Other names The Boa Constrictor Name Oleksiy Oliynyk Children Alex Oliynyk Reach 80.0 in (203 cm) Residence Moscow, Russia | Ethnicity Ukrainian Height 1.88 m Nationality Ukrainian
Russian Role Mixed martial artist | |
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Born June 25, 1977 (age 46)
Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) ( 1977-06-25 ) Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb) Division Heavyweight (265 lb) (current)
Light Heavyweight (205 lb)
Middleweight (185 lb) | ||
UFC 224: Oleksiy Oliynyk Interested In Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt Matchups Next
Oleksiy Oleksiyovych Oliynyk (Ukrainian: Олексі́й Олексі́йович Олі́йник, born June 20, 1977; Russified to Alexey Alexeievich Oleinik, Russian: Алексей Алексеевич Олейник) is a Ukrainian-Russian mixed martial artist, jujitsuka, combat sambist and grappler currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their heavyweight division. A professional competitor who began his career in 1997, he is a M-1 Global veteran and has fought for Bellator, KSW, BodogFIGHT, and YAMMA Pit Fighting. As of July 2017, he is #11 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. He is the only fighter to win a UFC fight via Ezekiel choke and also holds the record for most Ezekiel choke wins in MMA competition, with ten.
Contents
- UFC 224 Oleksiy Oliynyk Interested In Fabricio Werdum Mark Hunt Matchups Next
- Grappling career
- Mixed martial arts career
- Bellator MMA
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Political views
- Personal life
- Mixed martial arts
- Sambo
- Submission grappling
- References
Grappling career
During his training camp with K-Dojo Warrior Tribe in April 2011, Oliynyk participated in two Grappling tournaments, he won the Absolute division in an Eddie Alvarez hosted grappling tournament, and also won the Men's black belt No-Gi Advanced Superweight (210 lbs and over) division in the Grapplers Quest "Beast of the East 2011" tournament.
Mixed martial arts career
Oliynyk represented Russia for the Imperial Team in the M-1 Challenge 2009 season, where he defeated Sang Soo Lee. Alexey has highly regarded submission grappling skills which he developed from his background in training in traditional Japanese Ju-Jitsu and competition in Combat Sambo. He fought Robin Gracie trained Spanish BJJ black belt Rogent Lloret in a fight that ended in a draw. After his loss to Chris Tuchscherer he went 12 fights without a loss. That streak came to a halt when he lost via TKO Punches in the first round against Michal Kita at the ProFC – HW Grand Prix 2009. As of 2013, he has been back on a winning streak by logging eight straight victories, seven of which were via submission and one TKO.
Bellator MMA
In the summer of 2010, under the tutelage of K-Dojo Head Coach Murat Keshtov, Oliynyk participated in the inaugural heavyweight tournament for Bellator Fighting Championships. He faced Mike Hayes in the opening round and won the match via split decision. In his next bout he was stopped in semi finals by Neil Grove. He lost via TKO, referee stopped the fight at 0:45 of the opening round.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In November 2013 Oliynyk announced that he signed a contract with the UFC, and was expected to face Jared Rosholt on January 25, 2014 at UFC on Fox 10. However, Oliynyk was forced out of the bout with an injury and Rosholt was pulled from the card altogether.
In his debut, Oliynyk faced fellow newcomer Anthony Hamilton on June 28, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens. He won the fight via scarf hold headlock submission early in the first round.
The rescheduled bout with Jared Rosholt took place on November 22, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 57. Oliynyk won the fight via knockout in the first round. The win also earned Oliynyk his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
In an interview on September 9, 2015, Oliynyk indicated that he had been sidelined by multiple knee surgeries and subsequent rehabilitation. Oliynyk said he has no intention of retiring and expects a possible return sometime in the middle of 2016.
Oliynyk next faced Daniel Omielańczuk on July 13, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 91. He lost fight via majority decision.
Oliynyk next faced Viktor Pešta on January 15, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 103. He won the fight in the first round via Ezekiel choke, the first in UFC history and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus. In unbelievable circumstances, it was executed while in Pešta's "full mount" position, where it is very rarely seen executed without the usage of a 'gi.
Oliynyk faced Travis Browne on July 8, 2017 at UFC 213. He dropped Browne with a right hook in the first round and showed his superior grappling when he won the fight via submission, due to a rear-naked choke (with a modified grip and without a complete full back mount) in the second round.
Oliynyk is expected to face Curtis Blaydes on November 4, 2017 at UFC 217.
Political views
Oliynyk supported Russia during the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, and even wore a shirt with Putin's face and was denied entry to Ukraine.
He's a naturalised Russian citizen.
Personal life
Oliynyk is married and has children.