Issue 222

October 2025

September 12, 1999 – Yokohama Arena, Japan

PRIDE 7

By Brad Wharton

Barely two years into its brief but glorious existence, by 1999 PRIDE Fighting Championships had established itself as Japan’s premier MMA organisation. While it served a decidedly different market to America’s UFC, massive domestic gates and considerable financial backing gave PRIDE the warchest to poach many of the US organisation’s biggest stars. And so it came to pass that Mark Kerr, a former collegiate wrestler who’d rolled through two UFC tournaments without breaking a sweat, ditched the organisation that had planned to make him their mascot in favour of mixing it up with a menagerie of the world’s best in PRIDE.  After a debut brawl against former K-1 kickboxing champion Branco Cikatic that descended into chaos, Kerr ran through Brazilian duo Pedro Otavio and Hugo Duarte, before laying waste to ultra-popular pro wrestler Nobuhiko Takada in a bout that may or may not have been on the up and up. Legitimate or not, there was a method to the madness. With Kerr’s star shining brighter than ever after dispatching Takeda, the undefeated American was primed to headline PRIDE 7 at the Yokohama Arena, against a man who – at the time – was touted by many as the world’s number one. The organisation didn’t yet have a heavyweight title, but the last man standing when Kerr tangled with Igor Vovchanchyn on September 12^th, 1999, was more than entitled to call themselves the baddest man on the planet.  

ROUND ONE

As the bell rang, it didn’t take long for Kerr to get his hands on Vovchanchyn. The pair clinched up, and the 6’3, 260+lb American manhandled his 5’8 Ukrainian counterpart in close quarters. While Igor was clearly not a typical heavyweight in the height department, he boasted an immensely stocky frame, which, coupled with his low centre of gravity, had allowed him to develop enough anti-grappling tools to remain safe against much larger wrestlers and Jiu-Jitsu players. Kerr seemed briefly flummoxed that this little man was happy to clinch with him, even more so when Igor started popping him with knees and punches from short range. Undeterred, the American countered with a clinch knee of his own. The technique was awful, but given that he was packing close to 300lbs of pure horsepower, it didn’t matter. While Kerr’s early opponents had wilted under such blows, Igor was a different breed. He took the shot flush to the face, caught a sloppy follow-up kick, and smashed a trademark overhand right into Kerr’s skull, sending him crashing backwards to the canvas. The wrestler popped straight back up to his feet and let instinct take over, ragging his man to the mat with a trademark double leg and settling into guard.

CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES

Vovchanchyn was cut, seemingly from a clash of heads, but that was the least of his worries. Kerr was on top of him in guard, with eight minutes remaining in PRIDE’s 10-minute opening round. The Ukrainian hung on for dear life, keeping Kerr close to him and preventing ‘The Smashing Machine’ from getting into high gear with his ground and pound. When the blows did land, they were devastating; heavy, booming shots that made his opponent visibly grimace. Vovchanchyn finally found space to scramble up as Kerr fudged an ill-judged axe kick, clattering him with another big right hand. This time, it was Vovchanchyn’s turn to be aghast. Most men he caught cleanly to the temple ended up face down, regretting their career choices, but Kerr shrugged it off and scored another takedown. With three minutes left in the first, the tempo dipped. Whether still stunned from Igor’s right hand or simply in need of a breather, Kerr was content to lie in guard, and Igor was happy to hold him there, denying him the leverage to do any significant damage. The pace was clearly weighing on Kerr, though. He was used to breaking people quickly with his combination of raw power and athleticism, but Vovchanchyn (already a veteran of 40+ MMA fights) was having none of it. 

ROUND TWO

As the second round began, Kerr took the kickboxer straight back to the canvas. Igor had been here before. He’d forged his reputation fighting bare-knuckle bouts without rounds that sometimes lasted as long as 40 minutes. Attrition was his bread and butter. Effecting an escape, Igor found himself taken down a second time in short order. Now he knew he could get the big man off him, though, it was simply a case of biding his time as the second 10-minute round began to take its toll on his opponent. Vovchanchyn picked his moment, created some space, and kicked an exhausted Kerr off him. Scrambling to his feet, he fired a vicious knee at Kerr, who was floundering on his hands and knees. Taking a front headlock position on the wrestler, the ‘Ukraine Freight Train’ pumped two more piston-like knees into the top of the American’s skull, knocking him out cold. 

ALL OVER

Vovchanchyn roared in celebration, but the drama wasn’t over. Kerr had come to and was protesting the stoppage. While PRIDE is fondly remembered for a ruleset that permitted knees and soccer kicks to the head of grounded opponents, a rule change had been implemented for PRIDE 7 that banned the techniques when the opponent was facing down with four of eight points of contact (hands, elbows, knees, and feet) touching the canvas. While a furious Kerr remonstrated with officials, Vovchanchyn’s hand was raised. Following some heated exchanges backstage, though, officials were forced to concede that the finishing blows were illegal, and the result was overturned to a ‘no contest.’ Still, the moral victory belonged to Vovchanchyn. He hadn’t just bested Kerr in the ring, he’d made a machine look decidedly human. The pair would run it back at PRIDE 12 the following year, and while the American controlled the first round with his wrestling, he did precious little damage. Even with the second and third rounds reduced to a more manageable five minutes, Kerr didn’t have it in him and was dominated by Vovchanchyn’s punishing striking. By that point, Kerr was dealing with his now well-documented personal demons. For many, though, his first bout against Vovchanchyn was The Smashing Machine still operating at the height of his powers. A testament, then, to the level of The Ukraine Freight Train: The best fighter never to compete in the UFC.  Watch it here.