Oléna "Lena" Serhíyivna Ovchýnnikova ( uk, Оле́на "Ле́на" Сергі́ївна Овчи́ннікова; born April 22, 1987) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division in kickboxing and the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

division in MMA. She is the reigning

WBC Muaythai WBC may stand for: Business * Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale' ...

World Featherweight champion and the former world flyweight champion.

Career

Lena Ovchynnikova came to prominence as an amateur

and

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

fighter, medaling at various national, European and world championships. She became a world champion in the professional ranks for the first time in 2009 when she won the

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the United ...

Women's World Super Bantamweight (56.4 kg/124 lb) Oriental Championship and the following year, she added two more world titles to her mantelpiece by winning the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) Women's World Super Bantamweight (-56.4 kg/124 lb) belt under both kickboxing and Muay Thai rules. She challenged

Christine Theiss Christine Anna Maria Theiss, maiden name ''Hennig'', born February 22, 1980 in Greiz, East Germany, is a German female kickboxer. Since 2007, she is the world champion in professional full contact kickboxing in the World Kickboxing Associatio ...

for her WKA world title in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on November 20, 2010, losing by sixth round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. Ovchynnikova was then set to fight Jeri Sitzes in a match for the

Women's International Bantamweight (-53.5 kg/118 lb) title in

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

on December 18, 2010 but Sitzes withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Li Xiao in a non-title fight. She defeated Li by

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

. Taking the place of Cong Wang who pulled out of the fight, Ovchynnikova faced professional debutant

Tiffany van Soest Tiffany Lynn van Soest (born March 20, 1989) is an American Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the bantamweight division. She is the current Glory Super Bantamweight Champion. In 2019, Combat Press voted her the Female Fighter of the Year. O ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on October 22, 2011, and lost by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

after retiring in her corner with a broken hand at the end of round two. Following this fight, Ovchynnikova forced herself to use only her left hand during rehabilitation which later made her ambidextrous. The pair were scheduled to rematch on July 21, 2012, in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, but it never came to fruition. Having amassed a perfect 8-0 record in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

, Ovchynnikova signed with the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n-based

Super Fight League Super Fight League is a mixed martial arts promotion, based in India. The organisation was formed in 2012 by actor Sanjay Dutt and British-Indian businessman Raj Kundra, and is currently co-owned by British-Indian businessman Bill Dosanjh and ...

in 2012. She tasted defeat for the first time as a mixed martial artist in her promotional debut as she submitted to a

rear-naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

from Sanja Sučević in round two at '' SFL 1'' in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

on March 11, 2012. She then lost to

Joanne Calderwood Joanne Wood (; born 23 December 1986) is a Scottish professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai champion who competed in the Flyweight (MMA), Women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Biography Wood first sta ...

by unanimous decision at '' SFL 3'' in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

on May 6, 2012 in her next outing. Returning to Muay Thai, Ovchynnikova was expected to fight Emily Bearden for the IKF women's world bantamweight (-55.4 kg/122 lb) title at ''WCK Muay Thai: Nakamoto vs. Kitchen'' in

Pala, California Pala is a small, mostly Native American, community and CDP located in the Pala Indian Reservation, located within San Diego County, California. For centuries a traditional gathering place of native peoples, it was selected in the early 19th ce ...

, US on August 18, 2012. Her opponent was later changed to Kealani Vanderleest in a non-title affair, however, and Ovchynnikova defeated her by unanimous decision. She was then set to compete in the '' Shoot Boxing World Tournament Girls S-Cup 2012'' in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on August 25, 2012 and face Ham Seo-Hee in the quarter-finals but was pulled from the card due to problems between shoot boxing and Ovchynnikova's team and was replaced by

Lisa Ward Lisa Ellis (née Ward, born November 15, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She has fought in HOOKnSHOOT, Smackgirl, DEEP, Bellator Fighting Championships, Invicta FC, and the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Ellis made her pro ...

. She represented the WCK Muay Thai promotion's team against a squad of Chinese fighters from Wu Lin Feng at ''WCK Muay Thai: Matter of Pride'' in Las Vegas on November 11, 2012. Initially, her opponent was Tang Jin but was changed to Xifeng Tang. She lost by UD. In her return to SFL, Ovchynnikova beat Fathia Mostafa via submission due to a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

at '' SFL 16'' in Mumbai on April 26, 2013. Back in the Muay Thai ring, she defeated Emily Bearden by UD to be crowned the International Karate Kickboxing Council (IKKC) Women's World Super Bantamweight Muay Thai Champion at ''WCK Muay Thai: Hot Summer Fights'' in

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

, US. On January 25, 2014, she lost a

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split dec ...

to Xiong Jingnan at ''Kunlun Fight 1'' in

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Bellator MMA

Lena Ovchynnikova signed with Bellator MMA in 2016, going 2-2 in her first four fights in the promotion. Notably, she was the first-ever female flyweight to appear on a main card for the promotion. Ovchynnikova was expected to face

Denise Kielholtz Denise Kielholtz (born 30 March 1989) is a Dutch female Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has competed professionally since 2004 and is the current Bellator Kickboxing Women's Flyweight Champion. ...

in the co-main event of Bellator 196 in Budapest, Hungary on April 6, 2018. However, the fight did not happen. Ovchynnikova was expected to face Kyra Batara in a strawweight bout at

Bellator 261 Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 25, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background With current heavyweight champion Ryan Bader moving on i ...

on June 25, 2021. However, the bout was cancelled the week of the event with one of Batara's corner testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

*Boxxtomoi **2015 Boxxtomoi Muaythai Women's Championship *

World Boxing Council Muaythai In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

**2014 WBC Muaythai World Flyweight Championship **2019 WBC Muaythai World Featherweight Championship *

International Federation of Muaythai Amateur The International Federation of Muaythai Associations, or IFMA, called the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur until 27 July 2019, is the sole recognised sport governing body of amateur and professional Muay Thai and Muay boran consist ...

**2010 IFMA Ukrainian Championships Silver Medalist *International Karate Kickboxing Council **IKKC Women's World Super Bantamweight Muay Thai Championship (One time) *

International Sport Karate Association The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the Unite ...

**2007 ISKA Amateur European Championships Oriental Gold Medalist **2007 ISKA Amateur European Championships Muay Thai Gold Medalist **2007 ISKA Amateur European Championships Full Contact Silver Medalist **2008 ISKA European Cup Muay Thai Silver Medalist **ISKA Women's World Super Bantamweight (56.4 kg/124 lb) Oriental Championship (One time) *

World Kickboxing Association The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate. History In 1976, the WKA was founded by Howa ...

**WKA Amateur Women's World Championship (One time) * World Kickboxing Federation **WKF Women's World Super Bantamweight (-56.4 kg/124 lb) K-1 Championship (Two times) **WKF Women's World Super Bantamweight (-56.4 kg/124 lb) Muay Thai Championship (One time) *World Pan-Amateur Kickboxing Association **2011 WPKA Amateur World Championships Low Kick Gold Medalist

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 (1) ,

Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948) is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King in the series ''Scarecrow and Mrs. Kin ...

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Bellator 223 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:20 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 (1) ,

Alejandra Lara Alejandra Lara (born ) is a Colombian female mixed martial artist currently signed to the Bellator MMA promotion. As of October 4, 2022, she is #10 in the Bellator Women's Flyweight Rankings. Mixed martial arts career Early career Lara made h ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 190 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:09 ,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Italy , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 (1) , Helen Harper , TKO (corner stoppage) , Bellator 177 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 (1) , Karla Benitez , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 164 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel , , - , NC , align=center, 10–4 (1) ,

Mara Romero Borella Marachiara Romero Borella (born June 3, 1986) is an Italian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Borella taught Judo and was a personal trainer befo ...

, NC (overturned by WMMAF) , WMMAF 2016 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, Ukraine , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Rebecca Ruth , Decision (unanimous) ,

Bellator 150 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxin ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mulvane, Kansas Mulvane is a city in Sedgwick and Sumner counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,286. History Mulvane was laid out in 1879 at the junction of five Santa Fe rail lines. It is named for ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Svetlana Gotsyk , Submission (rear-naked choke) , WMMAF: World MMA Championship, Day 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:40 ,

, Ukraine , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Lily Kazak , TKO (punch) , Oplot Challenge 92 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:21 ,

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Fathia Mostafa , Submission (guillotine choke) , Super Fight League 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

, India , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Super Fight League 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, India , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 , Sanja Sučević , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Super Fight League 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:28 ,

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Eugenia Kostina , Submission (armbar) , PAMAU: President's Cup , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 ,

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Lyudmyla Pylypchak , Submission (armbar) , Independence Cup 2011 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:01 ,

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Anna Smirnova , Submission (armbar) , International Gala Festival , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 ,

Truskavets Truskavets ( uk, Трускавець, romanized: ''Truskavets''; pl, Truskawiec) is a city in Drohobych Raion, western Ukraine's Lviv Oblast (region), near the border with Poland. It hosts the administration of Truskavets urban hromada, one of t ...

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Alina Premilou , Submission (armbar) , Ultimate Cage Fighters Championship: 20,000 Dollar Tournament , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:01 ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Olga Prybulska , Submission (armbar) , International Gala Festival , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

Gomel Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census). Etymology There are at least six narratives of the ori ...

, Belarus , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Olga Prybulska , Decision (unanimous) , ISKA: Europe Cup 2008 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Anna Zubritska , Submission (armbar) , ISKA: Union Cup 2007 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:50 ,

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Svetlana Svetlana , Decision (unanimous) , International Gala Festival , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Ukraine

Kickboxing record

''Legend'':

References

External links

Lena Ovchynnikova
a
Awakening Fighters
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ovchynnikova, Lena 1987 births Living people Ukrainian female kickboxers Featherweight kickboxers Ukrainian female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Ukrainian Muay Thai practitioners Female Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from Lviv Sportspeople from Dnipro Kunlun Fight kickboxers