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06/01/2017 12:00 AMAt the start of his sophomore year of high school, Yuri Panferov and his family moved from Russia to the United States. They settled in North Haven and, all of a sudden, Yuri was the new kid in school. Yuri met Federico Fiondella—who was head coach of Indians’ boys’ soccer at the time—joined the team, and began adapting to life in North Haven.
“He seemed lost, but I took him under my wing. I didn’t know he was interested in soccer, but I had some of the kids show him around the school. I think he played some street soccer and hockey back in Russia. He wasn’t prepared for the physical conditioning part, but he picked it up because he’s a hard-working kid and was so grateful to be a part of the team,” Fiondella says. “He proved to be a great asset for the team. He was very humble and modest and ended up being an incredible guy for the team and North Haven.”
Right after Yuri’s senior soccer season ended, he started making the walk to the gym near his house and got back into the world of martial arts. Yuri had done some judo training in Russia, although he stopped in order to play soccer for North Haven. Once he got back into it, Yuri blossomed and quickly entered into grappling and kickboxing tournaments in preparation for his ultimate goal of competing in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world. MMA is a full-contact sport that features grappling and striking, both on the ground and standing, while using techniques from other martial arts and combat sports.
“Obviously, I couldn’t jump in and fight MMA right away, but my first grappling tournament was two months after I signed up. I lost pretty bad, but I learned a lot from my loss, and started training more,” says Yuri, who graduated from North Haven in 2015. “After I trained hard, I did other competitions and placed first in 17 or 18 of about 20 other grappling tournaments. I also did kickboxing to get ready for MMA, so I could put both skills together in a cage.”
Yuri, who’s six feet tall and weighs 210 pounds, had his first MMA fight last December at the Ground Force Fights: Winter Brawl in Bativa, New York. Yuri went up against Sean Keough and made quick work of him, winning by submission just 1:15 into the first round.
“That guy was a high school wrestler, so I wanted to stand up with him,” Yuri says. “He went for the take-down and missed, so the submission was open, and I took it.”
Fiondella says he isn’t surprised by Yuri’s rapid progression in the octagon. Fiondella has seen firsthand how Yuri has the mindset to accomplish a goal, along with the discipline to do whatever it takes to get it done.
“He was very disciplined and almost robotic in whatever you wanted him to work on. He’d take that to a T. In other words, if the coach wanted him to do this, he’d do it and focus on it,” says Fiondella, who notes that Yuri scored the lone goal when North Haven beat Cross 1-0 for his 100th career victory as head coach. “He has already shown how quickly he’s moved up, and he’s going at it like it’s the chance of a lifetime. I have a feeling there’s going to be something special forming for Yuri.”
Yuri’s next MMA battle is slated for Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, June 3. Yuri feels extremely excited for the bout, especially since it’s close enough to home where he will have the opportunity to draw a crowd.
“It’s through Reality Fighting. They’re the only MMA fighting organization in Connecticut, and they only do two events like this per year. I’ve been trying to get in for the past three, but they only pick out decent guys since they hold the event at Mohegan,” says Yuri, who trains at Ultimate MMA & Jiu-jitsu Training Center in North Haven. “It’s great because I finally get to show my skill. A lot of people from home are going to be able to watch me. I’m really excited. It’s a big stage and a 10,000-seat arena. That doesn’t happen every day.”
Ultimately, Yuri wants to take his MMA game to the professional level. He’s currently working hard to improve his jiu-jitsu skills in his quest to realize that goal.
“I’m trying to make MMA my full-time job after this summer,” says Yuri. “I only take it two fights at a time. Right now, I have the bout at Mohegan and then this one on July 15 for a middleweight belt lined up. My plan is to take that belt, get up to 7 to 10 fights in a year or two, get my jiu-jitsu game stronger, and go professional in a few years.”