Well, that was disappointing.
Former UFC Lightweight standout George Sotiropoulos came out of a nine-year retirement on Friday (May 26, 2023) against Josh Togo at HEX Fight Series 26 from inside Melbourne Pavilion in Australia. Unfortunately, the fight ended via no-contest in the second round due to an accidental eye poke, which caused frustration within the building because the referee did not check Togo’s eye after the poke.
Check out the eye poke below:
Former UFC fighter George Sotiropoulos’ return to MMA after 9 years away ended in a No-Contest due to a accidental eye poke at #HEXFS26
( : @FiteTV) pic.twitter.com/sMMDF0KWJh
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) May 28, 2023
Unfortunate return to MMA for George Sotiropoulos who just had his fight at @HexFS stopped due to an eye-poke and called a no contest. pic.twitter.com/5B5z1RgBRZ
— Submission Radio (@SubmissionRadio) May 26, 2023
After competing on season six of The Ultimate Fighter, Sotiropoulos, 45, had 11 fights in the UFC between 2007 and 2013, going on an impressive seven-fight win streak. However, the seven-fight run inside the octagon would be his peak as he would lose a unanimous decision to Dennis Siver at UFC 127 and then not win another fight until he retired in 2014 when he lost to Mike Ricci outside of the UFC.
There is no doubt that Sotiropoulos was a pioneer in Australian MMA and laid the path for eventual Australian UFC superstars such as Alexander Volkanovski.
The 45-year-old has not commented if he will continue to fight or return to retirement.
For more regional MMA news and notes click here, and you can watch the entire fight at Fite. TV