Mixed Martial Arts Career
A chance meeting with an American businessman in a Turkish bath convinced Zinoviev to become a professional fighter, as the businessman told Zinoviev that he could arrange fights for Zinoviev in America. After he arrived in New York, the promised opportunities did not materialize, so Zinoviev made his own way, participating in "about ten" underground fights held clandestinely in warehouses in Brooklyn and Queens.
Zinoviev's first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight was at the inaugural World Extreme Fighting event in 1995 in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he defeated Mario Sperry via cut stoppage to claim the organization's middleweight title, a title he held until the organization's dissolution in 1998. He also fought in Vale Tudo Japan, defeating Enson Inoue. Zinoviev's final mixed martial arts bout (to date) was against Frank Shamrock at UFC 16. 22 seconds into the match, Shamrock took Zinoviev down with a powerful slam that knocked him unconscious and broke his collarbone, finishing his fighting career. Since that time, he has worked as a personal trainer and bodyguard.
In November 2006, the International Fight League announced that Zinoviev would coach the new IFL team the Chicago Red Bears, which would consist primarily of Russian fighters.
Read more about this topic: Igor Zinoviev
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