Nostalgia vs. Reality: Igor Vovchanchyn

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Igor Vovchanchyn is not only an MMA pioneer and legend, but a true hero of the sport. If you met Vovchanchyn in his prime, you would never guess he was a fighter. A calm, polite and genial man, on top of being short and unassuming, one might take him for the restaurateur he would become after his fight career. For as long as he competed in early MMA, or no-holds-barred (NHB) as it was known for much of his era, Vovchanchyn was a man of savage fury. Standing at just 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 225 pounds at his heaviest, the Ukrainian mercilessly battered much larger men, including some who were nearly a foot taller and well over 100 pounds heavier. Frequently, it was Igor standing over the giant crushing him with blow after blow, while the big man lay in the fetal position, hoping the referee would save him from the abuse.


Vovchanchyn was one of the greatest, most iconic fighters of the 1990s, and his style heavily inspired Fedor Emelianenko, MMAs greatest heavyweight and fighter of the 2000s. Frankly, I don't know how it's possible to be a MMA fan and not like and appreciate Vovchanchyn.



For a while, Vovchanchyn was virtually unbeatable. After two submission losses shortly after his debut in late 1995, one due to blatant cheating by Mikhail Ilyukhin, Vovchanchyn would not lose again that decade, winning 36 fights and drawing one, amassing an amazing 41-2-1 record before he faced Mark Coleman in the finals of the Pride Fighting Championships 2000 Grand Prix. It's also worth recalling that Vovchanchyn was very much in his prime at that time, just 26 years old. Starting from the Coleman fight, however, Vovchanchyn ended his career on a decidedly more mixed record of 14-8. His last fight occurred soon after turning 32, losing a listless decision to Kazuhiro Nakamura, a solid opponent but hardly a legend. What was the main cause of his decline?

Read Full Article Here

https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Nostalgia-vs-Reality-Igor-Vovchanchyn-190074
 
Absolutely love Igor.

I do agree with most of the article
Granted, I think his speed Is what really separated him from the rest of the pack.
He also had underrated cardio (as seen in the Kerr fight.

In modern times he'd probably fight at 185 or perhaps even lower (pretty sure Khamzat is bigger than Igor ever was frame wise)
 
It's interesting "looking at it through a modern lens" because 10-15 years ago everyone was talking about how his decline coincided with his weight cut, a discussion the article has no idea even existed. At the time, a lot of people thought Igor was one of those guys whose performance suffers when they force themselves out of their most comfortable weight.
 
don't ask said:
It's interesting "looking at it through a modern lens" because 10-15 years ago everyone was talking about how his decline coincided with his weight cut, a discussion the article has no idea even existed. At the time, a lot of people thought Igor was one of those guys whose performance suffers when they force themselves out of their most comfortable weight.
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I mean "though a modern lens" at HW I would argue Igor actually looks like he fits in quite well, is someone like Lewis really better technically?

I'd say as it turned up his weakness tended to be less "bad defensive" and more that he was used to opponents giving him openings, when Tra just stayed back and jabbed him he didn't really seem to know how to respond. Grappling wise I'd say whilst he had better takedown defence than a lot of the Pancras guys he did often depend on simply neutralising people rather than avoiding their getting top position, against opponents who could hurt him or just wait for a decision this wasnt as effective.

I do think Igor and Herring and really the links between that earlier pancrase generation and the early 00's HW's who shifted to a higher level.
 
eiyuu said:
Does the article give any info on how he and his family are doing with the war going on in Ukraine?
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There was a thread last year in the heavies (that stupidly got sent to the war room) in which Igor was raising money to help Ukrainians. That was the last I've heard about him, but if you track down the thread you may be able to get an update on him from the fundraising site.
 
moreorless87 said:
I mean "though a modern lens" at HW I would argue Igor actually looks like he fits in quite well, is someone like Lewis really better technically?
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This is a damn good point. I think Igor would have an easier time in todays UFC HW division than he did in Pride back then.
 
Great article man!
I never thought Igor record was that crazy before the Coleman fight.
Igor is definitely one of the faces of nhb.
More proof we need aworlds mma hof!
One of the unsung monsters of nhb/mma
 
moreorless87 said:
I mean "though a modern lens" at HW I would argue Igor actually looks like he fits in quite well, is someone like Lewis really better technically?

I'd say as it turned up his weakness tended to be less "bad defensive" and more that he was used to opponents giving him openings, when Tra just stayed back and jabbed him he didn't really seem to know how to respond. Grappling wise I'd say whilst he had better takedown defence than a lot of the Pancras guys he did often depend on simply neutralising people rather than avoiding their getting top position, against opponents who could hurt him or just wait for a decision this wasnt as effective.

I do think Igor and Herring and really the links between that earlier pancrase generation and the early 00's HW's who shifted to a higher level.
Click to expand...

it's this to me. when you fight him more passively it's difficult for him to get off. he thrives on you coming forward to amplify his power and help close the distance. he's a good example of how being short can help you because a lot of the big guys he fought way overextended and got too close to him thinking they were out of his range when they weren't.

as for the article, i don't know about him not being able to compete in today's MMA. at HW Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa are less skilled than Igor was and they're top 5-10 HWs. the only thing they really have over him is size.
 
loved me some igor v as a kid, i had high expectations for his drop to 205. sucks that it didn't pan out as expected and i'm still bummed out about missing out on igor vs. wanderlei.
 
1 of the things was he was very fast compared to the bigger slower guys at Hw. Fedor is undersized for HWs but was frequently the much faster, explosive guy. Another thing is, it is possible that Igor just performs better without having to cut weight. I am a fan of the man. Modern MMA is so obsessed with cutting weight that people always opine that fighter X needs to drop to the absolute lowest weight class possible. But some things, severe weight cutting can lead to being KO'd easier, cardio issues, etc.
 
Pancake Sprawl said:
it's this to me. when you fight him more passively it's difficult for him to get off. he thrives on you coming forward to amplify his power and help close the distance. he's a good example of how being short can help you because a lot of the big guys he fought way overextended and got too close to him thinking they were out of his range when they weren't.

as for the article, i don't know about him not being able to compete in today's MMA. at HW Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa are less skilled than Igor was and they're top 5-10 HWs. the only thing they really have over him is size.
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I think the article is mistaken when it views him as kind of a brawler, he could throw down but often his offence was actually a very well timed movement and punches. It was just that he tended to wait for opponents to give him the opening, not automatically to thrown down with him but to do something like move forward or back off in a panicky fashion were he could step in and throw.

I mean we saw Lewis/Ngannou end up as basically the same kind of situation, both waiting for the opening rather than being able to manufacture it themselves.
 
I agree that the article makes him sound like a brawler, lacking skill. The more I think about this article, the less i like it.
 
The sport is always evolving and tape/video exists. Igor's stand in the pocket and just throw worked in the 90s and early 00s. But, other fighters adapted and scouted his one-dimensional attack plan, and it became less effective. Not to mention he should have been fighting at LHW his whole career. I moved to Japan in 96 and he was one of my favorite fighters to watch back in those early MMA fights (that were shown on TV).

Jarl
 
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