Creator credit recorded on the linked source page: Eva Rinaldi · CC BY-SA 2.0
George Sotiropoulos
Australian black belt who took up jiu-jitsu to reach the UFC, trained from Los Angeles to Rio and Japan, and now teaches at his own gym in Melbourne.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Wikipedia, 'George Sotiropoulos' (last edited 27 May 2026).(opens in a new tab)
George Sotiropoulos was born on 9 July 1977 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Where in the source: Infobox, row 'Born' — '9 July 1977'
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He is an Australian former professional mixed martial artist best known for fighting in the UFC lightweight division.
Where in the source: Lead paragraph, first sentence — 'an Australian former'
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Before turning professional he completed an associate diploma in international trade and, in 2001, a bachelor's degree in banking and finance and international trade at Victoria University, Melbourne.
Where in the source: Section 'Background', first paragraph — 'Victoria University'
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On The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra he beat Jared Rollins and then Richie Hightower by kimura, before losing the semi-final to Tom Speer by knockout shortly after an accidental thumb to the eye; he then submitted Billy Miles with a rear-naked choke at the season finale.
Where in the source: Section 'The Ultimate Fighter' and first paragraph of 'Ultimate Fighting Championship'
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At UFC 110 in Sydney in February 2010 he beat Joe Stevenson by unanimous decision in his first main-card appearance, earning Fight of the Night; his kimura win over Joe Lauzon at UFC 123 in November 2010 also won Fight of the Night.
Where in the source: Section 'Move down to lightweight', paragraphs on UFC 110 and UFC 123
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He then lost to Dennis Siver (UFC 127), Rafael dos Anjos (UFC 132), Ross Pearson (December 2012) and K. J. Noons (UFC 166), and was released by the UFC on 18 December 2013.
Where in the source: Section 'Losing streak and release'
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Wikipedia lists his rank as second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Fabiano Scherner, dating the promotion to 27 June 2014.
Where in the source: Infobox, row 'Rank'; reference to his Instagram post
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After his UFC release he lost to Mike Ricci by unanimous decision at Titan FC 29 in August 2014; almost nine years later, on 26 May 2023, he fought Josh Togo at HEX Fight Series 26, a bout ruled a no contest after an accidental eye poke.
Where in the source: Section 'Titan Fighting Championship'
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George Sotiropoulos official website (georgesots.com), 'Bio', archived by the Wayback Machine on 22 February 2014.(opens in a new tab)
According to his own website biography, he started martial arts in 1997 after watching a UFC event, set himself the goal of fighting in the UFC, and took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu first, at age 19.
Where in the source: Bio page, first paragraph — 'started martial arts in 1997'
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By 2001 he was a purple belt who had won numerous Australian BJJ and grappling tournaments; after finishing his bachelor's degree he spent two months in the USA training at the Machado academies in Los Angeles and the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York.
Where in the source: Bio page, second paragraph — 'purple belt rank'
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Back in Australia he took up wrestling with former Olympian Ziggy Kelevits and made another two-month training trip to the USA in 2002.
Where in the source: Bio page, third paragraph — 'Ziggy Kelevits'
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He earned a place through the Australian qualifier for the ADCC Submission Grappling World Championships; on the way to the 2003 event in São Paulo he trained for a month at the Machado academies, and afterwards spent two months at Brazilian Top Team in Rio de Janeiro.
Where in the source: Bio page, fourth paragraph — 'Brazilian Top Team'
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He received his BJJ black belt in August 2004, then began boxing under Australian champion Mitat Balla, had five amateur boxing bouts and made his MMA debut in November 2004.
Where in the source: Bio page, fifth paragraph — 'August 2004'
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In 2006 he fought in Guam, won the Warriors Realm welterweight title in Australia, spent four weeks training Muay Thai in Thailand, and then trained in Japan at Enson Inoue's Purebred gym, competing in three BJJ and grappling events and twice in MMA.
Where in the source: Bio page, paragraphs on 2006 — 'Purebred Shoot'
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In 2007 he won the Australian ADCC qualifier in February, made his professional boxing debut, fought MMA in Seoul, competed at the Submission Wrestling World Championships in Trenton, New Jersey, and a month later was fighting on The Ultimate Fighter 6 in Las Vegas.
Where in the source: Bio page, paragraph on 2007 — 'a busy year'
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Shortly after his April 2008 UFC fight he was injured in training and had surgery in June; he spent the rest of 2008 rehabilitating and moved to Las Vegas in December, doing most of his training at Xtreme Couture.
Where in the source: Bio page, paragraphs on 2008 — 'required surgery'
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Chris Herouvim, 'The Nomadic Samurai has Returned Home – An interview with George Sotiropoulos', Fight News Australia, 29 May 2018.(opens in a new tab)
He said he first saw the UFC at about 19 on VHS tapes at a friend's house, having long been obsessed with fighting films such as those of Bruce Lee, and decided straight away that he had to do it.
Where in the source: Answer to the question on how his martial arts journey began — 'VHS tapes'
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Asked how many instructors he had between white and black belt, he said he trained with Machado affiliates in Australia and made trips to the Machado and other academies in the USA; he credited reaching black belt in about seven years to hard work, obsessive training, competition, goals and drive.
Where in the source: Q&A on black belt, two consecutive answers — 'Machado affiliates'
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He named freestyle wrestler Ziggy Kelevitz as his most influential coach: someone he looked up to, a big part of his training, and a companion at many grappling competitions.
Where in the source: Answer on most influential coaches — 'Ziggy Kelevitz'
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He recalled driving from Geelong to Oakleigh, Essendon or Werribee to find sparring partners.
Where in the source: Answer on coaching versus training partners — 'Geelong to Oakleigh'
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He said he took up the rubber guard after seeing Shinya Aoki succeed with it, as a tool for bad ground-and-pound positions; he was already a black belt, and it took mental discipline because it often failed in training, though his existing guard and escapes helped.
Where in the source: Answers on Eddie Bravo and 10th Planet — 'Shinya Aoki'
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At Omega he said he teaches the fundamentals that carried his own career, namely escapes, passes, sweeps and submissions, runs separate striking, wrestling and jiu-jitsu classes, and believes students should train both with and without the gi.
Where in the source: Answers on his school and on the gi — 'the fundamentals'
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He said he had always taught, even as a student and while training with other fighters, but wanted his own academy.
Where in the source: Answer on what he did after 2014 — 'when I was a student'
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BJJ Heroes, 'John Will' fighter profile.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes names George Sotiropoulos among the Australian competitors who received their black belts from John Will.
Where in the source: John Will profile, introductory paragraph — list of black belts he awarded
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Wikipedia, 'John Will (fighter)'.(opens in a new tab)
John Will, a martial artist from Geelong, received his BJJ black belt from Rigan Machado in 1998 and became national director of Machado Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Australia.
Where in the source: Body, paragraph on training trips — 'national director'
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Omega Jiu Jitsu & MMA, home page, 'Head Instructor: George Sotiropoulos'.(opens in a new tab)
In his academy biography he says that from 1998 to 2007 he competed in every major BJJ, wrestling and submission grappling competition in Australia and represented Australia twice at the ADCC submission grappling world championships.
Where in the source: Home page, 'Head Instructor' section, second paragraph — 'From 1998 to 2007'
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Omega Jiu Jitsu & MMA, in Abbotsford, Victoria, offers Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling and striking programmes founded and taught by George Sotiropoulos, who is listed as head instructor.
Where in the source: Home page, 'Head Instructor' heading and 'About Us' footer
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'UFC Greek-Aussie warrior', Neos Kosmos, 19 February 2010.(opens in a new tab)
Neos Kosmos reported that he won a Pan Pacific BJJ Championship and represented Australia at the 2003 and 2007 Submission Wrestling World Championships.
Where in the source: Paragraph after 'began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1997' — 'Pan Pacific BJJ Championship'
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Born and raised in Geelong to a Greek background, he wore both the Greek and Australian flags before fights and described MMA as a continuation of the ancient Greek combat sport of pankration.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on his heritage — 'Hellenic pankration'
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Thomas Hackett, 'Interview: Enson Inoue & George Sotiropoulos (Part One)', Total MMA, 2 May 2008 (Wayback Machine archive).(opens in a new tab)
Enson Inoue recalled watching Sotiropoulos beat a well-known jiu-jitsu fighter in Guam by pressing for submissions even while ahead, and inviting him to Japan; Sotiropoulos said Inoue saw something in him and believed in him.
Where in the source: Opening paragraphs of the interview — 'saw something in me'
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In 2008 Inoue and Sotiropoulos taught a jiu-jitsu seminar together at Fisticuffs Gym in Vancouver, Washington.
Where in the source: First paragraph — 'Fisticuffs Gym in Vancouver, WA'
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Thomas Hackett, 'Interview: Enson Inoue & George Sotiropoulos (Part Two)', Total MMA, 5 May 2008 (Wayback Machine archive).(opens in a new tab)
After the show he moved from Australia to Long Island, New York, to train with Team Serra, saying it had improved his stand-up, ground game and wrestling.
Where in the source: Closing paragraphs on travel — 'with Team Serra'
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Ingo Weigold / James Cahilellis, 'George Sotiropoulos: "The fighter's definitely in me"', MMANUTS, 24 February 2011.(opens in a new tab)
He said he first met Eddie Bravo in 2001 while training at the Machados' in California; in 2008 he joined a Bravo seminar introducing the rubber guard and half-guard concepts, then spent a week with Bravo in Los Angeles, which began regular training with him at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: Answer about coaches, paragraph beginning 'At the same time' — 'introduction to the rubber guard'
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In 2011 he was based in Vancouver, Washington, having moved there to work with boxing coach Leonard Gabriel at Fisticuffs; he also trained at Impact Jiu-Jitsu and sparred at Team Quest.
Where in the source: Answer about coaches and training partners — 'Vancouver Washington'
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'Interview: Aussie UFC veteran George Sotiropoulos on his new role as team coach in reality tv show The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes', TNT Magazine, 5 October 2012.(opens in a new tab)
TNT Magazine described him in 2012 as a black belt in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and 10th Planet jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: Third paragraph — 'Brazilian and 10th Planet'
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Of coaching Team Australia on The Smashes he said he really enjoyed teaching, something his focus on fighting had previously left little room for.
Where in the source: Quote after 'Coaching was a different challenge' — 'I really enjoyed teaching'
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Chuck Mindenhall, 'Always a teacher at heart, UFC vet George Sotiropoulos opens his own gym in Melbourne', MMA Fighting, 11 August 2018.(opens in a new tab)
Over the first half of the 2006–2015 period he won 11 of 12 fights, including seven straight to open his UFC run, with submissions of George Roop and Jason Dent; his last win, a submission of Joe Lauzon at UFC 123, put him on the edge of lightweight title contention.
Where in the source: First paragraph — 'won 11 of 12 fights'
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After years in Vancouver and New York he moved back to Australia in 2016 and on 7 April 2018 opened Omega Jiu-Jitsu & MMA, a 4,300-square-foot gym in Melbourne; the name nods to his Greek heritage.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on the gym opening — 'on April 7'
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He said he wanted Omega to give a complete experience in striking, wrestling and groundwork under one vision, rather than separate coaches with different visions, and that he had always expected to run a school after years of travelling and training in many places.
Where in the source: Quotes on the gym concept — 'complete experience'
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MMA Fighting's Chuck Mindenhall described him as an eternal student of the game and a teacher at his core, glimpsed during his coaching stint on The Smashes.
Where in the source: Paragraph after the TUF 6 recap — 'eternal student'
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Thomas Gerbasi, 'George Sotiropoulos – Still Committed', UFC.com, 14 December 2012.(opens in a new tab)
Before the Pearson fight he had meniscus surgery on both knees, moved his training to American Top Team in South Florida for higher-level MMA sparring, and coached opposite Pearson on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes.
Where in the source: Middle section on injuries and camp — 'meniscus surgery'
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He recalled coming back from ACL surgery in 2008 to win five fights in a row.
Where in the source: Early quote on public perception — 'ACL surgery'
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Thomas Gerbasi, 'George Sotiropoulos and the Art of the Fight', UFC.com, 17 October 2013.(opens in a new tab)
Ahead of UFC 166 in 2013 he said an old coach had told him he was overtraining, and that he no longer tied himself to the outcome of a fight but to executing his strategy, which he called a martial arts mentality.
Where in the source: Quotes on training adjustments and mindset — 'attachment to an outcome'
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George Sotiropoulos (@georgesots), Instagram post, 27 June 2014.(opens in a new tab)
In a post on his own Instagram account he announced that he had been awarded his second-degree black belt and thanked professor Fabiano Scherner.
Where in the source: Post caption — '2nd degree black belt'
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