User:Charalampos Grigoriou/sandbox

Charalampos Grigoriou (Χαράλαμπος Γρηγορίου; born March 31, 1992) is a Cypriot mixed martial artist currently competing in the Cage Fury Fighting Championships in the Bantamweight division. The last win was in November 2019.

Background
Grigoriou was born and raised in Paphos, Cyprus. From the very beginning of his life, he was keen on sports and more specifically on soccer. At this period of his life, Grigoriou inclined to get involved in scuffles on the playing field, which made him realize his passion about martial arts. Grigoriou was introduced to karate at the age of 7, in 1999, which led him to many competitions and honorable distinctions in his home country, as well as Europe. He became a Cyprus karate champion at the age of 10. He won the champion's title in the Panhellenic karate championship twice, in 2004 and 2005 which took place in Athens, Greece. In 2007, he was one of the athletes who represented Cyprus and competed in the Black belt (martial arts) division at the European Karate Championships in Poland. Grigoriou and his team attained an astonishing 5th place finish for Cyprus out of the 20 other European countries in the championship. After graduating high school and during his military service, Grigoriou advanced his fighting training by taking kickboxing and Mixed martial arts (MMA) classes. In the very beginning, he competed in the amateur division in which he successfully won 3 of his opponents. Two years later, because of his great passion for kickboxing and martial arts, he found himself competing in the professional division.

Early Career
Grigoriou began his professional career as an athlete of the Muay Thai and Kickboxing in 63kg division in 2012. The first official fight was held in Paphos and more specifically in the event Castle Gladiator. He achieved a clear victory by a Homophonous decision of the referees. Grigoriou had a lot of fights and victories, this gave him the chance to compete in the Organization World Kickboxing Network for the National Championship belt as one of the best Kickboxing athletes in Cyprus. He achieved a clear victory after an one round match and he emerged as the champion of Cyprus. After a successful career in Cyprus, he decided to take the next step in his career by moving in the USA. Over there, Grigoriou took part in some of the biggest kickboxing events. He had his first chance to introduce himself in the USA when he fought The Battle of the Millennium which took place in Brooklyn. It is worth mentioning that the athlete was informed about the details of the match just 2 days ago. On this event, he had to face one of the best fighters in Canada, a fact that made it more challenging for him to win. However, Grigoriou was defeated by split decision. After this fight, Grigoriou made a very good impression and as a result, he has nominated to fight for Glory (kickboxing). Grigoriou took part in Glory 48: New York which took place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Cage Fury Fighting Championships
Grigoriou faced Marios Zinonos on 5 October 2014 at CMMAF. He won the fight in the third round by unanimous decision.

Grigoriou faced Sodik Ismailov on 15 September 2017 at Ring of Combat 60. He lost the fight in the third round by unanimous decision.

Grigoriou faced O’Brayan Ramirez on 2 March 2018 at Ring of Combat 62. He won the fight in the first round after a punch that led to the KO of his opponent.

Grigoriou faced Cody Hier on 17 May 2019 at CFFC 74. He won the fight in the first round after a leg kick that led to the TKO of his opponent.

Grigoriou faced Turpal Khamzayev on 16 November 2019 at CFFC 79. He won the fight in the first round by unanimous decision.

Championships and Accomplishments

 * Karate Black belt (martial arts)


 * Blue belt (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)
 * Panhellenic Karate Championship (x2)
 * Pancyprian Karate Championship
 * European Karate Championships 5th Place
 * Pancyprian MMA Champion's title
 * World Kickboxing Network organization belt