PRIDE 27 INFERNO Preview

Igor "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn vs. Dan "The Bull" Bobish

IGOR VOVCHANCHYN: Ukrainian kickboxer, Russian Sambo stylist, known as "Ice Cold", AFC veteran, RINGS veteran, K-1 veteran, IFC tournament champion, WVC veteran tournament champion, five-time 8-man tournament winner, Pride Grand Prix 2000 runner-up, with a 38-6-1 record in MMA, making his 21st appearance (14-5-0-1)in the ring of the PFC

Abbreviated Fight History:
Igor Vovchanchyn is a Ukrainian kickboxer who has fought in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts for less than a decade but has amassed a collection of nearly 50 fights in the rings and cages around the world…but never in the U.S. He was actually scheduled to appear in UFC 11 but speculated visa issues kept him from making the appearance. From 1995-98, he fought in six 8-man (or larger) tournaments and won 5 titles. He began fighting for Pride in 1998 and other than a handful of bouts over the years he has remained exclusively in Japan. Igor made it to the final of the first Pride Grand Prix held in 2000, losing the title to Mark Coleman. Although never having fought for either the PFC middleweight or heavyweight title, Igor was always a force in Pride and had his only back-to-back losses in 2002. Below are some of Vovchanchyn's more significant contests.

Vovchanchyn/Mikhail Illoukhine: Mikhail got the takedown and they stayed grounded for the rest of the fight. Igor punches his way out and escapes mount but Illoukhine brings him back down. Vovchanchyn's punishing strikes make Illoukhine give up the hold on the leg but Mikhail stays on top in side control, taking knees and fists to the head. At one point Mikhail was sitting behind Igor with his head (Vovchanchyn's) between his legs and raining down punches. Mikhail headbutts from the mount and Igor lands strikes from the bottom. Mikhail finishes by grabbing Igor's head with both hands and pounding his chin into Igor's right eye, causing him to tap.

Vovchanchyn/Francisco Bueno: Igor at his best. He circled, set him up and pounded him to sleep. He even hit him multiple times on the way down propelling the mouthpiece out of his mouth. This is one of the most played KOs when video clips of Pride are shown.

Vovchanchyn/Tra Telligman: A huge upset win for Telligman but he never rode the MMA gravy train to glory. Tra took advantage of his boxing training and went toe-to-toe with the Ukrainian powerhouse. This was where Vovchanchyn really showed signs of wear. He fought 8 fights the year before and simply looked burnt out.

Vovchanchyn/Gilbert Yvel: Igor did something out of character; he submitted his opponent with something other than strikes. They exchanged on the feet with Igor ducking some good shots and then securing a sidemount. Vovchanchyn gets Yvel's back and works to get the rear naked choke.

Vovchanchyn/Heath Herring: It was a fight that should've been fought around the time of Pride 13 and Igor just didn't seem to be himself. There was just too much activity for him at this level and he was outfought by Herring. With youth on his side and his skill level increasing, Herring would likely win a rematch as well.

Vovchanchyn/Quinton Jackson: Igor still didn't look himself. And when does Igor get injured? At the time, the bout told the story of two fighters heading in different directions. He's only 30 years old so maybe Igor can still turn it around.

Vovchanchyn/Mirko Filipovic: Discussed under Mirko Filipovic's bio.

Also worthy of note: Vovchanchyn battled Fred Floyd (win/strikes), Paul Varelans (win/TKO), Leonardo Castello Branco (draw), Gary Goodridge (win,win/strikes,strikes), Carlos Barreto (win/decision), Ernesto Hoost (loss/TKO), Mark Kerr (no contest-win/NC-decision), Kazushi Sakuraba (win/TKO), Masaaki Satake (win/decision), Mark Coleman (loss/strikes), Enson Inoue (won/TKO), Mario Sperry (loss/choke), Valentijn Overeem (win/heel hook) and Bob Schrijber (win/choke)

Strengths And Weaknesses:
Igor is a striker. With him there's no flash, no pageantry, no mugging for the camera. He's all business. He's won more NHB 8-man tournaments than most people enter (5 total) and had a string of 6 consecutive KO's covering two of those tournaments. He's a kickboxer so his stand-up game is complete but he has good wrestling ability as well. Vovchanchyn works the mat very well and most fighters have a hard time getting up once Igor puts you down. His main weakness is probably not 100% back yet. Igor is suffering a slow recovery from burnout due to over activity. He was fighting the best opponents all the time with no breaks or "gimmie" bouts. He didn't suffer his first loss in Pride until his 9th appearance and that was in the final of the first Pride GP. The next wasn't until his 14th bout. He began to look out of shape and overweight but he has dropped a lot of weight recently and should've been invited to this GP as well.

How He Can Beat Bobish:
If he can bring Bobish to the mat and unload on him, he may find an opening. Dan was out of shape in his last bout and if he hasn't picked it up, Igor will drop him with a one-two ala Francisco Bueno or pound him from behind like he did to Kerr.

DAN BOBISH: American cross-trained wrestler, known as "The Bull", 3-time All American wrestler, 1992 Division 3 NCAA Champion, World Japan professional wrestler, had 1994 NFL tryout with the Cleveland Browns, shootfighter, judo practitioner, trained under Bart Vale's Shootfighting, bar bouncer for 16 years, UFC veteran, UVF veteran, former KOTC Super Heavyweight Champion, trains at Tracy's Karate and with Marcus Marinelli and Becky Levi at the Bart Vale Shootfighting Academy, with a MMA record of 9-5 in MMA, making his 2nd appearance (0-1) in the ring of the PFC
Abbreviated Fight History: Dan was a bouncer "The Flats", a bar in Cleveland. He and some friends used to watch the UFC on TV all the time and they would tell him "you should do that, you're a wrestler and you fight real good." He found out Dan Severn would be guest appearing at an event in Washington D.C. He drove there and went to the fight, giving him all his stats and phone number. Three months later he called him and asked if he wanted to fight because someone dropped out of a tournament. He went down to Brazil and lost in the final bout of the UVF Iron Fighter tournament to Kevin Randleman. He quickly beat Joe Charles and went back to Arizona with Becky Levi, Don Frye and Severn. Dan made his way to the UFC and lost in the final of a 4-man tournament to Mark Kerr. He took some time off from fighting to take care of his family but still had the fighting bug and returned to action in 2001. In 2002 he won the KOTC Super Heavyweight Championship and has fought once this year already, taking out Basil Castro with strikes in the Japanese X-1 event. Dan has also been doing professional wrestling in Japan in the World Japan Organization. His trademark move appears to be something called an "Argentine Backbreaker" which he's used to finish several opponents this year including UFC veteran Yoji Anjo. Below are some of Bobish's more significant contests.

Bobish/Dave Beneteau: Bobish quickly sinks a front headlock and lands a knee to the body but Beneteau doesn't appear in trouble. Dave attempts a takedown but Dan is just too big and Dave winds up in the front headlock again. They grapple back and forth with Bobish in control and leaning his weight on Beneteau at every opportunity. While the crowd is booing them, they separate and exchange strikes. Dave continues to try and get the takedown but it just isn't happening. Bobish had landed a headbutt and some overhand rights in one exchange. When the ref stops the fight to assess the damage, he stopped the fight giving Bobish the win.

Bobish/Kevin Randleman: Bobish comes out swinging but using his unorthodox, bobbing and weaving "street style" Randleman was able to avoid the strikes. They continue to clinch and exchange in the corner and clinch again. Bobish applies a standing neck crank but cannot sink it. Bobish is striking in the clinch but Randleman is not countering, despite Mark Coleman's pleading with him from outside the cage. Bobish applies an interesting arm crank from inside the clinch but Randleman slips out. Kevin lands a left to the head and crowd comes alive. Bobish follows with a solid combination and they strike back and forth with Bobish putting together the better strikes. Randleman is able to hook a leg and bring Bobish down, nearly getting sidemount but Bobish scrambles to guard. Kevin is throwing hammer fists down at Dan. Bobish mometarily loses guard but continues to control the action from the bottom. Then in a blink, Randleman lands a right-left-right-left combination to the face and Bobish is tapping.

Bobish/Carlos Barreto: From the bell Bobish lands a left to the head that drops Barreto to the canvas. Dan leaps into Carlos' guard and drop bombs with the right hand to Barreto's head. Carlos is scrambling on the mat, trying to avoid the heavy hands of Bobish. Barreto get sto his feet and they exchange strikes with Bobish getting off better. Carlos goes for a takedown but cannot budge him. Bobish locks him up in a clinch and starts dropping his weight on Barreto. Ironically, Goodridge and Mark Coleman are outside the ring cheering Bobish on. Dan pounds Carlos in the ribs on the feet and Barreto counters with knees to the body. Bobish eventually gets the takedown and lands in Barreto's guard, striking and avoiding submissions until stood up. Dan had words through the ropes with both Murilo Bustamante and Wallid Ismail (both members of the Carlson Gracie Team at the time) because they feel he tapped to an armlock while in the ropes. When they resume, Bobish gets the takedown and Barreto is kicking his legs from the mat. Dan dives into Carlos' guard and is nearly armlocked. Then Mark Coleman points out that Carlos is grabbing the ropes and they are stood up. Dan is winded. They exchange wild punches in the corner and Carlos flops to his back. Although still showing signs of fatigue, Bobish takes the bait and is triangle choked in seconds.

Bobish/Mark Kerr: Kerr opens with leg kicks while circling backwards. He moves in for a takedown and Bobish gets a front headlock but cannot avoid being tripped to his back. Kerr is on top on Dan's side with control of Bobish's left leg. Mark gets sidemount and lands lefts to the face. When he sees the opportunity, Kerr slides over into what looks like a sidechoke attempt but instead he digs his chin into Dan's eye causing the tapout.

Bobish/Eric Pele: Pele wins the opening exchanges with knees to the body and head in the clinch. Bobish gains momentum with knees to the body and uppercuts. Multiple flurries by Dan are met with single hard strikes from Eric. Bobish takes the first round with a slight advantage. A weary Pele lands a big right to start round 2 but Bobish is relentless in his attack. Multiple knees to the head from Bobish send Pele slumping in the corner.

Bobish/Mike Kyle: This turned out to be Dan's biggest test since returning to action in 2001. Bobish comes flying in for the takedown but Kyle maintains his composure and deflects the takedown. They partake in a heated exchange with Kyle landing a knee to the body and a left hand to the head that monetarily rocks Bobish. Dan recovers and they grapple in the corner and again Kyle lands a right uppercut that stuns Bobish. Dan is wobbly but Mike isn't going in for the kill. Bobish forces the clinch in the side of the cage to clear his head. Kyle continues to keep him at bay with uppercuts but Bobish reacts to fingers in the eye and gets a momentary stoppage of the bout. When stopped, it is apparent Bobish has a cut under the left eye. When resumed, Dan pushes forward but Mike is landing uppercuts at will. The pace slows and Kyle is dropped to the canvas with a short right hand. Bobish pounds out the win from half mount and retains the KOTC title.

Bobish/Jimmy Ambriz: This was a quick bout. They battled on the feet with Ambriz winning the exchange. On the mat Jimmy mounted him and Bobish tapped out to strikes in the first round.

Also worthy of note: Bobish battled Joe Charles (win/submission), Brian Johnston (win/strikes) and Gary Goodridge (loss/TKO)

Strengths And Weaknesses: Dan "The Bull" Bobish is a powerful wrestler. He is freakishly wide and strong and usually fights at 300+ lbs. His size has always been the most difficult factor for opponents to deal with. Although he rarely uses them, Bobish is capable of pulling of some submission techniques (see my description of the Randleman fight). Most of them appear to be chokes and involve the head and arm rather than lower body techniques. Bobish also likes to drop his weight on his opponents. He uses his body weight to his advantage. And let's not forget about his knees. Inside the clinch, Bobish will always knee the body. As for a weakness, stamina may be a factor. He was rocked by Kyle and seemed to gas as a result. However, the word is Bobish has been working on that particular flaw and can currently go 20 minutes hard at 310 lbs. Dan's other likely weakness is a lack of a serious submission arsenal. At this weight, with the competition he faces, it really isn't a factor too often because most of those guys aren't submission wizards either. If he were to face Nogueira, Barnett, Mir or Arlovski, he might have a problem on his hands.

How He Can Beat Vovchanchyn: Standing up. Like with Goodridge, this was signed simply as a slugfest and Dan's best bet is to get this over with quickly. The difference here is that Vovchanchyn is very accurate with his punches. If Dan can get Igor to the floor, mount him and pound him before he has a chance to buck or kick him off, he may get a win here.

MY PICK: Vovchanchyn. This is Igor's type of bout. Dan is a large skilled wrestler but not the best striker. He can wait for Bobish to make a mistake and launch him to the canvas with one of those punches he throws from back in the locker room. Bobish may be able to use his weight effectively but Vovchanchyn is very comfortable on his back and they will be stood up if they stall. I feel it will be Vovchanchyn by KO late in the 1st Rd.

DOWN THE ROAD:
Bobish/Ron Waterman: If they both lose here, we may see this in the KOTC or a smaller show.

Bobish/Assuerio Silva: Silva has not looked the same since his return and may need a few bouts to return to form…if he still has it.

Vovchanchyn/Rich Franklin: Could be a very interesting battle. Igor would be at a size disadvantage but Rich doesn't hit like Igor. I can envision a solid ground fight as well.

Vovchanchyn/Bazegit Atajev: Almost a "changing of the guard" type match. "Volk" didn't impress in his brief Pride appearance but he has done so everywhere else. He's a heavy hitter (more than a dozen KOs to his credit) and you'll certainly be hearing from him again.