Aleksei Oleinik (61-18-1) will finally have his MMA retirement fight after a three-decade-long fighting career.
The ex-UFC heavyweight, known as ‘The Boa Constrictor’ for his penchant for submissions, will fight Antonio ‘Venom’ Zovak (17-11) at an event in Moscow, Russia, on July 11. This fight will be hosted by OPEN FC x MFP, in full support of Russian favourite Oleinik’s retirement.
Oleinik will enter his retirement fight with 61 wins, 18 losses, and one draw. He fought in 17 UFC contests, winning nine and finishing eight. Prominent wins include former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum, four-time K-1 champion Mark Hunt, MMA legend Mirko Filipovic, and Thiago Santos.
GettyOleinik built a reputation for finding choke submissions
Aleksei Oleinik Forced to Fight due to Ugly Divorce
Speaking to Match TV in 2025, Oleinik revealed that his ex-wife had taken ‘everything’ in their divorce.
“She filed for divorce, I did not want to divorce, for more than six months I asked, persuaded, begged to save the family. … She never even said thank you [for all the gifts while fighting]. […] Absolutely everyone knows how much I loved her. Probably, you can’t leave a woman alone for a long time because of work trips. She had all our accounts; I couldn’t even withdraw $50 from the account without her consent.
“I gave her everything, a lot of jewellery, new cars for 100-150 thousand dollars, transferred our real estate to her. For example, I gave her three pairs of Rolexes…” h/t MMA Knockout
Career Recap: Aleksei Oleinik
Oleinik made his MMA debut in 1996, by which point the UFC had just broken its tenth event. His debut fight was in a one-night tournament, where he won three fights in a row to capture a tournament title.
After going 17-2, Oleinik finally faced world-class opposition, dropping a decision to future UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen in 2006. From here, Oleinik continued mauling opponents with his submission skills across KSW, M-1, and other regional promotions in the East before signing with Bellator Fighting Championships.
40-6-1 Oleinik debuted with a split decision win against Mike Hayes at Bellator 26. He fought only twice in the promotion, going 1-1. His real home would be the UFC, and after another winning record on the regional circuit—including wins over Cro Cop and Jeff Monson—he made his UFC debut.
GettyOleinik finishes Vandeera with a neck crank in
Oleiniek debuted with two straight finishes and went 4-1 in his first five fights, choking out Mark Hunt in the first round of their 2018 fight. An aged Oleinik starred in the main event of UFC on ESPN+7 against fellow fighting veteran Alistair Overeem, who demolished the Russian grappler inside a round.
Walt Harris stunned Oleinik with a 12-second knockout in his very next fight, but that didn’t deter Oleinik, who racked up a two-fight streak against Maurice Greene and Fabricio Werdum. What followed was a series of fights where Oleinik fought out his twilight years against much younger opposition. He held his own, but ultimately left the UFC with a 9-8 promotional record.
Fans had thought Oleinik retired on a whimper, suffering a bad knockout loss to Geronimo dos Santos in his BKFC debut in April 2025. Perhaps the Russian fighting legend can end his run on a win this July.
80-Fight UFC Veteran Announces Retirement Fight