Igor Vovchanchyn MMA Legend

Igor "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn (47-9) is one of the most devastating strikers in hand to hand combat history. His record more likely has another 20 or so NHB, no holds barred, and MMA fights in bouts that weren't sanctioned or reported. Prior to and during his MMA career, Igor also kickboxed in Russia, becoming Russia's kickboxing champion. Most databases have Igor's kickboxing record listed at (58-2).

The 5'8" spark plug threw heavy leather and never backed down from heavyweights who often towered over him. Sherdog has him listed as having the most KO victories in 95' and 96' during a time when many fights had few rules, long time limits, no gloves and meager paydays.

Igor debuted in mma in 1995, winning 4 fights in one day at the IAFC 1, in Moscow, Russia. It is unclear if he won that event, as another heavyweight had 4 wins on the 28 bout fight card. Igor won other tournaments including MSG 96', DNRF, IFC 1, IAFC 3, and World Vale Tudo Championship 5.

In WVTC 5, Igor KO'd all three opponents, and in the finale, KO'd Nick Nutter with a knee in 14 seconds, Nutter's last fight of his career. At this point, Igor was (23-1-1) and began his epic Pride Fighting career, becoming known for his knockout power.

Igor started off with a bang in Pride, knocking out Gary Goodridge with some nasty punches. Goodridge was a crowd favorite in that fight, making the victory at Pride 4 even sweeter. Igor spent the rest of his mma career fighting primarily in Japan, notably winning over Mark Kerr, Kazushi Sakuraba, Yuki Kondo, Gilbert Yvel, Valentijn Overeem, Enson Inoue, and Dan Bobish. He holds one of the nastiest KO wins in mma history over Francisco Bueno at Pride 8.

Video of the Day - Cro Cop v. Bernardo

Here is Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic kickboxing Mike Bernardo in K-1's, "World Grand Prix '99 Opening Round" which took place on 10/5/99. Mirko would go to the finals of the Grand Prix via three TKO wins, eventually losing to kickboxing legend Ernesto Hoost.

Masakazu Imanari versus Mun Hwan Yang

Here is leg lock specialist Masakazu "Ashikan Judan" Imanari fighting Mun Hwan Yang at Deep Cage Impact 2015 which took place on 8/29/15 in Tokyo, Japan.

Imanari (35-16) has submission wins over Jorge Gurgel, Mike Thomas Brown, Yoshihiro Maeda and Nam Phan. He next fights against Juri Ohara (20-11) at Deep 78 Impact on 3/18/17.

Igor Vovchanchyn's Bizarre World Vale Tudo 5 Run

Here is Igor Vovchanchyn fighting Tulio Palhares, Elias Rodrigues and Nick Nutter at the World Vale Tudo Championship 5 which took place on 2/3/98 in Brazil.

At the time, World Vale Tudo's rule set was no holds barred/NHB without rounds. Vovchanchyn (55-10), an MMA and combat sports legend, fought almost exclusively in tournaments until entering the Pride organization. Vovchanchyn hold career victores over Mark Kerr, Yuki Kondo, Gilbert Yvel, and a very fatigued Kazushi Sakuraba.

Tulio Palhares, his first opponent that night, does own a TKO at UFC 17.5. The rest of his career wasn't much to write home about. No clue what happened at the end.


Vovchanchyn next fought Elias Rodrigues who was brought in supposedly after UFC veteran Patrick Smith could not continue after his bout. It features maybe the most non nonchalant tap outs I've seen.


In the finale, Vovchanchyn fought NCAA All American from Ohio State Nick Nutter, and the rest is history.

Fedor v. Goodrige Ref Cam

Here is the Pride ref cam footage of the Fedor Emelienenko versus Gary Goodridge at Pride Total Elimination 2003 which took place on 4/10/03 at the Saitama Super Arena.

Fedor (36-4) has signed with Bellator and will debut against former UFC fighter and NFL player Matt Mitrione.

Video of the Day - Dos Caras Jr. v. Kengo Watanabe

Here is Jose Rodriguez aka Alberto Del Rio aka luchador Dos Caras Jr. in his MMA debut fighting Kengo Watanabe at Deep 2nd Impact which took place on 8/18/01 in Yokohama, Japan.

Dos Caras, Jr. was 3-2 in MMA coming off a victory over UFC veteran Brad Kohler when he was tabbed to fight Mirko Cro Cop at Pride Bushido 1, where he fell to one of the most infamous head kick destructions in MMA.

Pay attention to the arm of Watanabe as Dos Caras, Jr., a Mexican National Greco Roman wrestling team member throws him to the canvas.

Fedor v. Maldonado

Here is Fedor Emelienenko fighting Fabio Maldonado at EFN 50 which took place on 6/17/16 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Fedor (35-4) is looking for his 5th straight victory in this bout. Maldonado (22-9) is fighting in the first bout since his UFC release having gone 5-6 in the organization.

Sorry, youtube has been removing several videos, only have a highlight package right now.

Gomi v. Diaz

Here is the epic battle between Nick Diaz and Takanori Gomi from Pride 33 which took place on 2/24/07 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Diaz was recently given a 5 year ban by NSAC for his 3rd positive test for marijuana.

Video of the Day - Erikson v. Bigfoot

Here is Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva fighting Tom "The Big Cat" Erikson at K-1 Hero's 5 which took place on May 3, 2006 in Tokyo, Japan.

Bigfoot (18-6) next fights Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night 61.

Video of the Day - Aoki v. Black

Here is Shinya Aoki fighting UFC and Pride fighter Jason Black at Pride Bushido 12 which took place on 8/26/06 in the Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Japan.

Aoki will fight smothering wrestler Antonio McKee at Dream and Glory's New Years Eve event at the Saitama Super Arena on Monday. Jason Black, 23-4, appears to be retired last fighting at UFC 77, losing a decision to Matt Grice.

Below is the fight line-up for Dream 18 - New Years Special. Glory will hold a kickboxing event as well. No broadcast details for the United States have been offered.

Shinya Aoki v. Antonio McKee
Bibiano Fernandes v. Yoshiro Maeda
Denis Kang v. Melvin Manhoef
Georgi Karakhanyan v. Hiroyuki Takaya
Phil Baroni v. Hayato Sakurai
Will Brooks v. Satoru Kitaoka
Tatsuya Kawajiri v. Michihiro Omigawa

Gary Goodridge - The Warrior Spirit

On February 16, 1996, Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge arrived on the combat sports scene with a big splash. From his first fight in the UFC when there were virtually no rules, through his last kickboxing bout in Sweden, Gary has gone all out giving everything leaving everything on the canvas scoring some of MMA's most iconic knockouts.

Goodridge made his debut at UFC's 8th tournament clad in a black gi and a death stare. With a boxing and arm wrestling background, Goodridge proceeded to enter the cage at UFC 8 and destroy All-American wrestler Paul Herrera with a barrage of elbows from the goose neck/crucifix position.

In his second fight of the night, Gary fought the 2-0 Lion's Den product Jerry Bohlander, again Gary scored a big TKO with a barrage of heavy right hands while standing over his opponent. In the finals, Gary met Don Frye, and despite throwing Frye like a rag doll, eventually sucumbed to defeat. With highlight reel KO's in hand, the legend of Gary Goodridge had began.

(Goodridge Elbows Herrera)

With mixed results at UFC 10 and UU 96,Gary rounded out his UFC career defeating Andre "Big Chief" Roberts at UFC 19 and John Campetella at UFC 10. On July 6, 1997, Goodridge won the first International Vale Tudo Combat tournament in Brazil, defeating Augusto Sanchez, Cal Worsham and then Pedro Octavio in the finals to take the title.

(Goodridge Takes Out Roberts)

Next, Gary made his first trip to Japan, making the biggest mark in the very first Pride Fighting show. Gary fought UFC 6 champion Oleg Taktarov. Despite being an underdog, Goodridge delivered one of the most violent punch KO's of all-time, flooring The Russian Bear as he was taken out of the Tokyo Dome in a stretcher.

When I asked him about the fight, Gary replied, "I was put in there for him to kick the sh*t out of me. That's what I thought anyways. Then I KO'd him. I loved it and had an amazing contract after that fight. Beating him made me lots of money."

An instant star in Japan, Gary would go on to fight over 30 times in Pride and K-1, with numerous kickboxing bouts sprinkled in. When asked about his popularity in Japan, Gary responded, "I am an all or nothing fighter and let it all hang out in the ring. They love the no give up attitude I adopted."

(Goodridge's Japanese Pride Figure)

Gary's other big wins in Pride included a devastating head kick KO over Don Frye, a TKO over Dan Bobish and a submission via punches over Valentijn Overeem. Gary's big kickboxing wins came with KO/TKO victories over Mike Bernardo, Cyril Abidi, Scott Lighty and Wesley Correira. Gary won the K-1 World Grand Prix in Hawaii Tournament on July 30, 2005.

(Goodridge landing a punch on Dan Bobish)

When asked about his current fighting situation, Gary described losing a kickboxing fight in Sweden last week against Cătălin Moroşanu. Gary stated that he was retiring from fighting.

(Gary's Last Promo Picture)

Unfortunately, one thing still is hovering over Gary's head. FEG, which operates Dream and K-1, has yet to pay Gary for his bout against Gegard Mousasi last New Year's Eve. Gary spoke about that situation, stating, "I have worked for them for over 14 years and I've never been screwed by them at all." Gary is trying to raise some aweness in the media regarding the his non-payment and the non-payment of other fighters.

(Goodridge head kick KO over Don Frye)

Regardless, Gary will always be known as a fighter with a true warrior spirit, budo. Big Daddy always put everything he had into his fights, laying everything on the line. We wish Gary the best in his future pursuits.

(Goodridge wins over Jan Nortje)


(Goodridge Kickboxing KO)

2010 MMA Blaster Awards

What a great year of MMA in 2010, which featured numerous titles changing hands, insane submissions, big time KO's and several epic battles. The annual MMA Blaster awards post will be released on January 1st. 

Please email your nominations for the 2010 MMA Blaster Awards to mmablaster@gmail.com or message through facebook/mmablaster. Keep in mind that the timeframe is January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, the full calender year.  You can send in your nominees in any of the following categories:

1. Male Fighter of the Year Zuffa (UFC/WEC)
2. Male Fighter of the Year Outside Zuffa
3. Female Fighter of the Year
4. Fight of the Year
5. Submission of the Year
6. KO of the Year - Kick/Knee
7. KO of the Year - Hands/Elbow
8. Top Up and Coming Prospect Zuffa
9. Top Up and Coming Prospect Outside Zuffa
10. Comeback Fighter of the Year

Past Awards:

2009 Awards - 2009 MMA Blaster Awards
2008 Awards - 2008 MMA Blaster Awards

2010 Highlight Video from Neon Bar Fights

Video of the Day - Aoki v. Hansen

Here is Shinya Aoki versus Joachim Hansen from Pride Shockwave 2006 which occurred on 12/31/06.

MMA Legend - Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko (31-3) has generally been considered the number one overall MMA fighter since 2003 when he beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via unanimous decision to win Pride's heavyweight belt. Despite being only 6 feet tall and weighing 225-230 pounds, Fedor's heart, striking, submission skills, judo, and ability can't be questioned.

On Sherdog and various other MMA sites on the web Fedor has almost risen to a sort of mythical status as the consensus greatest of all-time. Unfortunately, with his recent two losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, and the emergence of Anderson Silva, Fedor's aura has faded slightly. A win over former Pride champion Dan Henderson this weekend could definitely put a little shine on.

Many fans of MMA have been dying to see him in the UFC, and it appears he might be on the verge of signing. Since the collapse of Affliction, and Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, rumors about Fedor and the UFC have been swirling. However, the M-1 group which manages Fedor wants co-promotion of events and the UFC will not budge on that point of contention. Strikeforce agreed to that term, dying to get Fedor stateside.

There is no denying that Fedor has beaten some of the best mixed martial artists the world has ever seen. Fedor holds two decision wins over the aforementioned Nogueria, decision wins over Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, K1 legend Semmy Schilt and Ricardo Arona. He has KO victories over Heath Herring, Gary Goodridge, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. He has submission victories over UFC HW Champ Tim Sylvia, UFC HW Champ Mark Coleman 2X, Mark Hunt, Matt Lindland, Naoya Ogawa, UFC HW Champ Kevin Randleman and Kazuyuki Fujita.

One of my favorite Fedor fights was his brawl with Kevin Randleman. Randleman suplexed Fedor on his head and miraculously, Fedor was able to regain composure and submit Randleman with a Kimura.

He recently defeated yet another former UFC heavyweight champ in Andrei Arlovski in his last fight. Arlovski was generally considered the #3 or 4 heavyweight in the world at the time. Despite taking quite a few of Arlovski's punches and kicks, he remained calm and knocked Arlovski out cold three minutes into the bout.

The only loss that Fedor suffered early in his career came at a Rings Tournament. Fedor had beaten Ricardo Arona by slim decision in his previous bout and was cut in that fight. 17 seconds into his second bout of the day he was struck by the elbow of opponent Tsuyoshi Kohsaka reopening the cut and leaving Fedor unable to continue. Rings rules did not allow elbow strikes unless elbow pads were worn. However, because they needed to have someone in the final TK was given a victory.

Video of the Day - Too Small

Here is a highlight video of the lightweight division created by Bestrafer7.

MMA BLASTER ON BLOGSPOT DISCUSSING THE UFC, IFL, BODOG, M1, PRIDE

I am the MMA Blaster. I have come to impart my insight and knowledge on the MMA world. I will review the best of all time fights and fighters as well as the current MMA events. If you want the best knowledge, excellent commentary, and sanity, come here. UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, IFL, Elite XC, M1, Bodog from Fedor to Crazy Horse. So check me out on blogspot.

Pics taken by the Blaster at the Sears Centre in Chicago during the May IFL competiton. Marco Ruas v. Maurice Smith (top). Tim Kennedy smashing a high kick into Ryan McGivern (below).