Issue 011
March 2006
March 30, 1996, Kiev, Ukraine
The country of Ukraine is an ex-Soviet state on the cusp of the Black Sea, and is famed for three things. First, it was home to the world’s worst-ever nuclear accident, Chernobyl. Second, it is known as being populated by some of the most beautiful women in the world, and third, it has produced some of the world’s greatest fighters in many different disciplines.
The famous boxing Klitschko brothers are one example, as is Igor ‘Ice Cold’ Vovchanchyn. The Soviet powerhouse is one of the most recognizable names in MMA and has been involved in MMA since 1995. Cutting a swathe through the many opponents he has finished over half of his 50+ fights with brutal finishes and is still a favorite for many fans.
Igor Vovchanchyn
Going by the nickname of ‘Ice Cold’, Igor Vovchanchyn is one of the toughest men ever to compete in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Hailing from Ukraine, Igor was a mere 5’9” kickboxer going into this tournament, albeit one with incredible striking power, heart, and old-school toughness.
Igor has been accredited with some of the most vicious knockouts and brutal beat-downs the MMA world has ever seen. Originally fighting as a heavyweight, Vovchanchyn has faced some of the greatest opposition in the world, often giving up big height and weight advantages to his opponents. Characteristic of Igor, this barely seemed to faze him as he currently holds an MMA record of 45-9-1
Paul 'The Polar Bear' Varelans
Paul Varelans lumbered onto the MMA scene at UFC 6. Originally from Alaska, he stands at 6’8 and weighs in at about 330lbs. His sheer size and strength makes him a very formidable opponent, especially for one 11 inches shorter!
Though not very technical, Varelans’ best element in striking was his heavy elbow strikes, which earned him numerous knockout and technical knockout victories. Paul’s MMA record currently stands at 9-9-0.
The tournament
This fight took place as the second semi-final fight of the IFC 1 tournament in Kiev, Ukraine. This tournament-style event pitted fighters from the US against fighters from the Eastern Bloc, mainly Russia and Ukraine. This was around about the time of the MMA explosion in the USA and the American fighters seemed to be much better prepared for the event and dominated the early stages.
An example of the difference in preparation between the two camps was illustrated when there was some concern over the amount of time that the Ukrainian fighters were taking to come down to the Octagon or “Diamond” as it was referred to. The reason for this turned out to be that the Ukrainian camp only had one groin protector between them and the emerging fighter would have to wait until his teammate returned to hand it over!
In the run-up to this match, Varelans had won his first-round fight pretty easily. Vovchanchyn had faced the massive kung fu practitioner Fred “The Mangler” Floyd in his first fight. Vovchanchyn had dominated Floyd (who had a 140lb weight advantage over Igor and dispatched the kung fu specialist with relative ease.
The general consensus was that the 6’8 Varelans was going to be much more of a threat to Vovchanchyn than Floyd had been. An additional concern for the Ukrainian camp was the toll that the first fight has taken on their countryman.
David vs. Goliath
Once the two fighters were in the cage, the size disparity between the two combatants was plain to see. Varelans stood there like a Goliath- this was going to be a huge test for the young Ukrainian.
Referee Andy Anderson signaled the beginning of the fight and the two fighters approached each other. Vovchanchyn wasted little time before starting to strike, tagging Varelans with a big right hand. The Alaskan felt the same force as Vovchanchyn’s previous opponents, and went for a clinch and tried to take Vovchanchyn down to the ground- a strategy that would work well for the big American.
Vovchanchyn showed some unconventional takedown defense and managed to fire off a few strikes to his opponent’s cranium. The fight returned to the feet and again it was to the advantage of Vovchanchyn, who took his opportunity with both hands.
Lefts and rights were being rained into Varelans. Body shots and head shots all made an impact on the Polar Bear, who rushed Vovchanchyn and put him up against the fence, but Igor grabbed double underhooks and changed places with his bigger opponent, breaking off and throwing haymakers.
The giant falls
As Varelans stepped away from the fence, the Ukrainian went in for the kill with a barrage of strikes. A salvo of hooks and kicks crashed into the American before a wicked right hook made Varelans stumble and crash to the ground. Anderson stepped in to bring a halt to the beating Varelans was receiving but Vovchanchyn was still ‘in the zone’ and fired off two more kicks to his fallen opponent.
Vovchanchyn went on to meet John Dixon in the final, easily dealing with American and taking the tournament victory. Igor had taken out three big US heavyweights and manhandled them in the process, but this was just an early glimpse of the striking Soviet.
Vovchanchyn the warrior
Though all present at this event would agree that Igor had something special about him, few would have expected him to go on to become one of the greatest fighters of his era. Igor would go onto advance to the finals of another legendary tournament: the first PRIDE heavyweight Grand Prix.
In the last five years, Igor has fought almost exclusively in Japan, save for a few appearances in Holland and Lithuania, and has faced some of the world’s greatest MMA fighters. Still only 32 years old, Vovchanchyn has left an indelible mark on the sport of mixed martial arts.
...
