They both threw the Russian hooks with the thumb flipped over, but that's where the comparison ends between them.
They both threw the Russian hooks with the thumb flipped over, but that's where the comparison ends between them.
M. Ed. Ex Phys
cant argue in any way as im not in that scene, but as far as i remember, igor did sambo too but performed only kickboxing.
anyways, i just was refering to punching as both seem to be fearless and just want to get in your face pretty hard.
cant argue on overeem either, just was impressed how he wrecked in those highlights.
hah, here i was thinking that russian hooks was a term no one would really know here :P
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u wanna see some badasses from your homeland, check Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost on K-1. fkn Overeem beat aerts by literally pushing him around in the ring. im not a purist when it comes to roids in MMA, but i'll say, the only reason AO has a relevant career is because of roids.
I've never heard anything regarding Igor having a Sambo background and his lack of takedowns and submissions shows that. His standup style was also more refined compared to the striking that is prevalent in Sambo.
Fun fact: Igor and Vitali Klitschko once trained at the same kickboxing gym.
M. Ed. Ex Phys
Sherdog.com Preview: PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Critical Countdown - Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem
"VOVCHANCHYN: Ukrainian kickboxer and sambo stylist Igor Vovchanchyn trains with Igor Kovalev, Gennadiy Matsigora, Yuri Gudymahas and the rest of Team Vovchanchyn and carries an amazing 50-8-1-1 record in MMA."
overeem oh man, whos he beaten? undersized belfort, then what?........ufc hyped him up for their HW division even tho he looked average in strikeforce against guys who havent even been added to the ufc roster......he debuts against brock who had no desire to even be in there and had both feet out the door already....wins but gets busted for peds before the dos santos fight, when we all fkn knew anyway
I've scoured looking for any footage or documentation of Igor and Sambo. If you look at it from a timeline perspective, he was already very active in MMA/NHB by the time he was 22 and had over 60 pro kickboxing fights by the time he started MMA/NHB. That leaves very little time for him to have picked up Sambo training.
That, and if you watch some of his early fights, it's very obvious that he had very little, if any, background in grappling. He eventually evolved to include some leglocks that are common to a Sambo fighter, but that would not make him a Sambo guy.
M. Ed. Ex Phys