On August 15th, week two of Dana White’s Contender Series will kick off with a new batch of contenders looking to stamp their ticket into the UFC.
One fighter who will be competing is doing it for his entire country of Cyprus. “Pampos” Grigoriou will be only the second fighter from Cyprus to compete under the UFC banner. “The Ferocious” Grigoriou is the former Combat FC bantamweight champion, and was scheduled to defend his strap against former UFC fighter, Kris Moutinho, before he received the call from the UFC.
His opponent on August 15th will be former Fury FC bantamweight champion, Cameron Smotherman.
Grigoriou spoke about the support he’s received from Cyprus in an interview with Cageside Press: “Actually everybody was really happy when I got the call, and they’re expecting a lot from me because i’m the only one from Cyprus now (fighting in the UFC). I have a lot of support from Cyprus and Greece and when I announced the fight everyone was going crazy, the support was a lot.
“And that’s why I have to go there and take care of business because of my people, because they believe in me and they support me so i’m going to go there, finish the fight and sign with the UFC.”
Prior to Grigoriou, the only other Cypriot fighter to fight in the UFC was Costas Philippou. Philippou registered wins against the likes of Tim Boetsch, Court McGee and Lorenz Larkin, and also competed against the likes of Gegard Mousasi and Luke Rockhold.
Charalampos trains at LAW MMA in New York with some of the best fighters in the world, UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili to just name two. The Cypriot spoke about how much he has learnt from “The Funkmaster” during his time training with him.
“I’ve taken a lot. I ask him things and he gives me advice, he helps me a lot. He’s always there and he’s the best fighter in the world. We train together, he pushes me a lot and I appreciate that because at the gym we’re like a family.
“If I train and do sparring with these guys, who in the world can beat me? This is what I ask myself. I like to spar with these guys because they kick my ass so I go to the fight and I feel comfortable.
Charalampos Grigoriou vs Cameron Smootherman will take place at the UFC Apex on August 15th on week two of Dana White’s Contender Series.
