As a child growing up in Geelong, the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia’s George Sotiropoulos probably never imagined that he would be making his home in Long Island, New York a couple of decades later. But even though he hasn’t adopted the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) accent, the welterweight prospect is adjusting well to life in the land of the New York Islanders, Billy Joel, and Amy Fisher.
“I’ve adjusted really well,” said Sotirpoulos, who has been training with the Serra-Longo team in Long Island since his stint on season six of The Ultimate Fighter ended last July. “I’ve gotten used to living here, I’ve settled into a routine, I train every day and I’ve got some good friends. We’re training consistently, I’m comfortable with the people I’m around, and everything’s going well. As long as I’m training I’m happy.”
And Sotiropoulos is one guy who can say that and you actually believe him. Training and fighting is a passion like no other for him, one that has taken him around the world as he’s searched for the right training and the right situation that could take him to the pinnacle of the game in the UFC. Forget getting his picture on a T-shirt or signing autographs for hours; the payoff for him is the fight, and he doesn’t regret any of the sacrifices it took to get here.
“I’m so focused on what I’m doing that I’ve kept my life commitment-free so I can just get up at the drop of a dime,” he said. “If somebody calls me, I can be there the next day. When they called me for the first audition of TUF, I flew out that weekend. I’m ready to go today if needed. I’ve got no regrets at all with the decisions I’ve made and I’ll continue to make the same decisions for the next decade. This has been my goal for a decade now and I’ve finally gotten here. It’s taken a long time, I’ve traveled the world, I’ve been training, I’ve fought internationally, I’ve fought international opponents, and now I’m here and it’s where I want to be. I’ve been through a lot to get here and it’s so much more rewarding now that I’m here.”
That single-minded focus allowed him to excel on season six of TUF until a semifinal loss to Tommy Speer kept him from competing for the series title. But on the season finale card last December, Sotiropoulos was on point from the opening bell as he submitted Billy Miles in just 96 seconds, making it look easy in the process.
“Not taking anything away from him, but I knew my skill level was a lot greater than what his was because I’ve dedicated so much more of my life and time to this sport, and I was a lot more competent with my striking and my ground fighting than he was,” said Sotiropoulos of the Miles fight. “But the thing is, I don’t take anyone lightly. He’s a big guy, he looks the part, has good wrestling, so I prepared for a war regardless. I’m training 2-3 times a day and I don’t care who I’m fighting; I’m ready for a war. Even before the show I trained with that attitude, and that will continue to be my attitude.”
“I’m here now and I plan to stay here for a long time,” he said. “I believe that if you perform well, those opportunities will come. I plan to take one fight at a time, fight consistently and frequently, and I’m a competitor and I love fighting, so that’s what I want to do, and I’m in no rush.”
“I saw the 23 seconds of footage on him and it was consistent with his record because his wins have come by submission,” said Sotiropoulos of Mitichyan. “You can pretty much predict what he’s gonna do based on his stats. I’m expecting more of a grappling match from him because that’s what he does, but I’m still covering all my bases. I’m covering my standup, my groundfighting, my takedowns, my throws, and my clinching, so I don’t leave anything out.”
But while you have to assume that the prospect of a grappling match with Mitichyan is making Sotiropoulos - a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who trains daily with one of the best ground fighters in the game, UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra – smile with glee, he isn’t necessarily more or less excited about the style matchup. To him, a fight’s a fight.
“I don’t care who I fight,” he said. “I want to fight strikers, grapplers, guys who are good at both. It’s MMA and you can’t pick your battles. In this sport you have to be prepared for anything and that’s what I’m doing.”
And that’s precisely why he loves the fight game.
“I think it’s the toughest sport around, the biggest challenge, and there are no excuses in this sport,” said Sotiropoulos. “MMA answers all the questions. If you were boxing, a guy could say, ‘if I could have taken you down, then I would have won the fight.’ Or if you were grappling, he could say ‘if I was punching you, you wouldn’t have submitted me.’ This ends all arguments. You get in there, prove it, and be a man. There are no excuses, it’s mano a mano, and that’s it.”
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