Tag: Georgi Karakhanyan

Myles Jury will fight Georgi Karakhanyan, wants title shot with a win

Myles Jury believes a win over Georgi Karakhanyan in July will put him in line for a title shot.

[autotag]Myles Jury[/autotag] has already signed a contract for his next fight and is looking to position himself as the top welterweight contender in his new promotion.

A newly minted Bellator fighter, Jury (18-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) picked up his first promotional win when he defeated Brandon Girtz in February and he already has his next opponent lined up.

Jury will take on [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] sometime this summer in an event to be determined as soon as Bellator resumes operations.

“I’m fighting Georgi Karakhanyan and I’m gonna fight him in July so that’s what my management told me,” Jury told MMA Junkie. “I’m staying ready, I signed the contract, and I’m just looking to go out there and have a great performance against Georgi. I feel like I match up very well with him, I’m more well-rounded, better striker, better grappler and yeah that’s my next challenge.

“My goal as a fighter it’s always been to win a world title and that’s what kinda keeps me in the sport. I’m literally – fighting for a title and winning a world title are the only two things I haven’t done yet and I don’t want to waste talent, I want to seize these opportunities and that’s what keeps pushing me, that’s what keeps motivating me and next step is Georgi.”

Jury, who already called for a title shot after beating Girtz, doesn’t see a clear-cut contender at 155 pounds and is looking earn a crack at gold, with a solid showing against Karakhanyan.

“I see this division wide open, I see the title wide open right there and that’s why I’m taking to Bellator,” Jury said. “Let’s lock up a new contract, we got this next fight coming up, and I’ve already told them that I’m next in line for that title shot. I don’t care what anybody says, I have a great performance over Georgi, this division’s wide open, there’s nobody that deserves it.”

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Submission of the Month’ for February: The ‘black belt killer’

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from February 2020.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from February 2020: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for February.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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The Nominees

Daniel Rodriguez def. Tim Means at UFC on ESPN+ 25

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) rose to the occasion in his UFC debut, taking out Tim Means (29-12-1 MMA, 11-9 UFC), a 21-fight veteran of the organization, in the second round of their welterweight bout.

After battering Means on the feet and putting him in serious danger of a knockout, Rodriguez changed his attack to a standing guillotine choke. It went in deep, and shortly thereafter Means tapped and the fight was over.

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Alex Polizzi def. Jamal Pogues at LFA 82

[autotag]Alex Polizzi[/autotag] (6-0) scored his ticket to a Bellator contract by claiming the LFA light heavyweight title with a submission finish of Jamal Pogues (7-3) in the championship rounds.

Although submissions decrease in likelihood later into fights, Polizzi snatched the leg of Pogues in the early stages of the fourth round and locked in a heel hook. Pogues tapped out, and Polizzi remained undefeated in his young career.

Georgi Karakhanyan def. Paul Redmond at Bellator Europe 7

In his return to the lightweight division, [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] (29-10-1 MMA, 7-8 BMMA) picked up a much-needed win against Paul Redmond (15-9 MMA, 2-1 BMMA).

After going on a three-fight drought, Karakhanyan had an entertaining battle with Redmond before locking in a guillotine choke in the early stages of the round to finish the fight and get his hand raised for the first time in 21 months.

Jimmy Crute def. Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 26

[autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) rebounded from the first loss of his career with an impressive finish of Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.

Crute put his sizable ground advantage to use when he put Oleksiejczuk on his back and synched in a Kimura to elicit the tap in just over three minutes.

Jordan Griffin def. TJ Brown via guillotine choke at UFC on ESPN+ 27

Just when it seemed he was not going to get the finish, [autotag]Jordan Griffin[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) choked TJ Brown (14-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) out cold.

Attempting to lock in a guillotine choke from bottom position, Griffin’s attempt to finish the fight appeared that it would be unfruitful. Seconds later, though, the fight was over and Griffin had his first UFC win.

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The Winner: Jordan Griffin

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Griffin’s first UFC win was an impressive one.

After going 0-2 with two unanimous decision losses to kick off his octagon tenure, Griffin needed to get his hand raised in order to ensure his future with the organization.

He did just that, and in slick fashion, no less.

Griffin went for a usual guillotine choke while on bottom, which cageside commentator Michael Bisping wrote off as having any real chance of finishing the fight. He was wrong, however, because Griffin was able to finish the fight with a useful technique.

“I love that choke – that’s one of my go-to submissions,” Griffin said. “When you hook that in over the shoulder, it’s almost impossible to escape. People think they can circle around because their legs are free, but that actually makes it tighter. As soon as I locked it in, I knew it was over and that he was out. That’s my black belt killer right there.”

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Babies, kebabs and flying chairs: Georgi Karakhanyan recaps a crazy fight week in Dublin

Georgi Karakhanyan had a busy week in Dublin. He claimed victory, became a father and saw his friends narrowly avoid a brawl in a kebab shop.

It was a night to remember for [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] at Bellator 240 in more ways than one.

The Bellator veteran picked up a submission victory over Irish fan favorite Paul Redmond on the preliminary card at 3Arena in Dublin, then revealed backstage after his win that his son had been born DURING his fight.

“She just actually had it already,” he told reporters backstage after his victory. “I haven’t talked to her, but it’s my baby boy. ‘Little Georgi’, I call him – Georgi Jr. First time in Dublin, the baby’s born. I just went with the experience. I never went through this (before) and I’m all about experiences, so I’m very happy.”

Remarkably, that wasn’t the only fight week drama for Karakhanyan (29-10-1 MMA, 7-7 BMMA), who also revealed that his friends got involved in an altercation with some local hooligans in a kebab shop before fight night.

“I love Dublin – all the people here are cool … except a few hooligans who tried to beat up my homies,” he said. “They were having a kebab at a kebab place at Temple Bar, and something crazy happened, and I guess they started throwing chairs at them. They kept their calm. I’m happy they didn’t beat them up.”

Fortunately, Karakhanyan’s team left it to Georgi to look after the fighting on their Dublin trip, and he got the job done inside the Bellator cage thanks to a second-round guillotine choke.

Bellator 240/Bellator Europe 7 post-event facts: Charlie Ward closes in on KO record

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 240/Bellator Europe 7, which took place Saturday in Dublin.

Bellator closed out a very busy weekend of fights on Saturday with the split-event showcase that was Bellator 240/Bellator Europe 7, which took place at 3Arena in Dublin.

There were a few noteworthy results to stem from the lineup, someone of which had historical significance. For more details, check below for 30 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 240/Bellator Europe 7.

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General

Betting favorites went 7-1 on the main card.

Betting favorites improved to 3-0 in Bellator main events this year.

Total fight time for the eight main card matchups was 1:26:54.

Bellator 240

[autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) has earned eight of his 10 career victories by stoppage.

Primus’ eight victories in Bellator lightweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Michael Chandler (14) and Patricky Freire (14).

Primus’ six stoppage victories in Bellator lightweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Chandler (nine) and Freire (nine).

[autotag]Chris Bungard[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by submission.

[autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) has earned three of his four Bellator victories by decision.

[autotag]Iamik Furtado[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Bec Rawlings[/autotag] (8-9 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) snapped her five-fight losing skid for her first victory since March 2016.

Rawlings improved to 1-3 since she returned to the women’s flyweight division in November 2017.

[autotag]Elina Kallionidou[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 0-4 BMMA) remained winless in four career Bellator appearances.

Kallionidou has suffered all four of her career losses by decision.

[autotag]Ricky Bandejas[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) has earned nine of his 13 career victories by stoppage. That includes all three of his Bellator wins.

[autotag]Lewis Long[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) has suffered all six of his career losses by stoppage.

Bellator Europe 7

[autotag]Leah McCourt[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) failed to finish her opponent for the first time in her Bellator career.

[autotag]Judith Ruis[/autotag] (6-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) has suffered four of her five career losses by decision.

[autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (8-4 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) improved to 5-1 since he returned to the middleweight division in November 2017. He’s 7-1 overall in his career at the weight class.

Ward’s five stoppage victories in Bellator middleweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Alexander Shlemenko (eight) and John Salter (six).

Ward’s five knockout victories in Bellator middleweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Shlemenko (six).

[autotag]Kyle Kurtz[/autotag] (10-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered seven of his eight career losses by stoppage. He’s been finished by knockout in six of those defeats.

[autotag]Austin Clem[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) earned the first decision victory of his career.

[autotag]Aaron Chalmers[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Richard Kiely[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) has suffered all three of his career losses by stoppage.

[autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] (29-10-1 MMA, 7-8 BMMA) was successful in his Bellator lightweight debut.

Karakhanyan improved to 1-2 since he returned to Bellator for a third stint in March 2019.

[autotag]Paul Redmond[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) fell to 5-3 since he was released from the UFC in July 2015.

Redmond has suffered seven of his nine career losses by stoppage.

Redmond suffered his first submission loss since Dec. 31, 2013 – a span of 2,244 days (more than six years) and 12 fights.

[autotag]Richie Smullen[/autotag] (5-2-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Justin Moore[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) has suffered all five of his career losses by stoppage.