Following an eight month layoff, lightweight Georgi Karakhanyan returned to action this past July with a first round submission win over Keifer Crosbie at Bellator 263 for his second straight victory in a row.
As Karakhanyan puts it, it’s not just enough to get wins, but get finishes if he wants to continue to show he’s a worthwhile invest met for the promotion and further his career at the same time.
“I’m happy with the outcome,” Karakhanyan told MMAWeekly.com. “I’m happy I got the submission. Any time I can make another man tap it’s a good feeling. It was good.
“If I want to get paid all the big money I need to get the finish. But fighting 15 minutes is good too. You learn a lot about yourself. I don’t get paid by seconds or minutes, so when I get wins like that, I’m happy, I’m pretty sure the promotion is happy, and the fans are happy, so I’m always going to go for the finish.”
Though he’s been fighting for 15 years and has 40-plus fights under his belt. Karakhanyan continues to mix things up with his game.
“I’ve changed a lot of things,” said Karakhanyan. “I changed the way I eat. I added a few things. I pushed the weight classes, so it’s not all about cutting weight; it’s all about performances, so I can push performances.”
This Saturday in San Jose, California, Karakhanyan (31-11-1) will look to pick up his third straight win when he faces Saul Rogers (14-4) in a main card 155-pound bout at Bellator 266.
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“This is his debut fight at 155 pounds,” Karakhanyan said of Rogers. “I’ve seen his last two Bellator fights and The Ultimate Fighter. I’m pretty familiar with his style. He’s a great fighter, but I feel I’m going to be way too much for him.”
For Karakhanyan, his fight with Rogers isn’t just any other bout. It could potentially determine where he finds himself fighting in the rest of this year and into 2021.
“As long as I don’t suffer any crazy injuries after a fight I’m going to keep asking for fights,” said Karakhanyan. “This is the last fight on the contract. This is a big fight for me. I want to go out and finish Saul, negotiate a new contract, and get paid double or we go shop around.
“When I got a phone call for this fight, I didn’t ask for a bonus or anything; I agreed to fight; I’m going to go out and get the job done, and I hope they’re going to do their job and reward me with a new contract.”
Georgi Karakhanyan believes he’s going to be ‘way too much’ for Saul Rogers at Bellator 266
