Georgi Karakhanyan (right) facing Daniel Pineda | Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports
The Armenian-American is moving up to lightweight this weekend in order to extend his career and fulfill his ambition.
Georgi Karakhanyan hopes a move up in weight class will rejuvenate his career and spark a resurgence.
The 34-year-old had a disappointing display in his last outing when AJ McKee knocked him out only eight seconds into the fight. That bout was in the opening round of Bellator’s World Featherweight Grand Prix so a golden opportunity for Karakhanyan (28-10-1, 1NC) slipped away. He found it frustrating that he didn’t have the chance to display what he’d been working on during fight camp but wasn’t too hard on himself following the defeat.
“Of course I was disappointed but there is nothing I could do,” discussed Karakhanyan. “I just got caught which can happen in the fight game. I’d put in a lot of hard work for that bout but these things happen sometimes. The only thing I can learn from that is to just always be prepared and expect the unexpected.”
“That camp lasted about twelve weeks and I was in Colorado for about four of those,” continued Karakhanyan. “I came back home and finished my preparations in California. For this fight, I’m taking the stuff that I learnt during that camp and using it once again. Sometimes you put in a lot of hard work and it doesn’t show in the cage but if you keep working hard with constant repetitions, you’ll get the rewards.”
Karakhanyan hopes that AJ McKee goes on to win the whole tournament as it will make him feel better to have lost to the eventual victor. However, that defeat helped him make the decision to stop draining his body so badly and he is now moving up to the lightweight division. The Russian-born fighter has been considering the change for the last three or four years as he frequently cut around 30lbs in order to make the featherweight limit. Karakhanyan also believes this decision will extend his fighting career.
Greeting him to his new weight class is Irishman, Paul Redmond, who will have the crowd behind him at Bellator Dublin on Saturday night during the preliminary card. Redmond (15-8) is 2-0 in the promotion and has been a fan-favorite on the Emerald Isle for many years. He trains out of Team Ryano and is looking to build momentum after defeating Charlie Leary last February in Dublin. Karakhanyan is aware of the challenge standing in front of him but is looking forward to going into enemy territory, feeding off of the loyal crowd’s energy and putting on an exciting show.
“Redmond is a great opponent who is well-rounded,” stated Karakhanyan. “All of the Irish fans know him and he is popular in the country. He’s a black belt in BJJ and pushes the pace by coming forward. I’m sure he will bring it but everything is in my hands. I could go to the ground with him or I could keep it standing. Either way, I’ll make sure the fans see a memorable fight.”
Karakhanyan has a career spanning around thirteen years and he has competed forty times so it’s tough to rival him in terms of experience. He has fought in many different promotions all around the world including WSOF and ACB and has shared the cage with a who’s who of competitors such as Joe Warren, Patricio Pitbull, Lance Palmer and Pat Curran. Despite this, ‘Insane’ isn’t planning on dialling things back anytime soon and still has ambitions he wants to meet.
“My goals are still very high even though I’ve moved divisions,” claimed Karakhanyan. “I want to fight big names and after this fight, I’ll call out a few people. I’m keeping their names under wraps until then though. I didn’t just switch weights to have a longer career – I’m looking to get that title!”
The Bellator Dublin preliminary card can be viewed live and free around the world on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel at 4:30pm GMT on Saturday evening. Fans in the US and Canada can tune in from 11:30amET/10:30amCT during the morning.