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Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko is a mixed style fighter from Belarus. He is a former UFC featherweight title challenger. He is the first and only International Fight League welterweight champion. According to some MMA publications.
Matyushenko's base is Greco-Roman wrestling, which he has practiced since childhood.
He was nicknamed The Janitor by Dave Schultz, an American wrestler, as a joke after he defeated members of Team USA, which also included Olympic champion Kevin Jackson, at a tournament in Siberia. They initially thought he was a mat cleaner dressed poorly.
In 1994, during the national team's visit to the United States, he left the team's location and decided to stay. Not speaking the language, he took a job as a college wrestling coach, where he also studied himself.
He became the college student freestyle wrestling champion twice while at Lassen College: in the 177-184 pound class in 1996 and in the heavyweight class in 1997. After that, Matyushenko transferred to the University of Nevada, where he graduated with a degree in health sciences in 1999.
