Matyushenko Bridges Past to Present

As a 13-year mixed martial arts veteran with 29 professional fights, Vladimir Matyushenko has been witness to the sport’s rich past and its increasingly bright future.

In 2001, the Belarusian dropped a unanimous decision to Tito Ortiz in a light heavyweight title bout at UFC 33. Nearly a decade later, he was victimized by the lethal elbows of 205-pound phenom Jon Jones, a man many believe to be a future champion, at UFC Live 2 in August.

What differences stand out between now and then? The former freestyle wrestling standout known as “The Janitor” has improved -- and so has everyone else.

“It’s a little bit of different times and different techniques,” Matyushenko said. “The game improved so much, and I think I’m a better fighter than I was then, but the young generation comes up even better than that. I have to keep up with that.”

Nothing was more indicative of the sport's evolution than the efficiency with which Jones finished the former International Fight League light heavyweight champion. The 23-year-old Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative quickly took the 39-year-old Matyushenko to the ground, secured a crucifix from side control and finished the fight at 1:52 of the first round.

Matyushenko entered the fight as a heavy underdog but said Jones did not show anything unexpected. The key was the young fighter’s ability to beat the veteran to the punch.

“Like I said before the fight, he didn’t surprise me at all. He’s a fast, explosive, tall guy,” Matyushenko said. “He just showed that he did his homework, actually beat me on my own level. It’s not like I did it wrong. I was just a little bit slower.”

The loss ended a three-fight winning streak for Matyushenko. Shortly thereafter, the UFC inked the California resident to a new four-fight deal that begins against Brazilian standout Alexandre “Cacareco” Ferreira at UFC 122 “Marquardt vs. Okami” on Nov. 13 in Oberhausen, Germany. It will serve as the promotional debut for Ferreira, a Chute Boxe Academy product who has earned 17 of his 18 victories via submission.

“He’s short and stocky. He goes low and takes people down, or even if he’s been taken down, he goes for guillotines,” Matyushenko said. “I like to keep it on my feet, but if we have to go on the ground, we can go on the ground. I’m not afraid of it.”

Matyushenko -- who owns victories over Vernon White, Pedro Rizzo, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tim Boetsch and Jason Lambert -- will be in the unfamiliar position of favorite against the newcomer.

“From my last fight, experience is not everything,” he said. “Even if it’s his first fight in the UFC, a fight is a fight. It can be an advantage; it can [also] not be.”

Dating back to his pre-MMA days -- he was given his moniker by a member of the U.S. wrestling team because of the ragged attire he wore while cleaning the mats the night before a meet in which he defeated two of the Americans’ best wrestlers -- Matyushenko has been somewhat overlooked and underappreciated. Many people were less than enthusiastic when he was selected to face Jones, in part because he was not a household name.

In the past, Matyushenko said he preferred to focus on training rather than grant interview requests. A new approach to self promotion has begun to give him a new level of familiarity with fans, and vice versa.

“It happened a while ago, because I think I was underestimating media. I liked to be in shape,” he said. “That’s why a lot of people didn’t know me. Now things have changed, and I work with a really good management company. And I changed my ways. I have a lot of interaction with my fans. I think it’s changing more and more now.”

Before too long, fight fans might see Matyushenko’s personal contribution to the future of MMA in the flesh. His son, Roman, recently returned from the Air Force and is pursuing a career in the sport.

“I wish he was in training with me for the Jones fight,” Matyushenko said. “He’s a big guy with a long reach. He’s gonna grow up, and he’s gonna be a good heavyweight. And he wants it.”

At the start of a new UFC contract, Matyushenko does not appear ready to pass the torch yet.

“I want to win this one and redeem myself in the eyes of my fans and myself,” he said. “Then I have a few more fights. There’s a lot of good guys in the 205 division, so there will be no shortage. Whatever the UFC offers me, I will always take it.”