Georgi Karakhanyan

Georgi Karakhanyan is a Russian-born Armenian-American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Karakhanyan has also formerly competed for the Absolute Championship Berkut, World Series of Fighting, DREAM, Tachi Palace Fights, and King of the Cage. Karakhanyan is also the former WSOF Featherweight Champion.

Georgi Karakhanyan
Born (1985-05-29) May 29, 1985
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Other namesGogo
Insane
NationalityArmenian and American
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight143.3 lb (65.0 kg; 10.24 st)
DivisionFeatherweight
Lightweight
Reach68 in (173 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofRiverside, California, United States
TeamTreigning LAB Gym
GFC
S.K. Golden Boys Wrestling
TrainerHead Trainer: Sam Calavitta, Saad Awad, Arnold Jimenez
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Romie Aram and Marcelo Mafra[1]
Years active2006–present
Professional boxing record
Total1
Wins1
Mixed martial arts record
Total43
Wins30
By knockout7
By submission15
By decision8
Losses11
By knockout3
By decision8
Draws1
No contests1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Georgi was born in Moscow to Armenian parents and raised in Moscow, Russia. He was introduced to martial arts by his father at the age of six (Georgi’s father has a black belt third dan in Shotokan Karate and he’s also a Sambo expert).[1] Georgi was just eight years old when he first fought in a full contact martial arts competition. He began training in martial arts at a young age, but found his true love in soccer.[1] He competed at both the amateur and professional levels in Russia, Armenia, Spain and United Kingdom before coming to the United States and settling in Riverside, California. He is a devoted vegetarian.[2] Georgi holds American and Armenian citizenship.

Soccer

He played in clubs Torpedo Moscow and Spartak Moscow.[1]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After his soccer career, he began his MMA career while living and training at United Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Instructor, Rommel Dunbar in Riverside, California. Georgi made his first professional MMA debut on October 13, 2006 just after six months of training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Although Karakhanyan never dreamt about cage fighting, winning his very first fight against a veteran MMA fighter in the KOTC, gave him enormous confidence and belief that he is on the right path which fueled his desire to give MMA all he had. He joined Bellator to take part in their Season Two Featherweight Tournament and Season Four Featherweight Tournament. On December 2, 2011, Karakhanyan won the Tachi Palace Fights Featherweight Championship.

Bellator

In 2009, Georgi signed with Bellator and was part of the eight-man Featherweight Tournament of Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Two in 2010. In the first round, he took on the veteran fighter Bao Quach at Bellator 13. Karakhanyan won the fight via knockout (knee) at 4:05 of the first round, knocking Quach unconscious. In the semifinals, Georgi faced highly acclimated wrestler and World Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion Joe Warren (Ranked #8 Featherweight in the world) at Bellator 18 and lost the fight via unanimous decision. Joe Warren ended up winning the tournament and became the Bellator Featherweight Champion.

In 2011, Georgi returned for Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Four and faced Patricio Freire (Ranked #9 Featherweight in the world) in the first round. Karakhanyan lost via TKO (punches) in the third round. Patricio would also end up winning the tournament.

Tachi Palace Fights

On December 2, 2011 at TPF 11: Redempton, Karakhanyan made his Tachi Palace Fights debut against former Tachi Palace Fights Featherweight Champion Isaac DeJesus for the vacant Tachi Palace Fights Featherweight Championship. De Jesus had never lost his title in a bout; he was stripped of it when he failed to make weight. Karakhanyan defeated De Jesus via triangle choke at 4:02 in the first round to become the new Tachi Palace Fights Featherweight Champion.

Karakhanyan was scheduled to fight The Ultimate Fighter 14 participant Micah Miller on March 9, 2012 at TPF 12: Second Coming in the first defense of his title, but the fight was later canceled due to an illness from Karakhanyan. The bout was moved back to September 7, 2012 at TPF 14: Validation. Karakhanyan defeated Miller via unanimous decision to retain his Tachi Palace Fights Featherweight Championship. Karakhanyan became the first Tachi Palace Fights Featherweight Champion to defend his title.

He later vacated the title in 2013 when he signed with World Series of Fighting.

DREAM

Georgi defeated DREAM Featherweight Champion Hiroyuki Takaya at DREAM 18 (DREAM 18 & GLORY 4 Tokyo) on December 31, 2012 via split decision. The scorecard that gave the fight to Takaya was highly controversial, as Karakhanyan was considered by many to be the clear winner.[3]

World Series of Fighting

Karakhanyan competed on the main card in a fight against Waylon Lowe at World Series of Fighting 5 on September 14, 2013. He won the fight via submission in the first round.

In November 2013, it was announced that Karakhanyan would be fighting for the inaugural WSOF Featherweight Championship against Rick Glenn at WSOF 7.[4] But an injury to Glenn has forced him out of the title bout and replaced by undefeated featherweight Lance Palmer.[5] Karakhanyan won the bout via submission in the third round to become WSOF's first featherweight champion.[6]

Karakhanyan made the first defense of his title on June 21, 2014 at World Series of Fighting 10: Branch vs. Taylor against Rick Glenn. Despite controlling most of the first round via submission attempts, Karakhanyan lost his title when he elected not to continue between the second and third round due to a rib injury.[7]

Return to Bellator

On September 30 Bellator announced that they have re-signed Karakhanyan to a multi-fight contract.[8]

In his return, Karakhanyan faced Bubba Jenkins on January 16, 2015 at Bellator 132.[9] He won the fight via technical submission in the first round. After the bout, Scott Coker announced that Karakhanyan would fight for the Featherweight title next.

Karakhanyan was expected to challenge Patrício Freire for his Bellator Featherweight Championship in a rematch on June 19, 2015 at Bellator 138.[10] However, Karakhanyan pulled out of the fight due to a torn ACL and was replaced by Bellator Season Ten Featherweight tournament winner Daniel Weichel.[11]

Karakhanyan faced Daniel Weichel on December 4, 2015 at Bellator 147.[12] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

After losing two fights in a row, Karakhanyan faced Bubba Jenkins in a rematch at Bellator 160 on August 26, 2016. Jenkins was favored to win the rematch, but Karakhanyan won again, this time via knock out the first minute into the first round.

Karakhanyan made a quick return to the cage as he faced Kirill Medvedovsky at Bellator 164 on November 10, 2016. He won the fight via TKO due to an injury in the first round.

Karakhanyan faced Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 170 on January 21, 2017. He lost the fight via majority decision.[13]

Karakhanyan faced Daniel Pineda at Bellator 182 on August 25, 2017. He won the fight via TKO due to a doctor stoppage on a cut Pineda had suffered in the second round.[14]

Karakhanyan faced Henry Corrales at Bellator 192 on January 20, 2018.[15] He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.[16][17]

Absolute Championship Berkut

On March 7, 2018 ACB announced that they have signed Karakhanyan to a multi-fight contract.[18] Karakhanyan won his promotional debut against Alexey Polpudnikov at ACB 86 via unanimous decision.

Karakhanyan faced Timur Nagibin at ACB 90 on November 10, 2018. In the first round, Karakhanyan locked a guillotine choke and claimed that Nagibin tapped to the choke just before the round's end. Karakhanyan released the choke when the referee intervened but at the time it was unclear whether it was due to the tap or the bell. Nevertheless, Nagibin hit Karakhanyan after the bell. Karakhanyan was clearly rocked and tried to wrestle his coach when he entered the cage. Due to the incident, Nagibin was disqualified immediately by officials. However, after the fight the promotion disqualified Karakhnanyan, blaming him to having faked being hurt and acted unsportsmanlike before the fight. Eventually, the bout was ruled as a no contest by the promotion.[19] In Karakhanyan's response in social media, he claimed that the promotion officials encouraged him to trash talk even more as the fight was gaining attention. The promotion withheld Karakhanyan's win money and released him from his contract.[19]

Second return to Bellator

Karakhanyan returned to Bellator in 2019 as a replacement for Ashleigh Grimshaw against Emmanuel Sanchez in the main event at Bellator 218.[20] He lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Next Karakhanyan faced A. J. McKee at Bellator 228 on September 28, 20219. He lost the fight via knockout in just eight seconds.

Karakhanyan replaced Ryan Scope on short notice at Bellator Dublin on February 22, 2020 against Paul Redmond.[21] Karakhanyan won the fight via second round submission.

Karakhanyan faced Myles Jury on August 7, 2020 at Bellator 243.[22] He lost the fight via split decision.[23]

Boxing

Georgi defeated Tatsuro Irie on May 5, 2012 in his promotional boxing debut at Welterweight.

Personal life

Georgi has three children.[24]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Jiu Jitsu

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
43 matches 30 wins 11 losses
By knockout 7 3
By submission 15 0
By decision 8 8
Draws 1
No contests 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 30–11–1 (1) Bryce Logan Decision (split) Bellator 251 November 5, 2020 3 5:00 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Loss 29–11–1 (1) Myles Jury Decision (split) Bellator 243 August 7, 2020 3 5:00 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win 29–10–1 (1) Paul Redmond Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 240 February 22, 2020 2 0:42 Dublin, Ireland Return to Lightweight.
Loss 28–10–1 (1) A.J. McKee KO (punches) Bellator 228 September 28, 2019 1 0:08 Inglewood, California, United States Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix Opening Round.
Loss 28–9–1 (1) Emmanuel Sanchez Decision (unanimous) Bellator 218 March 22, 2019 3 5:00 Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States
NC 28–8–1 (1) Timur Nagibin NC (overturned by promotion) ACB 90: Vakhaev vs. Aliakbari November 10, 2018 1 5:00 Moscow, Russia Originally a DQ win for Karakhanyan after being hit after the bell; Promotion later overturned the ruling.
Win 28–8–1 Alexey Polpudnikov Decision (unanimous) ACB 86: Raisov vs. Balaev May 5, 2018 3 5:00 Moscow, Russia
Loss 27–8–1 Henry Corrales Decision (unanimous) Bellator 192 January 20, 2018 3 5:00 Inglewood, California, United States
Win 27–7–1 Daniel Pineda TKO (doctor stoppage) Bellator 182 August 25, 2017 2 4:05 Verona, New York, United States
Loss 26–7–1 Emmanuel Sanchez Decision (majority) Bellator 170 January 21, 2017 3 5:00 Inglewood, California, United States
Win 26–6–1 Kirill Medvedovsky TKO (injury) Bellator 164 November 10, 2016 1 3:40 Tel Aviv, Israel
Win 25–6–1 Bubba Jenkins KO (punch) Bellator 160 August 26, 2016 1 0:53 Anaheim, California, United States
Loss 24–6–1 Pat Curran Decision (unanimous) Bellator 155 May 20, 2016 3 5:00 Boise, Idaho, United States
Loss 24–5–1 Daniel Weichel Decision (unanimous) Bellator 147 December 4, 2015 3 5:00 San Jose, California, United States
Win 24–4–1 Bubba Jenkins Technical Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 132 January 16, 2015 1 1:49 Temecula, California, United States
Loss 23–4–1 Rick Glenn TKO (retirement) WSOF 10 June 21, 2014 2 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Lost the WSOF Featherweight Championship.
Win 23–3–1 Lance Palmer Submission (guillotine choke) WSOF 7 December 7, 2013 3 4:40 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Won the WSOF Featherweight Championship.
Win 22–3–1 Waylon Lowe Submission (guillotine choke) WSOF 5 September 14, 2013 1 3:37 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States WSOF debut.
Win 21–3–1 Din Thomas Decision (unanimous) Legacy FC 19 April 12, 2013 3 5:00 Dallas, Texas, United States
Win 20–3–1 Hiroyuki Takaya Decision (split) DREAM 18 December 31, 2012 3 5:00 Saitama, Japan
Win 19–3–1 Micah Miller Decision (unanimous) Tachi Palace Fights 14 September 7, 2012 5 5:00 Lemoore, California, United States Defended the TPF Featherweight Championship.
Win 18–3–1 Aaron Mobley KO (punches) Gladiator Challenge: Star Wars April 29, 2012 1 1:03 San Jacinto, California, United States
Win 17–3–1 Isaac DeJesus Submission (triangle choke) TPF 11: Redemption December 2, 2011 1 4:02 Lemoore, California, United States Won the TPF Featherweight Championship.
Win 16–3–1 Vince Ortiz Submission (rear-naked choke) BAMMA USA: Badbeat 2 June 11, 2011 1 2:01 Commerce, California, United States
Win 15–3–1 Anthony Hayes Submission (triangle choke) Gladiator Challenge April 22, 2011 1 1:09 San Jacinto, California, United States
Loss 14–3–1 Patricio Freire TKO (punches) Bellator 37 March 19, 2011 3 0:56 Concho, Oklahoma, United States Bellator Season Four Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win 14–2–1 Anthony Leone Decision (unanimous) Bellator 28 September 9, 2010 3 5:00 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Loss 13–2–1 Joe Warren Decision (unanimous) Bellator 18 May 13, 2010 3 5:00 Monroe, Louisiana, United States Bellator Season Two Featherweight Tournament Semifinal.
Win 13–1–1 Bao Quach KO (knee) Bellator 13 April 8, 2010 1 4:05 Hollywood, Florida, United States Bellator Season Two Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win 12–1–1 Albert Rios Decision (unanimous) Call to Arms 1 May 16, 2009 3 5:00 Ontario, California, United States
Win 11–1–1 Justin Salazar Submission (armbar) Missouri Total Fighting 4 December 20, 2008 1 3:11 Grain Valley, Missouri, United States
Win 10–1–1 James Pettus Submission (guillotine choke) Missouri Total Fighting 4 December 20, 2008 1 4:09 Grain Valley, Missouri, United States
Win 9–1–1 Jeff Sanchez Submission (north-south choke) GC 85: Cross Fire October 25, 2008 1 1:12 San Diego, California, United States
Win 8–1–1 Jesse Miramontes Submission (rear-naked choke) Apocalypse Fights 2 October 9, 2008 1 1:50 Palm Springs, Florida, United States
Win 7–1–1 Justin Salazar TKO (punches) True Fight Fans September 5, 2008 2 2:14 Grain Valley, Missouri, United States
Win 6–1–1 Daniel Perez Submission (kimura) Apocalypse Fights 1 August 7, 2008 1 N/A Palm Springs, Florida, United States
Win 5–1–1 Armando Sanchez Decision (unanimous) KOTC: Opposing Force May 15, 2008 3 5:00 Highland, California, United States
Loss 4–1–1 Chris David Decision (split) Gladiator Challenge 74: Evolution February 16, 2008 3 5:00 Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 4–0–1 Hildred Oliney Submission (rear-naked choke) WCO: Kerr vs. Gavin November 7, 2007 1 N/A Hollywood, California, United States
Win 3–0–1 Bobby Merrill KO (flying knee and punches) EFWC: The Untamed October 6, 2007 2 0:09 Anaheim, California, United States
Win 2–0–1 Doug Dufur Submission (rear-naked choke) Galaxy Productions August 24, 2007 1 1:46 California, United States
Draw 1–0–1 Juan Carlos Huerta Draw KOTC: Epicenter June 8, 2007 2 5:00 San Jacinto, California, United States
Win 1–0 Brent Wooten Submission (guillotine choke) KOTC: BOOYAA October 13, 2006 2 1:18 San Jacinto, California, United States

Boxing record

Result Record Opponent Method Date Round Location Notes
xWin 1–0 Tatsuro Irie UD May 5, 2012 4 Hollywood Park Casino, Inglewood, California Boxing debut.

See also

References

  1. Viktoryia Bulakhava. "Georgi Karakhanyan: From Russia… with the Belt!". russianchicagomag.com.
  2. "Georgi Karakhanyan- Pro MMA Fighter". www.fuelforthefighter.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. "DREAM 18 - GLORY 4 NYE Results and Gifs: Georgi Karakhanyan beats up Hiroyuki Takaya". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  4. "Rick Glenn vs. Georgi Karakhanyan to crown WSOF's first featherweight champion on Dec. 7".
  5. "GEORGI KARAKHANYAN TO FACE UNBEATEN LANCE PALMER FOR WSOF FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE".
  6. Mike Bohn (2013-12-07). "WSOF 7 results: Georgi Karakhanyan submits Lance Palmer for inaugural featherweight title". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  7. "Bellator 192's Georgi Karakhanyan ready for war with Henry Corrales, tired of Chael Sonnen's 'old' mouth". MMAmania.com. 17 January 2018.
  8. C.J. Tuttle (2014-09-30). "FORMER WSOF CHAMP GEORGI KARAKHANYAN RE-SIGNS WITH BELLATOR MMA". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-09-30.
  9. "Bellator 132 Fight Card". bellator.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
  10. Guilherme Cruz (March 31, 2015). "'Pitbull' Freire vs. Georgi Karakhanyan title fight set for Bellator 138". mmafighting.com.
  11. Staff (April 28, 2015). "Torn ACL sidelines Karakhanyan from Bellator 138, Daniel Weichel meets 'Pitbull' for title". mmajunkie.com.
  12. "Bellator 147 Fight Card". bellator.com. 2015-12-11.
  13. Steven Marrocco (January 22, 2017). "Bellator 170 results: Tito Ortiz stuns Chael Sonnen, taps him out in first". mmajunkie.com.
  14. Matt Erickson (August 25, 2017). "Bellator 182 results: Ex-champ Andrey Koreshkov pounds out Chidi Njokuani in first round". mmajunkie.com.
  15. "Bellator 192's Georgi Karakhanyan ready for war with Henry Corrales, tired of Chael Sonnen's 'old' mouth". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  16. "Sonnen unanimous over 'Rampage' at Bellator 192". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  17. Guilherme Cruz (2018-02-20). "Bellator trims roster, parts ways with 13 fighters". mmafighting.com.
  18. "FORMER BELLATOR FIGHTER GEORGI KARAKHANYAN SIGNS WITH ACB MMA". acbmma.com. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  19. Peter Carroll (November 24, 2018). "'Blatant disrespect': Georgi Karakhanyan responds to public dismissal following ACB 90". mmafighting.com.
  20. "Georgi Karakhanyan in for Grimshaw vs. Emmanuel Sanchez in Bellator 218 main event". mmajunkie.com. March 8, 2019.
  21. Peter Carroll (December 16, 2019). "Paul Redmond vs. Ryan Scope booked for Bellator Dublin".
  22. Farah Hannoun (May 16, 2020). "Myles Jury will fight Georgi Karakhanyan, wants title shot with a win". mmajunkie.com.
  23. Newswire, MMA Fighting (2020-08-07). "Bellator 243 Results: Chandler vs. Henderson 2". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  24. Farah Hannoun (November 6, 2020). "Following Bellator 251 win, Georgi Karakhanyan wants rematch with 'YouTuber' Myles Jury". MMAjunkie.com.
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