Belarusian mixed martial arts fighter
Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko
(
Belarusian
:
Уладз?м?р Уладз?м?рав?ч Мацюшэнка
,
Uladzimir Uladzimiravi? Maciu?enka
; born 4 January 1971) is a
Belarusian
retired
mixed martial artist
. A professional from 1997 until 2014, he competed for
Bellator MMA
, the
UFC
,
Affliction
,
Jungle Fight
, and is the former
IFL light heavyweight champion
, where he was a member of
Ken Yasuda
's
Tokyo Sabres
.
[1]
Wrestling career
[
edit
]
Matyushenko is an accomplished
freestyle wrestler
athlete who competed for both the
Soviet Union
and
Belarus
.
[2]
At the age of 15, he was training alongside the Soviet Olympic wrestling team.
[3]
At 90 kg, he won a silver medal in the 1994 European championships, and placed 11th in the
1994 World Championships
.
[4]
He utilized his
wrestling
background extensively in his fights.
[5]
His nickname of "The Janitor" was coined by
Dave Schultz
as a joke to the U.S. wrestling team after Matyushenko beat members of their formidable squad (including Olympian
Kevin Jackson
) during a meet in Siberia. Their first impression of him had been when he was cleaning the mats in poor-looking clothing.
[6]
He was also a two-time National Junior College champion at
Lassen College
, winning the 177?184 lb weight class in 1996
[7]
and the heavyweight weight class in 1997,
[7]
before moving on to the
University of Nevada
, graduating with a degree in Health Science in 1999.
[8]
Mixed martial arts career
[
edit
]
Early career
[
edit
]
Matyushenko made his professional MMA debut by winning three fights on the same night at IFC 5: Battle in the Bayou. With a 9-1 record in smaller promotions, Matyushenko made his UFC debut defeating
Yuki Kondo
by unanimous decision at
UFC 32
. After his win at UFC 32 Matyushenko was given a title shot against then Light heavyweight champion
Tito Ortiz
. He lost by unanimous decision. In his next fight Matyushenko defeated
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
at UFO: Legend. Matyushenko made his return to the UFC in the Heavyweight division defeating
Travis Wiuff
at
UFC 40
. He then defeated
Pedro Rizzo
by unanimous decision at
UFC 41
. Matyushenko was then defeated by
Andrei Arlovski
at
UFC 44
.
International Fight League
[
edit
]
Matyushenko made his IFL debut by defeating Dwayne Compton. He fought under the
Tokyo Sabres
camp under body builder
Ken Yasuda
He then defeated
Justin Levens
by TKO and Aaron Stark also by TKO. In his next appearance Matyushenko beat
Tim Boetsch
via unanimous decision. Matyushenko defeated
Alex Schoenauer
by unanimous decision on 3 November 2007,
[9]
[10]
becoming the first ever light heavyweight champion in the
IFL
.
[11]
Matyushenko successfully defended his title against Jamal Patterson winning by TKO in the second round.
[12]
Affliction
[
edit
]
After the financial collapse of the
International Fight League
, Matyushenko participated at "
Affliction: Day of Reckoning
" pay-per-view event on 24 January 2009, in
Anaheim, California
at the
Honda Center
, and lost to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by TKO in round 2.
[13]
He defeated
Jason Lambert
by unanimous decision at Call to Arms I on 16 May 2009, at Citizen Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.
[14]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
[
edit
]
Matyushenko returned to the UFC on 19 September 2009, at
UFC 103
and defeated
Igor Pokrajac
by unanimous decision (30?27, 30?27, 30?27).
[15]
Matyushenko was expected to face
Steve Cantwell
on 2 January 2010, at
UFC 108
,
[16]
but Cantwell pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons.
[17]
Since there was no time to find a suitable replacement, the bout was called off.
[18]
Matyushenko next faced
Eliot Marshall
on 21 March 2010, at
UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones
.
[19]
Matyushenko won a split decision victory (30?27, 28?29, 30?27).
Matyushenko was defeated by light heavyweight prospect,
Jon Jones
on 1 August 2010, in the main event of
UFC Live on Versus: 2
.
[20]
Matyushenko was taken down by Jones early in the first round, where Jones achieved the crucifix position and rained down elbows on Matyushenko forcing the referee to stop the fight.
It was announced in August 2010 that Matyushenko signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC
[21]
and was expected to face
Jason Brilz
on 13 November 2010, at
UFC 122
.
[22]
However, Brilz was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by
Alexandre Ferreira
.
[23]
Matyushenko defeated Ferreira via first-round TKO after achieving a mounted position and landing a flurry of punches and elbows.
Matyushenko faced
Jason Brilz
on 30 April 2011, at
UFC 129
.
[24]
He won the fight via KO at 0:20 into the first round, the second fastest knockout win of his career.
Matyushenko was expected to face
Alexander Gustafsson
on 6 August 2011, at
UFC 133
.
[25]
But Matyushenko had to pull out of the fight due to Injury and was replaced by
Matt Hamill
.
[26]
Matyushenko/Gustafsson ultimately took place on 30 December 2011, at
UFC 141
.
[27]
Matyushenko lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Matyushenko was expected to face returning veteran
Matt Hamill
on 22 September 2012, at
UFC 152
.
[28]
However, Matyushenko was forced out of the bout after suffering a partially torn Achilles tendon while training, and was replaced by
Roger Hollett
.
[29]
Matyushenko faced
Ryan Bader
on 26 January 2013, at
UFC on Fox 6
.
[30]
He lost the bout via submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.
[31]
Bellator MMA
[
edit
]
On 18 April 2013, it was announced that Matyushenko had signed a contract to compete for Bellator and would compete in a non-tournament fight that year.
[32]
Matyushenko was set to make his
Bellator
against former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion
Christian M'Pumbu
at
Bellator 99
in the main event.
[33]
However, on 18 August 2013, it was announced that M'Pumbu had a hand injury and would be replaced by
Houston Alexander
.
[34]
Matyushenko won the fight via unanimous decision.
Matyushenko faced
Joey Beltran
on 11 April 2014, at
Bellator 116
. Despite winning the first two rounds, he lost the fight in the third round due to submission. Matyushenko retired from MMA competition following his loss to Beltran.
[35]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Matyushenko has a son named Roman who also trains MMA.
[36]
He married Stella Junqueira in 2011 after the UFC fighter Summit.
[37]
Together, they had a daughter named Sasha.
Matyushenko is currently living in
El Segundo, California
,
United States
. Matyushenko also appears in
EA Sports MMA
and
UFC Undisputed 3
.
[38]
[39]
Championships and accomplishments
[
edit
]
Mixed martial arts record
[
edit
]
Professional record breakdown
35 matches
|
27 wins
|
8 losses
|
By knockout
|
12
|
4
|
By submission
|
4
|
2
|
By decision
|
11
|
2
|
Res.
|
Record
|
Opponent
|
Method
|
Event
|
Date
|
Round
|
Time
|
Location
|
Notes
|
Loss
|
27?8
|
Joey Beltran
|
Submission (north/south choke)
|
Bellator 116
|
11 April 2014
|
3
|
3:06
|
Temecula, California
, United States
|
|
Win
|
27?7
|
Houston Alexander
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
Bellator 99
|
13 September 2013
|
3
|
5:00
|
Temecula, California
, United States
|
|
Loss
|
26?7
|
Ryan Bader
|
Submission (guillotine choke)
|
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson
|
26 January 2013
|
1
|
0:50
|
Chicago, Illinois
, United States
|
|
Loss
|
26?6
|
Alexander Gustafsson
|
TKO (punches)
|
UFC 141
|
30 December 2011
|
1
|
2:13
|
Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|
Win
|
26?5
|
Jason Brilz
|
KO (punches)
|
UFC 129
|
30 April 2011
|
1
|
0:20
|
Toronto, Ontario
,
Canada
|
|
Win
|
25?5
|
Alexandre Ferreira
|
TKO (punches and elbows)
|
UFC 122
|
13 November 2010
|
1
|
2:20
|
Oberhausen
, Germany
|
|
Loss
|
24?5
|
Jon Jones
|
TKO (elbows)
|
UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko
|
1 August 2010
|
1
|
1:52
|
San Diego, California
, United States
|
|
Win
|
24?4
|
Eliot Marshall
|
Decision (split)
|
UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones
|
21 March 2010
|
3
|
5:00
|
Broomfield, Colorado
, United States
|
|
Win
|
23?4
|
Igor Pokrajac
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
UFC 103
|
19 September 2009
|
3
|
5:00
|
Dallas, Texas
, United States
|
|
Win
|
22?4
|
Jason Lambert
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
Call to Arms I
|
16 May 2009
|
3
|
5:00
|
Ontario, California
, United States
|
|
Loss
|
21?4
|
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
|
KO (knee)
|
Affliction: Day of Reckoning
|
24 January 2009
|
2
|
4:26
|
Anaheim, California
, United States
|
|
Win
|
21?3
|
Jamal Patterson
|
TKO (punches)
|
IFL: New Jersey
|
4 April 2008
|
2
|
3:35
|
East Rutherford, New Jersey
, United States
|
Defended the
IFL Light Heavyweight Championship
.
|
Win
|
20?3
|
Alex Schoenauer
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
IFL: World Grand Prix Semifinals
|
3 November 2007
|
3
|
4:00
|
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
, United States
|
Won the inaugural
IFL Light Heavyweight Championship
.
|
Win
|
19?3
|
Tim Boetsch
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
IFL: 2007 Semifinals
|
2 August 2007
|
3
|
4:00
|
East Rutherford, New Jersey
, United States
|
|
Win
|
18?3
|
Aaron Stark
|
TKO (punches)
|
IFL: Everett
|
1 June 2007
|
1
|
2:49
|
Everett, Washington
, United States
|
|
Win
|
17?3
|
Justin Levens
|
TKO (punches)
|
IFL: Los Angeles
|
17 March 2007
|
1
|
3:53
|
Los Angeles, California
, United States
|
|
Win
|
16?3
|
Dwayne Compton
|
Submission (armbar)
|
IFL: Houston
|
2 February 2007
|
1
|
1:47
|
Houston, Texas
, United States
|
|
Win
|
15?3
|
Anthony Ruiz
|
Submission (armbar)
|
Extreme Wars 3: Bay Area Brawl
|
3 June 2006
|
1
|
2:03
|
Oakland, California
, United States
|
|
Win
|
14?3
|
Carlos Barreto
|
TKO (knee injury)
|
Jungle Fight 4
|
21 May 2005
|
1
|
0:26
|
Manaus
, Brazil
|
|
Loss
|
13?3
|
Andrei Arlovski
|
KO (punch)
|
UFC 44
|
26 September 2003
|
1
|
2:14
|
Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|
Win
|
13?2
|
Pedro Rizzo
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
UFC 41
|
28 February 2003
|
3
|
5:00
|
Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|
Win
|
12?2
|
Travis Wiuff
|
TKO (submission to punches)
|
UFC 40
|
22 November 2002
|
1
|
4:10
|
Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|
Win
|
11?2
|
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
UFO: Legend
|
8 August 2002
|
3
|
5:00
|
Tokyo
, Japan
|
|
Loss
|
10?2
|
Tito Ortiz
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
UFC 33
|
28 September 2001
|
5
|
5:00
|
Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
For the
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
|
Win
|
10?1
|
Yuki Kondo
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
UFC 32
|
29 June 2001
|
3
|
5:00
|
East Rutherford, New Jersey
, United States
|
Light Heavyweight
debut.
|
Win
|
9?1
|
Tommy Sauer
|
TKO (cut)
|
WEF: New Blood Conflict
|
26 August 2000
|
2
|
2:17
|
Evansville, Indiana
, United States
|
|
Win
|
8?1
|
John Marsh
|
Decision (unanimous)
|
IFC: Warriors Challenge 6
|
25 March 2000
|
3
|
5:00
|
Friant, California
, United States
|
|
Loss
|
7?1
|
Vernon White
|
Decision (split)
|
IFC: Montreal Cage Combat
|
9 October 1999
|
1
|
25:00
|
Montreal
,
Quebec
, Canada
|
|
Win
|
7?0
|
Travis Fulton
|
Submission (neck crank)
|
IFC: Fighters Revenge
|
2 April 1999
|
1
|
15:33
|
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
|
|
Win
|
6?0
|
Kenji Kawaguchi
|
KO (punches)
|
Vale Tudo Japan 1998
|
25 October 1998
|
1
|
3:10
|
Urayasu, Chiba
Japan
|
|
Win
|
5?0
|
Joe Pardo
|
Decision
|
Rumble in Reno
|
4 September 1998
|
3
|
5:00
|
Reno, Nevada
, United States
|
|
Win
|
4?0
|
Anthony Macias
|
TKO (doctor stoppage)
|
IFC 7: Cage Combat
|
30 May 1998
|
1
|
0:16
|
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
|
|
Win
|
3?0
|
Anthony Macias
|
TKO (submission to punches)
|
IFC 5: Battle in the Bayou
|
5 September 1997
|
1
|
2:59
|
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, United States
|
IFC 5 Tournament Final; won the IFC 5 Heavyweight Tournament.
|
Win
|
2?0
|
Robert Lalonde
|
TKO (submission to punches)
|
IFC 5: Battle in the Bayou
|
5 September 1997
|
1
|
2:27
|
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, United States
|
IFC 5 Tournament Semifinal.
|
Win
|
1?0
|
Vernon White
|
Submission (neck crank)
|
IFC 5: Battle in the Bayou
|
5 September 1997
|
1
|
5:44
|
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, United States
|
IFC 5 Tournament First Round.
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Statistics for Mixed Martial Arts Fighters"
. Archived from
the original
on 20 January 2007
. Retrieved
20 January
2007
.
- ^
Al-Shatti, Shaun (12 April 2014).
"The Janitor's last drive"
.
MMA Fighting
. Retrieved
5 July
2020
.
- ^
Vladimir Matyushenko Career DEEPDIVE (ep. 113)
, retrieved
16 October
2022
- ^
"Matushenko, Vladimir (BLR)"
.
www.iat.uni-leipzig.de
. Retrieved
5 July
2020
.
- ^
"Matyushenko's Life Begins at 40"
.
UFC
. 14 September 2018
. Retrieved
5 July
2020
.
- ^
"411MANIA"
.
411mania’s Comment Policy
. Retrieved
16 October
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Yumpu.com (20 February 2013).
"WRESTLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Record Book - NJCAA"
.
yumpu.com
. p. 19
. Retrieved
16 October
2022
.
- ^
Sherdog.com.
"Vladimir Matyushenko's Journey to Freedom"
.
Sherdog
. Retrieved
16 October
2022
.
- ^
"Review: Matyushenko First IFL Champion- MMA WEEKLY ? Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more"
.
Mmaweekly.com | Ufc and Mma News, Results, Rumors, and Videos
. MMAweekly.com. 4 November 2007.
- ^
"MMA Mixed Martial Arts News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos"
.
sports.yahoo.com
.
- ^
"Vladimir Matyushenko vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Affliction fight booked Jan. 24"
. mmamania.com. 14 November 2008.
- ^
Jamal Patterson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
, retrieved
16 October
2022
- ^
"Untitled Document"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 October 2008
. Retrieved
24 October
2008
.
- ^
"Vladimir Matyushenko outlasts Jason Lambert at "Call to Arms I"
"
.
MMA Junkie
. 17 May 2009
. Retrieved
16 October
2022
.
- ^
"UFC 103 Results & Live Play-By-Play"
.
Mmaweekly.com | Ufc and Mma News, Results, Rumors, and Videos
. MMAweekly.com. 19 September 2009.
- ^
"Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Steve Cantwell set for UFC 108 prelims"
. mmajunkie.com. Archived from
the original
on 12 December 2009
. Retrieved
7 December
2009
.
- ^
"Cantwell latest out of UFC 108"
. sports.yahoo.com
. Retrieved
29 December
2009
.
- ^
"Steve Cantwell vs. Vladimir Matyushenko pulled from UFC 108 fight card"
. mmajunkie.com. 30 December 2009. Archived from
the original
on 25 May 2012
. Retrieved
25 April
2011
.
- ^
"Jilted Matyushenko Hopes for March Bout"
. sherdog.com. 7 January 2010.
- ^
"Vladimir Matyushenko lost to Jon Jones at UFC on Versus 2"
. sbnation.com. 28 April 2010
. Retrieved
28 April
2010
.
- ^
"MATYUSHENKO SIGNS NEW 4-FIGHT DEAL WITH UFC"
.
Mmaweekly.com | Ufc and Mma News, Results, Rumors, and Videos
. MMAWeekly.com
. Retrieved
23 August
2010
.
- ^
"Jason Brilz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko targeted for UFC 122 in Germany"
.
mmajunkie.com
. Archived from
the original
on 5 July 2012
. Retrieved
24 August
2010
.
- ^
"RInjury forces Brilz out of UFC 122, Matyushenko expected to meet Ferreira"
. mmajunkie.com. 6 October 2010. Archived from
the original
on 21 March 2012
. Retrieved
7 October
2010
.
- ^
"Jason Brilz meets replacement Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 129 in Toronto"
. mmajunkie.com. 21 February 2011. Archived from
the original
on 11 June 2012
. Retrieved
1 July
2011
.
- ^
"Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko in the works for UFC 133 in August"
. mmaJunkie.com. 13 May 2011. Archived from
the original
on 31 March 2012
. Retrieved
13 May
2011
.
- ^
"Vladdy Matyushenko Injured; Matt Hamill Steps in to Face Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133"
.
Mmaweekly.com | Ufc and Mma News, Results, Rumors, and Videos
. MMAWeekly.com. 14 July 2011.
- ^
"Vladimir Matyushenko vs Alexander Gustafsson re-booked for Dec. 30 in Las Vegas"
. mmamania.com. 21 September 2011.
- ^
"Matyushenko replaces Hollett, meets Hamill at UFC 152 in Toronto"
. mmajunkie.com. 20 August 2012. Archived from
the original
on 3 January 2013
. Retrieved
20 August
2012
.
- ^
"Vladimir Matyushenko out with torn Achilles tendon, Roger Hollett back in against Matt Hamill"
. mmamania.com. 11 September 2012.
- ^
"UFC on Fox 6 Gets Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Ryan Bader"
.
Mmaweekly.com | Ufc and Mma News, Results, Rumors, and Videos
. mmaweekly.com. 3 December 2012.
- ^
MMAjunkie.com Staff (20 February 2013).
"UFC releases Jon Fitch, Vladimir Matyushenko, 14 others"
. mmajunkie.com.
- ^
"POKER369: Situs IDN Poker Online, Bandar Ceme & Judi DominoQQ"
. 27 March 2023.
- ^
"Matyushenko-M'Pumbu to headline Bellator 99"
. mmajunkie.com. 18 July 2013.
- ^
"Bellator 99 Full Fight Card Released; Houston Alexander Steps In to Face Vladimir Matyushenko | MMAWeekly.com"
.
Mmaweekly.com | Ufc and Mma News, Results, Rumors, and Videos
. 18 August 2013.
- ^
Mike Whitman (12 April 2014).
"UFC Veteran, Former IFL Champ Vladimir Matyushenko Retires Following Bellator 116"
. sherdog.com.
- ^
"38 and in his prime, The Janitor still loves cleaning clocks"
. UFC.com. 22 December 2009
. Retrieved
16 April
2010
.
- ^
"Vladimir Matyushenko gets married in Las Vegas following UFC Fighter Summit"
. Mmamania.com. 16 May 2011
. Retrieved
16 May
2011
.
- ^
Holland, Jesse (23 March 2010).
"EA Sports MMA adds Josh Barnett, Vladimir Matyushenko and Joachim Hansen to Fall 2010 roster"
.
MMAmania.com
. Retrieved
16 October
2022
.
- ^
D, G.
"UFC Undisputed 3 Releases Full Roster"
.
Bleacher Report
. Retrieved
16 October
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]