Mikhail Ilyukhin

Ilyukhin took part in a special match against Quinton Jackson in Pride Fighting Championships in 2003. The Russian was successful in taking and holding down Jackson, but his opponent powered out and started hitting back, knocking Mikhail down and making him earn a yellow card for crawling under the ropes. Jackson dominated the standing exchanges afterwards, and after avoiding a triangle choke, he gained side control over Mikhail and threw knees to the liver, making him tap out.

Mikhail returned to MMA format in 1999 facing Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture. The American, as a decorated wrestler, managed to stop Ilyukhin's insistent takedowns and push him against the ring ropes, almost making him fall through them at one point. After brawling on the clinch for most of the match, Illyukhin secured an arm with his back against the turnbuckle and dropped for a Kimura lock, but the referee intervened to reposition them on the center of the ring. In the process, the Russian visibly advanced the hold, and once restarted the fight, he completed it and Couture was forced to tap out. The win was immediately contested by Couture, but nothing come out of the complain.

In 1999, Ilyukhin was selected to compete in Rings' first MMA tournament, King of Kings 1999. He defeated his two first opponents, Tito Ortiz's teammate Justin McCully and HOOKnSHOOT tournament winner Brad Kohler, and then faced luta livre fighter Renato Sobral at the block's finals. The bout saw Sobral earning a yellow card for intentionally throwing Mikhail over the top rope, as well as the Russian attempting takedowns and boxing in order to try to hold his own. After the judges ruled a draw, an overtime was called; Mikhail performed a standing Kimura lock entry, but Sobral skillfully reversed it to an armbar and got the win. Ilyukhin also took part in the next edition of the tournament in 2000, facing Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the first round. Although the bout looked to be back and forth, Kohsaka landed a striking combination in the second round which knocked Mikhail out, eliminating him from the event.

Back in Rings, Ilyukhin had a vale tudo rules match in 1996 against Adilson Lima, a Carlos Gracie, Jr. trainee who had been famously defeated twice by Vovchanchyn in the first IAFC tournament. The match started slow, with Lima taking down Illukhin and mounting him, but the Russian escaped thanks to a failed rear naked choke attempt. Illyukhin gained a yellow card by illegally grabbing the ropes in order not to be taken down again, yet he managed to take down the Brazilian himself and almost finished him with an ankle hold before the end of the time. The match was declared a draw, but Lima and his cornermen Renzo Gracie protested the result and demanded another round, which Rings chairman Akira Maeda and referee Yuji Shimada eventually had to concede. The fight was restarted for a heated contest, as Lima attacked Illyukhin at the handshake and grabbed the ropes himself while Mikhail threw an illegall headbutt, and it featured yet another controversial moment when Shimada stopped the match to a submission win for Lima before Illyukhin surrendered.

After a successful career in sambo, Ilyukhin debuted in the professional wrestling promotion Rings in 1994, submitting Mitsuya Nagai in his first match. He would become a part of the Rings Russia team, along with Volk Han, Andrei Kopylov and Nikolai Zouev. One year later, he had his first contact in MMA represented Rings Russia in the International Absolute Fighting Council (IAFC)'s Absolute Fighting Eurasian Championship. He won the event tournament by submitting six opponents on a row, five of them by Achilles hold and in roughly one minute each.

Mikhail Ilyukhin (born November 21, 1966) is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who competed in the light heavyweight division. He competed in both Fighting Network Rings, and Pride Fighting Championships, and was a prominent member of Russia Top Team, where he trained with the likes of Volk Han, Fedor Emelianenko, and Sergei Kharitonov. At Pride 26, Ilyukhin lost by stoppage to Quinton Jackson. He won his last fight at K-1 – Hero's Lithuania against Jordanas Poskaitis on November 26, 2005. It appears that following the demise of the Russia Top Team Ilyukhin has retired.