George Sotiropoulos
Born	July 9, 1977 (1977-07-09) (age 32) Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Other names	The Wizard of Oz
Nationality	Australian
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Division	155
Style	Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing
Fighting out of	Vancouver, Washington, US
Team	Fisticuffs Gym
Rank	black belt in BJJ
MMA record
Total	14
Wins	12
By knockout	1
By submission	7
By decision	4
Losses	2
Draws	0
No contests	0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

George Sotiropoulos (born July 9, 1977) is an Australian mixed martial artist of Greek descent that is currently fighting in the UFC in the lightweight division. He is well known for appearing as a fighter on the TV show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, fighting on Team Serra.

Biography

Sotiropoulos began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1997. He was promoted to black belt in 2004 by John Will. In 2003 and 2007, he represented Australia in the Submission Wrestling World Championships. He has also competed in amateur boxing, and in 2004, won a Victorian State Amateur boxing title. Prior to his MMA career in the UFC, George Sotiropoulos trained with veteran UFC and Pride Fighting Championship fighter Enson Inoue. The two met during a winning bout Sotiropoulos had with Sergio Lourenco in Guam. He has remained affiliated with Enson Inoue's Purebred gyms throughout his career since then.

Following his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, Sotiropoulos moved to Long Island, NY to train at Serra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. George 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. He relocated in 2009 and is currently training at an Enson Inoue Purebred affiliate, Fisticuffs Gym located in Vancouver, Washington. In a UFC published article spotlighting Sotiropoulos, he is quoted that the reason for the move was to train with his boxing coach, Leonard Gabriel. In addition, Sotiropoulos trains his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with Impact Jiu Jitsu in Beaverton, Oregon. There, his main training partners include Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belts and Grappler's Quest champions Michael Chapman, Keisuke Andrew and Armand Debruge.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter 6

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 Tommy Speer in the semi-finals by knockout, shortly after an accidental thumb to the eye.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sotiropoulos defeated Billy Miles at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra Finale via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:36 in round 1. Sotiropoulos defeated Roman Mitichyan at UFC Fight Night 13 on 2 April 2008 by TKO in the second round.

He was scheduled to fight Karo Parisyan at UFC 87, however Sotiropoulos was forced to withdraw due to injury. He was then to face Matt Grice at UFC Fight Night 17, but was again forced to withdraw due to injury. After an 18 month break in his career, he switched weight classes, winning his 155 lb debut at UFC 101 on August 8, 2009 against George Roop. He showed his Jiu Jitsu skills and passed Roop's guard with ease, eventually getting the kimura lock in the second round; making Roop tap out.

Sotiropoulos defeated Ultimate Fighter 9 alumni Jason Dent in the second round by armbar on November 21, 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 February 21, 2010 at UFC 110.

Making his first appearance on the main card of a UFC pay-per-view event, Sotiropolous improved to 5–0 in the UFC as he defeated Joe 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.

Sotiropolous' next fight is rumoured to be against Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 116 in July 2010.

Personal life

Sotiropoulos has a Bachelor of Business in Banking & Finance, Associate Diploma of Business in International Trade from Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to competing in mixed martial arts, he worked in the finance industry. George got married on August 16, 2009, in New York City. He currently resides in Vancouver, Washington.

Mixed Martial Arts record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
		Kurt Pellegrino		UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin	02010-07-03 July 3, 2010			Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	12-2	Joe Stevenson	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez	02010-02-21 February 21, 2010	3	5:00	Sydney, Australia	Fight of the Night
Win	11-2	Jason Dent	Submission (Armbar)	UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2	02009-11-21 November 21, 2009	2	4:35	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	10-2	George Roop	Submission (Kimura)	UFC 101: Declaration	02009-08-08 August 8, 2009	2	1:59	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US	Lightweight Debut
Win	9-2	Roman Mitichyan	TKO (Punches)	UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon	02008-04-02 April 2, 2008	2	2:24	Broomfield, Colorado, US
Win	8-2	Billy Miles	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	The Ultimate Finale 6	02007-12-08 December 8, 2007	1	1:36	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	7-2	Jung Hwan Cha	Submission (Armbar)	Spirit MC 11: Invasion	02007-04-22 April 22, 2007	2	3:27	Seoul, South Korea
Loss	6-2	Shinya Aoki	DQ (Groin Strike)	Shooto: Champion Carnival	02006-10-14 October 14, 2006	2	0:05	Yokohama, Japan
Win	6-1	Shigetoshi Iwase	Decision (Unanimous)	Kokoro: Kill Or Be Killed	02006-08-15 August 15, 2006	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
Win	5-1	Kyle Noke	Decision (Unanimous)	Warriors Realm 5	02006-02-25 February 25, 2006	5	5:00	Australia
Win	4-1	Sergio Lourenco	Decision (Unanimous)	FFCF 5: Unleashed	02006-01-27 January 27, 2006	3	5:00	Guam
Loss	3-1	Kyle Noke	Decision (Split)	Warriors Realm 4	02005-07-02 July 2, 2005	3	5:00	Australia
Win	3-0	Marcio Bittencourt	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	K-1 Challenge 2004 Oceania vs World	02004-12-18 December 18, 2004	1	3:30	Gold Coast, Australia
Win	2-0	Kelly Jacobs	Submission (Armbar)	Warriors Realm 2	02004-12-10 December 10, 2004	1	4:12	Southport, Queensland
Win	1-0	Gavin Murie	Submission (Armbar)	XFC 6: Ultimate Fighting Returns	02004-11-20 November 20, 2004	1	1:28	Southport, Queensland

External links

• Official site
• Professional MMA record for George Sotiropoulos from Sherdog
• George Sotiropoulos' The Ultimate Fighter bio
• UFC Profile