Vladimir \"The Janitor\" Matyushenko Defends IFL Title

Vladimir Matyushenko is the IFL light heavyweight champion. (MMAweekly.com Photo)

Since joining the IFL in 2007, Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko (20-3) has been cleaning up, winning 5 fights in a row to capture the light heavyweight belt.

On Friday, April 4 in East Rutherford, N.J., he will put his belt on the line against Jamal Patterson (4-1) at IFL: New Blood, New Battles.

Currently, "The Janitor" is the -400 favorite in the Bodog Sportsbook, while Patterson is a +280 underdog.

"I definitely feel the pressure," Matyushenko tells MMAweekly.com. "You’re in the spotlight and Jamal’s the underdog and he wants to win the championship, so yeah, definitely I think I have more pressure on me."

"I’ve been champ for 4 months and yeah, it feels good," he explains. "It’s always important, if you do it, you try to do the best you can. I did last year and again I’m going to try to do my best this year."

While "The Janitor" represents the Midwest Combat Team, Patterson fights out of the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu academy.

"The match-up is good," Matyushenko says. "To say that he’s a Renzo Gracie black belt is to say he’s not a traditional jiu-jitsu guy. He’s a kind of brawler, more aggressive than a regular jiu-jitsu guy would be; maybe it’s a strength and maybe it’s a weakness, we’ll see what happens."

Bet on IFL odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.

All lines subject to change.