At UFC on Versus on August 1, Vladimir Matyushenko will fight one of his toughest opponents to date, Jon Jones. He may be the underdog, but Matyushenko is not one to take lightly. After nearly 13 years of competing in the sport, the 39-year-old Belarusian knows how to handle the pressure of taking on bigger challenges.

Matyushenko began his MMA career in the IFC. After having much success there and in other small promotions, “The Janitor” made his UFC debut at UFC 32. After defeating Yuki Kondo, Matyushenko was awarded a title shot against the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at the time, Tito Ortiz. After a lackluster five rounds, Ortiz was given the unanimous decision.

Following his first title run in the UFC, Matyushenko took on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Japan and won by unanimous decision. With the win, he gained momentum and returned to the UFC with wins over Travis Wiuff and Pedro Rizzo. Unfortunately, the end of his first stint in the UFC came at the hands of Andre Arlovski, who knocked out Matyushenko in the first round.

Now with plenty of experience and some quality wins under his belt, Matyushenko tried his luck in the newly formed promotion, the IFL. During his time with the promotion, Matyushenko went 6-0, including capturing the light heavyweight title in a bout against TUF alum Alex Shoenauer and defending it once before the promotion closed in 2008.

After the fallout of the IFL, Matyushenko was brought in by the now defunct Affliction promotion for a rematch with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Nogueira defeated Matyushenko by TKO in the second round. Although, Matyushenko wasn’t successful that night, it didn’t take long for the UFC to give him a second chance. Following a win over Jason Lambert at Call to Arms I, “The Janitor” earned another run in the UFC.

Matyushenko, now 24-4 looks to make it three wins in a row since returning to The Octagon last September. Being as experienced as he is, Matyushenko understands he may not be in the sport for much longer. With Jon Jones being the up and comer that he is, it won’t be an easy fight. But Matyushenko hasn’t given up before and doesn’t ever plan on it now. A win over Jones will prove to everyone that age doesn’t matter.

Proving the doubters wrong is what Matyushenko is all about, just as the 47-year-old Randy Couture does time and time again.

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