Igor Vovchanchyn – Highlights, MMA, Record & Family

Renowned for his dangerous strikes and punching power during his time, Igor Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. 

After his debut as an MMA fighter in 1995, Igor has won nine open weight mixed martial arts tournaments and possesses the second-longest unbeaten streak in MMA.

Likewise, he is also the second most successful MMA fighter with several wins achieved by knockout.

Despite Igor’s small size, he is known for his strength and toughness. Furthermore, let’s get to learn more about MMA’s Ice Cold. 

First, let’s look into some of Igor’s quick facts. 

Table of Contents

1 Igor Vovchanchyn | Quick Facts 2 Igor Vovchanchyn | Early Life, Family & Education 2.1 Age, Height, and Body Measurements 2.2 Education 3 Igor Vovchanchyn | Carrer and Profession3.1 Honor of the Warrior3.2 International Absolute Fighting Council3.3 Mr Strongman SEKAI3.4 World Vale Tudo Championship3.5 PRIDE FC3.6 Bueno Knockout3.7 Pride Decline3.8 Drop to Middleweight 3.9 Retirement4 Igor Vovchanchyn | Awards and Accomplishments 4.1 Mixed Martial Arts5 Igor Vovchanchyn | Net Worth 6 Igor Vovchanchyn | Wife and Children 7 Igor Vovchanchyn | Social Media Presence 8 Interesting Facts about Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Vovchanchyn | Quick Facts 

Full Name	Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn
Birth Date	August 6th, 1973
Age	48 Years Old
Birth Place	Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Nickname	Ice Cold Ukraine Freight Train North Weapon
Religion	Not Available
Nationality	Ukrainian
Education	Not Available
Horoscope	Leo
Father’s Name	Yaroslav Losifovich
Mother’s Name	Kladiya Michaylovna
Siblings	None
Height	5’8” (173 cm)
Weight	205 lbs (93 kgs)
Build	Muscular
Shoe Size	Not Available
Eye Color	Grey
Hair Color	Brown
Marital Status	Married
Spouse	Not Disclosed
Children	Zlata
Profession	Retired Mixed Martial Artist, Kickboxer
Division	Light Heavyweight Heavyweight
Years Active	1995–2005
Style	Kickboxing, Sambo, Boxing
Team	Team Vovchanchyn
Net Worth	$3 million
Awards and Achievements	Honor of the Warrior Runner-up- 1995 Ukrainian Octagon Champion- 1996 World Vale Tudo Championship 5 Tournament Champion
Social Media	Twitter, Instagram
Merch	Igor Vovchanchyn, The King of Fighting, Igor Vovchanchyn Signed Shikishi Japanese Art Board
Last Update	February, 2022

Igor Vovchanchyn | Early Life, Family & Education 

Retired Mixed Martial Artist and kickboxer, Igor Vovchanchyn was born on August 6th, 1973, in Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, the Soviet Union, to his father, Yaroslav Losifovich, and mother, Kladiya Michaylovna. 

Igor was known for causing trouble and getting into street fights and several kinds of mischiefs growing up. 

Thus, due to his behaviour, there was a famous story that stated whenever Igor got upset, the villagers would ring a bell located at the center of town, which would signal everyone to stay in their homes until he calmed down.

However, in an interview, Igor stated that the story was a joke although, there was a bell located at the center of the town. You can check out the full interview here- Igor Vovchanchyn – Life after PRIDE.

Moreover, at the age of 17, Igor moved to the second-largest city in Ukraine called the Kharkiv, where he began competing in track and field.

Because of his love for fighting, he later went to box under trainer Oleg Ermakov.

Likewise, in 1993, Igor met the All Eurasian Kickboxing Federation’s general secretary, Eugenia Borschevskaya, and learned kickboxing.

Later, he participated in the World Kickboxing Amateur Championships, representing the Ukrainian national team, and became the world champion. 

Similarly, in 1994 Igor also won the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) kickboxing championship. 

Age, Height, and Body Measurements 

Igor turned 48 Years Old in 2022. As a mixed martial artist and kickboxer, he possesses a muscular build and stands at the height of 5’8” (173 cm), and weighs 205 lbs (93 kgs).

Moreover, Igor has grey colored eyes and brown colored hair, and his zodiac sign is Leo. 

Education 

The information regarding Igor’s educational background is not available. As he was born and raised in Ukraine, we can assume that he graduated from the Ukrainian education institutions. 

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Igor Vovchanchyn | Carrer and Profession

Honor of the Warrior

Igor transitioned from a kickboxer to an MMA fighter after Honor of the Warrior invited him to participate in the competition.

During the eight-man tournament, Igor knocked two opponents first, eventually losing to fellow Ukrainian fighter Sambist Andrey Besedin via submission. 

International Absolute Fighting Council

Moreover, after fighting in a 32-man tournament, he participated in the inaugural International Absolute Fighting Council event in Russia.

One of his impressive performance was when Igor defeated Sergei Akinen via TKO. 

Furthermore, during a match against a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Adilson Lima Igor won via knockout within 56 seconds into the fight.

However, Lima’s cornerman Renzo Gracie argued with the tournament organizers and demanded an instant rematch. 

Thus, an immediate rematch was allowed, and during the fight, Lima’s nose broke, and the fight was stopped a second time. Hence, Igor won the match once again vie TKO.

Mr Strongman SEKAI

After Igor’s dominant kickboxing style was presented during his win in the 8-man Mr Strongman Sekai tournament in Minsk, Belarus, on January 23rd, 1996.

He became famous for being one of the few strictly stand-up fighters to overcome grappling-based opponents. 

Moreover, Igor fought and won three different tournaments in March 1996, which were- the DNRF: Ukrainian Octagon, IFC event: IFC 1: Kombat in Kiev, and the UCMAL: Ukrainian No Rules Championship. 

Igor won 9 fights within these three tournaments where none of the matches went past the first round. Likewise, during the IFC tournament, all the contenders he faced weighed over 136 kilograms/300 pounds.

Furthermore, Igor’s IFC Tournament fight against Paul Varelans became one of European MMA history’s most significant fights. 

Because of Igor’s impressive performances, the UFC 11 invited him to participate in their tournaments in September 1996.

However, he didn’t get to participate in the tournament due to dissatisfaction with the offer and visa issues. 

World Vale Tudo Championship

After achieving success across Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Israel, Igor participated in the World Vale Tudo Championship held in Brazil.

He won all three fights in one night via TKO/KO and a brutal 14-second knockout during the final. 

Furthermore, Igor won eight MMA tournaments on the World Vale Tudo Championship stage throughout his career.

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PRIDE FC

Igor was invited to the Japanese promotion PRIDE after he won World Vale Tudo Championship 5. He fought against Gary Goodridge for his debut and was taken down twice. 

Moreover, after Igor’s last venture outside PRIDE, he participated in a tournament called the InterPride, a four-person tournament in Ukraine.

In the InterPride, he won his first match via TKO and the finals via submission. 

Furthermore, during Pride 7, Igor faced Mark Kerr and knocked him out Kerr from a north-south position with a knee.

However, the fight ended as a “no-contest” because the fighting style of knee strikes to the head on a grounded opponent was illegal.

Igor faced Mark Kerr once again for the unofficial title of #1 heavyweight in the world.

Almost all outlets that covered mixed martial arts considered Igor or the ADCC Champion and two-time UFC Champion Mark Kerr the best pound for pound and heavyweight fighter in the world.

Bueno Knockout

After Igor’s fight with Mark Kerr, he fought Francisco Bueno, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master. In the match, Igor knocked out Bueno with a vicious combination.

The knockout is to this day seen as one of MMA’s history most brutal knockouts. 

Moreover, after defeating Bueno, Igor defeated more contenders and became an immense favorite fighter participating in the Pride Grand Prix 2000.

Pride Decline

During the start of 2002, Igor considered moving down to the Middleweight division, thinking he had a good chance of becoming a champion in that weight class, but the move did not happen. 

In 2004, Igor broke his losing streak and defeated Dan Bobish, a former King of the Cage Super Heavyweight champion.

Moreover, after his exceptional fight, he was supposed to participate in PRIDE’s upcoming 16-man heavyweight Grand Prix. However, he withdrew from the tournament because of an injury.

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Drop to Middleweight 

Furthermore, in 2005, Igor moved down to a weight division and defeated Takahashi, a former Pancrase Heavyweight champion. 

After the fight, Takahashi stated- 

“I have never been knocked out by a single punch till today, I still feel dizzy and have a headache.”

Moreover, after defeating Takahashi, Igor participated in the PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix.

After moving down to the Middleweight division, Igor stated- 

“It is about training. I was only 93 kg for the last two years in PRIDE when they introduced weight divisions. But my natural weight is around 103-104 kgs. Losing weight I didn’t feel as strong as before. 104 kg is the best weight for me and I am really comfortable with it. I felt full of energy, strong, and powerful because of losing weight, I felt a lack of self-confidence.” 

Likewise, some experts state that Igor should have fought at the Welterweight division of PRIDE as he was an undersized heavyweight fighter.

Retirement

There was a rumor going around that Igor was going to fight against Wanderlei Silva at PRIDE 34.

However, due to several injuries, including a serious right-hand injury, Igor retired at 32 years old. 

Moreover, various speculations stated that his last few fights were passive because of Ignor’s right-hand injury.

Thus, Igor finished his career in PRIDE with an 18-8 record and one no contest. He had the second-most bouts, second-most wins in PRIDE history, and third-most wins through KO/TKO.

Likewise, Igor is one of the greatest European mixed martial artists, one of the best mixed martial artists of the 1990s, one of the best fighters in history to have never competed in the UFC, and MMA’s hardest punchers.

According to FightMatrix, Igor was one of the top 10 heavyweight fighters from April 1996 to January 2001. 

Igor Vovchanchyn | Awards and Accomplishments 

Mixed Martial Arts

Honor of the Warrior Runner-up- 1995Ukrainian No Rules Championship Champion- 1996Mr Strongman SEKAI Champion- 1996Ukrainian Octagon/Octagon 2 Champion- 1996International Fighting Championship- 1996Absolute Fighting Russian Open Cup 3 Champion- 19971st Absolute Fighting World Cup Pankration Champion- 1997Absolute Fighting Championship 2 Superfight Champion- 1997World Vale Tudo Championship 5 Tournament ChampionWVC 6 Super Fight Champion InterPride 1999: Heavyweight Final Champion- 1999WVC 7 Super Fight Champion2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix Runner-UpSecond most bouts in PRIDE history Third- most wins via KO/TKO in PRIDE historySecond most wins in PRIDE history World Kickboxing Amateur Championships Winner- 1993Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS/USSR) Kickboxing Champion- 1994

Igor Vovchanchyn | Net Worth 

MMA Legend Igor has been a professional fighter since 1995. The highest-paid MMA fighters have a salary of almost $10 Million. 

Although Igor has never revealed anything about his career earning, we can assume that-

The presumable net worth of Igor Vovchanchyn falls around $3 million. 

Igor Vovchanchyn | Wife and Children 

Igor is very private about his personal life and has not revealed much about his family in any of his interviews.

However, various sources have revealed that he is married and has a daughter named Zlata.

Igor Vovchanchyn | Social Media Presence 

Igor’s social media presence is absent. However, his fans still post about him on various social media platforms. 

Here we have provided you with Igor’s most active hashtags on social media platforms. 

Twitter- #IgorVovchanchyn

Instagram- #IgorVovchanchyn

Interesting Facts about Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor is close friends with a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist, Fedor Emelianenko. In a 2008 interview, Igor stated that after he retired from the MMA, he opened a local cafe-bar called ‘Champion.’Ukrainian authorities have created an MMA tournament named after Igor called the Igor Vovchanchyn Cup.