Unable to Wait on UFC Offer, Georgi Karakhanyan Hopes to Become Star in WSOF
Georgi Karakhanyan couldn’t wait any longer for a shot in the UFC.
When the World Series of Fighting called, he jumped at the chance to become one of the promotion’s top fighters.
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On signing a four-fight deal with World Series of Fighting: “I’m with them for a year. I signed a deal. I couldn’t wait that long. I did whatever I could for the UFC to pick me up, but I couldn’t wait because I’m a fighter. At the end of the day, that’s how I make a living. I couldn’t refuse the offer from World Series of Fighting. We talked with my manager, Mike Kogan, and the offer was good. It’s a great organization with great TV exposure, so I’m just looking forward to fighting for them.”
On whether he can become a star in the WSOF:
“That’s the goal. I’m going to do that for sure, become one of the
poster boys or whatever you call that. The goal is to fight all
those tough fighters. I said this before: If I could fight all the
UFC vets, that’s perfect with me. If there’s not enough at the 145
division, I’m willing to go up to 155 because there’s a few
fighters in the World Series that have been in the UFC [lightweight
division]. I’m just trying to stay busy. I like to stay busy. I
like to fight, and World Series of Fighting gave me that
opportunity.”
On Lowe: “I thought he was beating Nik Lentz until he got caught in that guillotine, but he’s good. He’s a good wrestler. Just like with all my fights, I don’t underestimate nobody. I’m going to go out there and take it to him.”
On how his soccer career helped him with MMA: “I think the thing I learned most from soccer was the mental part. When I was about 7 or 8, I was playing in Russia and there were times where it was snowing and it was so cold out there, normal people wouldn’t train, but our coaches would just get drunk off of vodka and just make us go in the snow and start running, yelling at us and telling it’s all mental. You got stuck training in the cold and coaches are yelling at you, so over there they try to break you at a really young age. They break your mentality and they just start building you. I learned that a lot from them.”
On whether he likes to watch MMA or soccer more: “To be honest with you, mixed martial arts because right now, when I watch soccer, I see all the players faking, which I used to do too when I was playing -- faking a fall or something like that. I get pissed off. I just change the channel because I think now that I’m fighting, I look at things a different way.”
On how the fight will play out Saturday: “My prediction is I’m going to win. Worst-case scenario, I’m going to win a decision again. … Before I used to get really discouraged if I couldn’t finish a fight and things were not going my way, but now I learned that if I can’t finish a fight, I’ve got to stay composed and find a way to break that guy, break him and [win] a decision. I always try to look for a finish, but if I can’t, I’m going to take him to the deep waters and beat him up.”
Listen to the full interview (beginning at 2:16:32).
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