1. Gunnar Nelson v Alexander Butenko at Cage Contender XII.

    Jan. 19, 2012

    Cage Contender have just tweeted that Gunnar Nelson will be taking on Alexander “Iron Capture” Butenko (12-4-0) at Cage Contender XII - Cage Contender XII will take place in the National Basketball Arena – Dublin on Saturday (Feb 25th. 2012) Click HERE to view the fight card.

    About Alexander Butenko 

    Russia and the former Soviet republics are known for cranking out top notch upperweight fighters, especially in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Names like Fedor Emelianenko, Sergei Kharitonov, Mamed Khalidov, and Alexander Shlemenko top the more popular names from this part of the world.

    Another name under the prospect radar is Alexander Butenko, a rising welterweight prospect from Ukraine.

    Alexander Butenko is currently on a sick run. He has won 10 out of his last 11 fights in which he’s dropped only one decision, that going to Magomed Saadulaev, who is 13-1.

    Butenko started his fighting career in Kharkov, Ukraine. In 2004 he fought in the Tactical Combat Tournament and took first place. He then competed in Combat Sambo in Russia and had some success and was invited to participate in mixed martial arts.

    Butenko is an M-1 veteran, going 4-0 in M-1 competition, and is a five fight veteran of the Professional Fighting Championships (Russia).

    Alexander “Iron Capture” Boutenko is a cousin of Alexey Oleinik, a champion competitor in many sambo tournaments and mixed martial arts events. Butenko trained under the instruction of Oleynik at the Honour Academy and the highly regarded Red Devil Sports Club in St. Petersburg, Russia. Butenko has trained with such notable fighters as Igor Vovchanchin, and brothers Aleksander and Fedor Emelianenko.

    Butenko holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu and possesses numerous victories in Combat Sambo. He also holds the rank of master of sports in the “international class” in Combat Sambo and was promoted to the rank of black belt in Combat Sambo by Alexey Oleinik. Alexander Butenko is currently the #9 ranked welterweight fighter in the Commonwealth of Independent States (Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine) by Mixfight.ru.

    Alexander Butenko carries on the distinctive gritty, yet technical fighting style the so characterizes the Russian fighting tradition.

    Credit: FightJerk.com