Vladimir Matyushenko

Background
Matyushenko is an accomplished freestyle wrestling athlete and utilized his wrestling background extensively in his fights. He was a Soviet National Wrestling Champion.

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.

He became a two-time National Junior College champion at Lassen College, winning the 177–184 lb weight class in 1996 and the HWT weight class in 1997, before moving on to the University of Nevada, graduating with a degree in Health Science in 1999.

UFC career
Matyushenko beat Rich Franklin in a Welterweight match up at UFC 5 by Unanimous decision, in his next fight he lost to Forrest Griffin at Fight night 1 by Unanimous decision, Vladimir lost to Brandon Vera by Unanimous decision at UFC 14 another defeat came at UFC 18 against Dan Henderson by Unanimous decision, Matyushenko lost to Thiago Silva at UFC 25 by Unanimous decision, Matyushenko lost to Murilo Rua by Unanimous decision, Matyushenko lost to Matt Hamill by KO at UFC on Non Stop Sport 2, Matyushenko lost to Rameau Sokoudjou at the prelims of UFC on Non Stop Sport 4 by KO, Matyushenko beat Kazuhiro Nakamura by TKO on the prelims of UFC 42, Matyushenko lost to Rich Franklin by TKO on the prelims of Fight Night 17.

MMA record

 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 2 - 8 - 0
 * Rich Franklin
 * TKO (Punch)
 * UFN 17
 * August 28, 2013
 * align=center| 2nd
 * align=center| 1.44
 * Palms resort and casino, Paradise, Nevada, USA
 * style="background: #ccffcc; text-align: center;"| Win
 * align=center| 2 - 7 - 0
 * Kazuhiro Nakamura
 * TKO (Punch)
 * UFC 42
 * July 7, 2013
 * align=center| 2nd
 * align=center| 2.30
 * Mandalay Bay, Paradise, Nevada, USA.
 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 1 - 7 - 0
 * Rameau Sokoudjou
 * KO (Punch)
 * UFC on NSS 4
 * June 5 2013
 * align=center| 1st
 * align=center| 4.57
 * O2 Arena, London, England
 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 1 - 6 - 0
 * Matt Hamill
 * KO (Punch)
 * UFC on NSS 2
 * 28 April 2013
 * align=center| 2nd
 * align=center| 4.18
 * O2 Arena, London, England
 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 1 - 5 - 0
 * Murilo Rua
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFC 32
 * April 10, 2013
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * Mandalay Bay, Paradise, Nevada, USA.
 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 1 - 4 - 0
 * Thiago Silva
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFC 25
 * March 3, 2013
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * O2 Arena, London, England
 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 1 - 3 - 0
 * Dan Henderson
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFC 18
 * January 23, 2013
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 1 - 2 - 0
 * Brandon Vera
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFC 14
 * January 6, 2013
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
 * style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss
 * align=center| 1 - 1 - 0
 * Forrest Griffin
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFN 1
 * December 9, 2012
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, USA.
 * style="background: #ccffcc; text-align: center;"| Win
 * align=center| 1 - 0 - 0
 * Rich Franklin
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFC 5
 * November 21, 2012
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * Red Rock Casino resort & Spa, Paradise, Nevada, USA
 * }
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFN 1
 * December 9, 2012
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, USA.
 * style="background: #ccffcc; text-align: center;"| Win
 * align=center| 1 - 0 - 0
 * Rich Franklin
 * Unanimous decision
 * UFC 5
 * November 21, 2012
 * align=center| 3rd
 * align=center| 5.00
 * Red Rock Casino resort & Spa, Paradise, Nevada, USA
 * }
 * Red Rock Casino resort & Spa, Paradise, Nevada, USA
 * }
 * }

