Igor "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn
Igor Vovchanchyn was one of the most feared mixed martial arts fighters in the history of the sport. He has fought the who's who of the mixed martial arts and kickboxing world. Known for his devastating knockout power, this fighter was dubbed "Ice Cold".
Igor "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn was born on August 6, 1973 in Zolochiv, Ukraine. Little is known about his youth except this. He had an extremely bad temper. You never would have guessed it though seeing him in his Pride fighting days because he looked like one of the nicest guys on the planet. When Igor was in his teens he had an infamous temper among the people that lived in his village. So much so that they would ring a church bell every time he was in a bad mood to warn everyone in the village. Apparently you did not want to confront Igor when he was in one of his moods or he would knock your head off.
Martial Arts Record
MMA: 48-10-1 (KO: 25 [53%] Submission: 14 [30%] Decision: 7 [15%])
Kickboxing: 58-2
Martial Arts Career
Igor had an amazing mixed martial arts career with 46 wins and only 9 losses to his name. He knocked out 24 of his opponents in mma and submitted 14 of them. His kickboxing record is even more impressive with 58 wins and only 2 losses. He began his MMA career by fighting in a backbreaking 32 man tournament called the International Absolute Fighting Council (IAFC) that took place in Moscow on September 25, 1995. It was an extremely exhausting and punishing tournament in which the winner would have to fight FIVE TIMES in one night. This put the early UFC tournaments to shame and Vovchanchyn did very well winning 3 of his fights until finally succumbing to Mikhail Illoukhine. Illoukhine submitted Igor with a very unusual submission: a chin in his eye.
After that he went on a nine fight winning streak fighting in such organizations as Mr. Strong Guy in 1996 and DNRF Ukrainian Octagon in 96 as well. He fought nine times in 1996 and kept his streak alive until he fought Leonardo Castello Branco at IAFC 2 and the fight was a draw. He then went on another streak and made his PrideFC debut at Pride 4 where he fought Gary Goodridge. Goodridge was another massive man with big punching power but not much else. Igor finished Gary in under 6 minutes with vicious strikes winning his debut in one of the most respected organizations in the world.
He did extremely well in Pride and overall fought 27 times in the organization. He was a fan favorite because of his brutal punching power. He needed very little leverage to knock an opponent out cold. Of his 27 fights in Pride, he won 18 of them with one no-contest against Mark Kerr. He also made it to the finals of the Pride Grand Prix 2000 tournament, losing to Mark Coleman via Submission from strikes.
He only had one fight in K-1 against Ernesto Hoost in which he lost in the 3rd round via leg kicks.
Personal Life
Vovchanchyn has been known to be very friendly and gentle towards other MMA fighters and Japanese fans. Until his extended hiatus, he was one of the most beloved fighters among the MMA community and continues to be subject of praise among hardcore MMA fans.
Igor is married and has one daughter, named Zlatta (translates to "golden girl"). He is now a businessman and in an interview given in 2008, he declared he was finished fighting due to injuries. He is no longer able to strike with his right hand, has screws in both elbows, and recently underwent surgery to correct a broken nose.
Final Word
Igor had a lustrous MMA career and many will never forget his head jarring punches that sent many a fighter to the canvas only to wake up and wonder, "What the f*** just happened?" He was one of the most active fighters of his time and has made his permanent mark in history.
Sources:
http://www.mmamadhouse.com/what-happened-to-igor-vovchanchyn/
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Igor-Vovchanchyn-300
http://www.fansofk1.com/fighter?fID=161
