The Reintroduction of Vladimir Matyushenko
Scott Holmes Apr 3, 2008
Close your eyes and for a moment imagine that you are a
fighter.
Picture yourself competing professionally for more than a decade. Imagine that along the way you beat fighters such as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures), Travis Wiuff (Pictures), Yuki Kondo (Pictures) and Pedro Rizzo (Pictures). Your losses are few and far between, having only been bested by the likes of Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Vernon White and Andrei Arlovski (Pictures).
Now after going undefeated for the past five years or so, you have
completely owned your division in the organization you fight for.
Now open your eyes.
Did you feel at all like IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko (Pictures)?
This Friday he will defend his belt for the first time against Jamal Patterson (Pictures) at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Patterson has looked good during his time in the IFL, beating former middleweight champ Matt Horwich (Pictures) twice and guillotining Alex Schoenauer (Pictures) as well. An injury late in the season last year kept Patterson from competing in the IFL Grand Prix, and now he'll finally get the chance to meet Matyushenko in the ring.
Matyushenko has pretty simple thoughts on how to keep his belt: "I'm going to defend it."
It's not that he's cocky. Matyushenko is just a no nonsense kind of guy. He realizes that his opponent is no pushover, but he will approach the fight with the same quiet confidence he's always had.
"Jamal is a quick, athletic guy with well-rounded wrestling," Matyushenko said. "Black belt in jiu-jitsu and good boxing."
True enough. Patterson played football at Colgate and is a fantastic wrestler who has picked up the MMA game very quickly. But Vlady doesn't think it will be enough.
"I'm not worried about anything," Matyushenko said. "I know his strengths, but I'm not worried about them."
It's kind of amazing that after the success that he has had, the Belarusian's name is never mentioned when it comes to lists of top light heavyweights. It doesn't seem to concern him in the least that the talking heads refuse to give him much credit.
"What do I think about people who talk?" he said. "First of all, they don't know nothing about fighting."
Matyushenko is content to let his fists make his case for him.
"Talk is talk," he said. "Fights show who is a good fighter and who is not."
Time and time again Matyushenko has proven that his style of superior wrestling and ground control can squash just about anything opponents try to throw at him. However, he also understands that there has been a disconnection between him and more modern fans, who don't know his accomplished history in the sport.
"I think there was a misunderstanding between my management team and promoters and fans," he said. "That's one of the reasons why I was laying low. Last year I had a good wakeup year and had five fights, and now I'm ready to go and bring it to that next level."
Having the IFL belt and a marketing push will certainly help his cause. Of course Matyushenko will be trying to defend his belt all year long, but what else does the future hold for the IFL champ?
"I'll try and do it as long as possible, as long as I can make a living out of it," he said. "As long as I can support what I say, to back up my words in the fights in rings or cages, then I'll do it."
Picture yourself competing professionally for more than a decade. Imagine that along the way you beat fighters such as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures), Travis Wiuff (Pictures), Yuki Kondo (Pictures) and Pedro Rizzo (Pictures). Your losses are few and far between, having only been bested by the likes of Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Vernon White and Andrei Arlovski (Pictures).
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Did you feel at all like IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko (Pictures)?
"The Janitor" sports a record of 20 wins with only three losses and
has had complete control of the IFL 205-pound division since he
entered the league.
This Friday he will defend his belt for the first time against Jamal Patterson (Pictures) at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Patterson has looked good during his time in the IFL, beating former middleweight champ Matt Horwich (Pictures) twice and guillotining Alex Schoenauer (Pictures) as well. An injury late in the season last year kept Patterson from competing in the IFL Grand Prix, and now he'll finally get the chance to meet Matyushenko in the ring.
Matyushenko has pretty simple thoughts on how to keep his belt: "I'm going to defend it."
It's not that he's cocky. Matyushenko is just a no nonsense kind of guy. He realizes that his opponent is no pushover, but he will approach the fight with the same quiet confidence he's always had.
"Jamal is a quick, athletic guy with well-rounded wrestling," Matyushenko said. "Black belt in jiu-jitsu and good boxing."
True enough. Patterson played football at Colgate and is a fantastic wrestler who has picked up the MMA game very quickly. But Vlady doesn't think it will be enough.
"I'm not worried about anything," Matyushenko said. "I know his strengths, but I'm not worried about them."
It's kind of amazing that after the success that he has had, the Belarusian's name is never mentioned when it comes to lists of top light heavyweights. It doesn't seem to concern him in the least that the talking heads refuse to give him much credit.
"What do I think about people who talk?" he said. "First of all, they don't know nothing about fighting."
Matyushenko is content to let his fists make his case for him.
"Talk is talk," he said. "Fights show who is a good fighter and who is not."
Time and time again Matyushenko has proven that his style of superior wrestling and ground control can squash just about anything opponents try to throw at him. However, he also understands that there has been a disconnection between him and more modern fans, who don't know his accomplished history in the sport.
"I think there was a misunderstanding between my management team and promoters and fans," he said. "That's one of the reasons why I was laying low. Last year I had a good wakeup year and had five fights, and now I'm ready to go and bring it to that next level."
Having the IFL belt and a marketing push will certainly help his cause. Of course Matyushenko will be trying to defend his belt all year long, but what else does the future hold for the IFL champ?
"I'll try and do it as long as possible, as long as I can make a living out of it," he said. "As long as I can support what I say, to back up my words in the fights in rings or cages, then I'll do it."
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