George Longinidis

George "The Iron Lion" Longinidis (born 5 September 1975) Australian kickboxer of Greek descent. His brother, Stan, is also a well-known kickboxer.

George Longinidis
Born (1975-09-05) 5 September 1975
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Other namesThe Iron Lion
Nationality Australian
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight100–110 kg (220–240 lb; 16–17 st)
DivisionSuper Heavyweight
StyleKickboxing
Years active1998–2011
Kickboxing record
Total15
Wins15
By knockout10
Losses0
Draws0
Other information
Notable relativesStan Longinidis, brother

Biography and career

Longinidis was born in Melbourne, Victoria to Greek parents Steve and Suzie. He has a brother, Stan "The Man" Longinidis, who is 10 years older, and a sister Lana who is 9 years older. George was married in 2003 to wife Desi and they have two children Susannah and Isaac.

George started his martial arts career at the age of 8 and went on to claim a black belt in the art of bushidokai at the age of 15.

His professional kickboxing career started in 1998 and since then he has had 15 fights for 15 wins 10 wins by k.o. George was struck down with serious injuries during his fight career and was setback for a lengthy period of time. George has had a total of 14 operations to repair ruptures and tears including re-constructions to his knee and shoulders. His biggest win was on 23 September 2005 at the Osaka Dome in Japan where he faced Japanese legendary champion Nobuaki Kakuda in front of 50,000 fans on the prestigious K1 circuit. George defeated his Japanese opponent by unanimous decision 3–0.[1]

George created history on 24 July 2009 by winning the W.O.K.A World heavyweight kickboxing championship against Thai Asian champion Ramba Sithsianpo,[2] and thereby with Stan becoming the only two brothers of Greek/Australian heritage to ever win World titles in any sport and the only two brothers to both be world 'Heavyweight' champion kickboxers.[3]

George Longinidis has officially retired from professional kickboxing and is now the co CEO of Stan The Man Fitness Academy which was opened on Saturday 13 December 2014 in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Blackburn in Victoria, Australia. For more info log onto www.stanthemanfa.com.au

Titles
  • I.S.K.A South Pacific Super Heavyweight Champion 1 April 2007.
  • W.O.K.A Commonwealth Super Heavyweight Champion 6 October 2007.
  • W.O.K.A World Heavyweight Champion 24 July 2009.

References
  1. Dutch a Treat at K-1 Final Elimination
  2. Iron Lion world champ
  3. "Lion looks to brotherly connection". Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2010.


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