirc.

He won the first & lost in finals in the 2nd.

 

[Nimrod]

i remeber Ilyukhin win over igor he ground his chin into igors eye socket... nice ..

other quality fighters back in the day

 

[orangecuse]

i remeber Ilyukhin win over igor he ground his chin into igors eye socket... nice ..

other quality fighters back in the day

That's also how Kerr bet Dan Bobish in the UFC.

 

[TRYHARD 2001]

Bobby Hoffman, in addition to being a pretty badass cage fighter, was also batshit crazy. Nearly beat his wife to death for waking him up from a nap, threatened to kill Pat Miletich and his kids (Pat carried a heater with him wherever he went from then on), and generally just couldn't be taken anywhere without getting hammered and fucking people up. Forget Tank Abbott, The Bad Seed was the true loose cannon of MMA.

 

[NightwingBJJ]

Spencer Fisher

UFC Unleashed

 

[B-Man]

I vaguely remember Hoffman crying when he was getting beaten up one time, was that against Barnett? He was good fun to watch though.

 

[Glove]

Before there was Anderson Silva & Wanderlai Silva, there was Jose (Pele) Landis-Jons, who to me is one of the greatest strikers i have ever seen and whom is largely unknown.

 

[Ez Eric]

Good call on both guys. I started watching around late 90's and early 2000s and I remember how feared Hoffman was.

Hidehiko Yoshida doesn't get enough credit on these boards. From like 2002 to 2006 he was a very tough opponent for any 205 or HW fighter.

Also Naoyo Ogawa