Australian martial artist (born 1977)
George Sotiropoulos (born 9 July 1977) is an Australian former professional mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in their Lightweight division. He is well known for appearing as a fighter on the TV show "", fighting on Team Serra and as the coach for Team Australia on .
Background.
Sotiropoulos grew up in Geelong, Victoria, changing schools multiple times due to occasional physical altercations he got into. Despite the scuffles, Sotiropoulos fared well in his studies and got his associate's diploma in international trade from Victoria University, Melbourne. Subsequently, he graduated with bachelor's degree in banking and finance, and international trade in 2001.
Sotiropoulos began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1997 at the age of 19, and was promoted to black belt in 2004. In 2003 and 2007, he represented Australia in the Submission Wrestling World Championships. Sotiropoulos has also competed in amateur boxing, and in 2004, won a Victorian State Amateur Boxing Championship.
Mixed martial arts career.
Prior to his MMA career in the UFC, Sotiropoulos trained with veteran UFC and PRIDE fighter Enson Inoue. The two met during a winning bout Sotiropoulos had with Sergio Lourenço in Guam. He has remained affiliated with Enson Inoue's Purebred gyms throughout his career since then.
Following his appearance on "", Sotiropoulos moved to Long Island, NY to train at with Matt Serra Sotiropoulos then relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, and trained at Xtreme Couture. During this time period he also trained at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu with Eddie Bravo.
Early career.
Sotiropoulos made his professional debut in 2004 against fellow Australian Gavin Murie, in which Sotiropoulos was able to win via armbar submission in the first round. He went on to win two more fights until his first career loss via split decision to Kyle Noke in 2005, one year later he was able to avenge his first loss by defeating Noke by unanimous decision. Sotiropoulos went on to have a 7–2 record in small MMA organizations, until he was invited to participate in The Ultimate Fighter in 2007.
The Ultimate Fighter.
Sotiropoulos defeated Jared Rollins in the first round of the competition by KO. He went on to defeat Richie Hightower in the quarterfinals via submission due to a kimura. Sotiropoulos was then defeated by Tom Speer in the semi-finals by knockout, shortly after an accidental thumb to the eye.
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Sotiropoulos defeated Billy Miles at via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:36 of the first round.
Sotiropoulos defeated Roman Mitichyan at UFC Fight Night 13 on 2 April 2008 by TKO in the second round.
He was scheduled to fight judoka Karo Parisyan at UFC 87, however Sotiropoulos was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Sotiropoulos was then expected to face Matt Grice at UFC Fight Night 17, but was forced to withdraw due to another injury and was replaced by Matt Veach.
Move down to lightweight.
After an 18-month break in his career, Sotiropoulos switched weight classes, and was expected to face Rob Emerson at UFC 101 on 8 August 2009. However, Emerson withdrew from the bout due to a cut and was replaced by George Roop. During the bout, he showcased his high level grappling skills, passing Roop's guard with ease. Sotiropoulos eventually forced the tap out with a kimura lock in the second round.
Sotiropoulos defeated "Ultimate Fighter 9" alumni Jason Dent in the second round via armbar submission on 21 November 2009, at UFC 106. In a post-fight interview following the win, Sotiropoulos stated his desire to compete at the UFC 110 card, in Sydney, Australia. Sotiropoulos' wish was granted and faced Joe Stevenson on 21 February 2010 at UFC 110. Making his first appearance on the main card of a UFC pay-per-view event, Sotiropoulos improved to 5–0 in the UFC as he defeated Stevenson via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) in a dominant performance, prompting Dana White to say that Sotiropoulos was "in the mix" for a title shot. The fight earned Sotiropoulos his first "Fight of the Night" award in the UFC.
Sotiropoulos fought Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 116 on 3 July 2010, and won by a commanding unanimous decision.
Sotiropoulos then faced Joe Lauzon on 20 November 2010 at UFC 123. Sotiropoulos survived a fast start by his opponent, thus gassing Lauzon in one round, and allowing Sotiropoulos to dominate the next round, winning by kimura in the second round in a bout that won "Fight of the Night" honors. The win pushed Sotiropoulos to a perfect 7–0 record in the UFC and established him as one of the top contenders in the UFC's lightweight division.
Losing streak and release.
Sotiropoulos suffered his first UFC loss to Dennis Siver via unanimous decision at UFC 127. Sotiropoulos was unable to take the fight to the ground and was forced to strike with the German Kickboxing Champion Siver. The loss setback Sotiropoulos' chances of a title shot.
Sotiropoulos was expected to face Evan Dunham on 2 July 2011 at UFC 132. However, Dunham was forced out of the bout with an injury, and replaced by Rafael dos Anjos. Sotiropoulos was knocked out just 59 seconds into the first round.
Sotiropoulos was expected to face former PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi on 26 February 2012 at UFC 144. However, Sotiropoulos was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Eiji Mitsuoka.
In July 2012 Sotiropoulos was confirmed as the Australian coach for , and faced Ross Pearson on 15 December 2012 at the finale - . Pearson dominated him throughout the fight, and although he narrowly avoiding being knocked out several times, Sotiropoulos was visibly rocked in all three rounds; being knocked down in two of them. He eventually lost the fight via third-round TKO from Pearson.
Sotiropoulos faced Hawaiian K. J. Noons on 19 October 2013 at UFC 166. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
After losing four in a row, Sotiropoulos was released from his UFC contract on 18 December 2013.
Titan Fighting Championship.
On 22 January 2014 it was announced that Sotiropoulos had signed a four-fight contract with Titan Fighting Championship and was expected to debut on 25 April at Titan FC 28 against Mike Ricci however Ricci withdrew from the bout due to injury. The bout was rescheduled and took place at Titan FC 29 on 22 August 2014. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Almost a decade removed from his previous bout, Sotiropoulos faced Josh Togo at HEX Fight Series 26 on 26 May 2023. The bout ended in a no contest in the second round after an accidental eye poke rendered Togo unable to continue.
Other media.
Sotiropoulous is featured in UFC Undisputed 3 as a Lightweight fighter alongside the likes of Clay Guida, Dennis Siver, Joe Lauzon and Frankie Edgar.
Personal life.
After years of living in Washington state and New York City, Sotiropoulos moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2016 and currently manages his own MMA gym, Omega Jiu-Jitsu &amp; MMA there.
References.
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