Andreas Michailidis is proving you don’t need to make it in the UFC to be a successful MMA fighter.
The 35-year-old got called up to Dana White’s league for a last-minute light-heavyweight fight with Modestas Bukauskas in July 2020 and gave a good account of himself in the first round.
However, he ate a series of elbows from the London-based Lithuanian just before the horn sounded to end his first five minutes as a UFC fighter.
Dazed and confused, Michailidis ignored the referee’s calls for him to return to his corner before he fell out of the Octagon, prompting the fight to be waved off.
After a full camp to prepare for a fight at middleweight, the Greek MMA star got back in the win column by outpointing KB Bhullar over three rounds in May 2021.
However, that proved to be the only time Michailidis tasted victory in the UFC.
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He was fed to kickboxing legend and future UFC champion Alex Pereira who wowed in his November 2021 Octagon debut by knocking Michailidis out with a flying knee.
A move down to welterweight followed for Michailidis but it didn’t change his fortunes as he lost a unanimous decision to Rinat Fakhretdinov and got released by the UFC in June 2022.
Since then, ‘The Spartan’ has been rebuilding his career with OKTAGON.
The European promotion aims to create a ‘Champion’s League of MMA’ in the next few years and is currently attracting fighters with its €1million (£860,000) Gamechanger tournament.
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Michailidis picked up back-to-back wins over Leonardo Silva and Mohamed Grabinski to secure his place in the semi-final which took place in Frankfurt on Saturday night.
Just 33 seconds was all he needed to secure a spot in December’s final and Michailidis couldn’t be happier with his performance against Louis Glismann.
"It was amazing, of course I really wanted the finish because I always want to impress the fans and I especially wanted to prove I was ready for the final,” he said post-fight.
“I haven’t been able to get a KO earlier in the tournament, so it was rewarding for me to get it this time and send myself through to the final.”
The UFC reject is excited to have the chance to win a life-changing amount of money.
He added: “This prize money is going to change my life, but more importantly it is going to change the life of my family and I want that so much.”
To realise his dream, Michailidis must get by Bojan Velikcovic who had a similarly disappointing spell in the UFC – which included a loss to Darren Till - before reviving his career with three OKTAGON wins.
“He is a real warrior and a really good fighter, which means that it will be really difficult for me to deal with. But I deal with every situation and every fight like a man; when I say I am going to do something, I do it” Michailidis said about his next opponent.
“Before the fight, I wished for Bojan Velickovic to go to the final because I thought he was a little bit better than David Kozma on the night, but in general as well - so a big test for me in Prague.”
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