Igor interview
Q: Pål Johnsen
A: Igor Vovchanchyn
Pål Johnsen: As one of your biggest fans I am very proud to be able to make this interview, I thank you for taking time to do this.
Igor Vovchanchyn: You are most welcome.
Pål: Tell me a little about your past.
Igor: I was born on August 6, 1973 in a village near the city of Kharkov (the second biggest city in Ukraine). I spent my childhood an my teens there enjoying all kinds of mischief and street fighting. At the age of about 17 I took up boxing, then in the middle of 90-s we had a boom of kickboxing in Ukraine and I practiced it, sort of half-heartily. I even became the world kickboxing amateur champion in Denmark in 1994 (IAKSA rules) but I could not help being unsatisfied, feeling being robbed of fun. It was only in the second half of 90-s when I had discovered free fighting and vale tudo and ultimate that I understood what was my vocation. After that I followed my calling steadily till I got to PRIDE.
Pål: How tall are you?
Igor: 176 cm, not so tall as you see. Sometimes it's a problem during fighting.
Pål: What do you like to do for fun?
Igor: I used to do many things for fun till last October. Now it's all over and done with. My small daughter Zlata (means "golden girl") has all the time I can spare. It's the greatest fun for me !
Pål: What kind of music do you like?
Igor: Hard rock and ..... thieves' cant. Believe me, the russian style thieves' cant is SOME music!
Pål: I also heard some rumours about you training with Fedor for the RED DEVIL TEAM. Is this a fact, and how's this working out for you?
Igor: From time to time I do some training with Fedor Emelianenko because he lives in the part of Russia which is close to Kharkov, the city I live now.
Pål: Your last loss was to the bigger fighter Mirko Crocop. It was a very ugly knockout and it was awful to watch. How was it to return to your training after that?
Igor: Every time I remember it I can't help feeling angry with myself for falling such an easy prey to him. I was in excellent condition at that time, it was my strategic error. Well, psycologically I am OK now and ready to fight him again.
Pål: What kind of weight division will you fight in from now on?
Igor: I am 99-100 kg now, feeling comfortable like this.
Pål: You have a great heart when it comes to fighting, but you are also very humble. How can you be such a animal in a cage or a ring and be so nice outside?
Igor: I have had to answer this question many times. I am what you'd call "cool fish". It's not always an easy thing for me to whip up aggressive feelings when I enter the ring. In the course of time, gaining experience I learnt how to do it but I never loose my head and this is rather an advantage, isn't it ?
Pål: If you could change one thing in a fight you did in the past, what would it be?
Igor: It would be being damned less stupid facing Mirko in my last fight.
Pål: I heard that you have a restaurant. What kind of food do you serve, where is it located and what is it called?
Igor: It's a small place I am having with my partners. Rather modest affair, a few tables, drinks and snacks rather than square meels. It is located in the central area and I am changing the name now. I want it to be ZLATA.
Pål: A lot of us fans visit your website, http://www.vovchanchyn.kharkov-ua.com/index.htm, How come they never update that site anymore?
Igor: As things were lately didn't feel like updating it. Sorry.
Pål: We have posted about this interview on some online mixed martial art forums. We asked a lot of fans to make qusestions for you. Here are some questions we picked out:
1: Do you have any fights left on your pride contract?
Igor: Sorry, my contract terms are confidential. However you'll see me in the nearest PRIDE, that's for sure.
2: Have you had the opportunity to see "The Smashing Machine"? If so, what are your thoughts of the movie and of Mark Kerr after seeing it?
Igor: Sorry, I haven't. ZLATA (my newly born daughter) is my smashing machine now.
3: What was in your opinion the toughest opponent you ever faced?
Igor: Mark Coleman.
4: What is Quinton Jacksons strength like?
Igor: Nothing special, though he is a top fighter of course.
5: Will we ever be able to see you fight in the United States?
Igor: Frankly speaking I am not too eager to fight in the States but one never knows.
6: Where do you like to go on vacation?
Igor: To Crimea, the Black Sea coast in Ukraine. It's very beautiful.
7: Are you the only one in your family who is into fighting?
Igor: I am. I saw to it. I made sure my girl-friend (my wife now) was a doll of a woman and very quiet too.
8: Who do you find the the most exiting fighter in mma today?
Igor: Hard to say, I like many fighters but none of them strikes me as something very special and exciting.
9: Do you have any funny stories from when you grew up?
Igor: As a matter of fact I do. They were fully covered by mass media. The Japanese especially gloat on them. Here is one of them: In my teens I was fond of street fighting and sometimes I got so excited and aggressive that my fellow-villagers were afraid of me. So they tied a steel rail to the branch of a huge tree which grew in the middle of the village and hit it, raising alarm every time I flew into a rage. On hearing the sound everybody locked up leaving empty streets and waiting till I cool down....
10: Would you ever fight Wanderlei Silva as a Light Heavyweight or even for the Light heavyweight belt?
Igor: It depends. My manager and I are open to consider any offer of fight.
