Goran Reljić

Goran Reljić (born 20 March 1984) is a Croatian mixed martial artist and bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor who began his career in 2004 and most recently competed in 2020, he has fought for the UFC, RIZIN, and KSW.

Mixed martial arts career
Reljić made his professional MMA debut on April 4, 2004 against Bojan Spalević. Reljić won the fight via submission (armbar) in the first round. His second fight was against Andrej Bregar in Trbovlje, Slovenia. Reljić won the fight via submission (arm-triangle choke).

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Reljić made his UFC debut at light heavyweight against Wilson Gouveia at UFC 84, where he won in the second round by TKO. He then dropped down to middleweight.

His next fight was slated to be at UFC 90 against Thales Leites, but Reljić sustained a serious back injury and was replaced by Drew McFedries. He would not return to active competition for nearly two years.

Reljić finally made his return and faced CB Dollaway on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110, where he would be making his middleweight debut. Reljić lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Reljić faced Kendall Grove on July 3, 2010 at UFC 116 and lost via split decision. One judge scored the fight 29–28 for Reljić, while the other two judges scored it 30–27 and 29–28 for Grove.

Reljić returned to the light heavyweight division and faced Krzysztof Soszynski on November 13, 2010 at UFC 122. After losing the fight via unanimous decision, Reljić was released from the promotion.

Post-UFC
In his first post UFC fight, Reljić faced Goran Šćepanović on October 7, 2011 at BEFN 6, where he won by TKO in the first round.

Reljić then faced Rogent Lloret in a heavyweight bout on March 24, 2012 at Strength and Honor Championship in Geneve Switzerland. Reljić won the fight by TKO in the first round.

Reljić fought Jan Błachowicz in a main fight on KSW 22 for light heavyweight world title. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Reljić then faced Nikolay Osokin at Draka 13 on August 30, 2013. Reljić won the fight via TKO (body kick) in the first round.

Reljić returned to KSW on March 22, 2014 against Karol Celinski at KSW 26. Reljić won the fight via unanimous decision.

In his debut for the Rizin Fighting Federation, Reljić faced Vadim Nemkov on December 29, 2015. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Absolute Championship Berkut
Reljić faced Nikola Dipchikov at ACA 109: Strus vs. Haratyk on August 20 2020. He lost the bout via first round TKO.

Reljić faced Carlos Eduardo on April 23, 2021 at ACA 122. He won the bout via split decision.

Reljić faced Davrbek Isakov at ACA 133 on December 4, 2021. He won the bout via TKO in second round.

Reljić faced Vojtech Garba at RFA 3 on July 23, 2022. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Reljić faced Stepan Gorshechnikov on April 8, 2023 at ACA 155, losing the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round.

Reljić faced Alexey Efremov on November 24, 2023 at ACA 166, losing the bout after retiring from the bout after the first round.

Bare knuckle boxing career
He made his debut in a bare knuckle boxing becoming UBBADA world light heavyweight champion at BKB 7 event in Liverpool on September 9, 2017, defeating Ricky Nelder via unanimous decision.

On next event he defended title against Jimmy McCrory on November 4, 2017. Fight was declared no contest because McCrory's jaw appears to be broken after a clash of heads.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
 * KSW Light Heavyweight World Championship (One time)
 * Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Jan Błachowicz
 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Wilson Gouveia