Week two of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 arrives on Tuesday night, and in action will be LAW MMA’s Charalampos Grigoriou.
Representing Cyprus, “Pampos” Grigoriou (7-3) sits on a three-fight win streak, and is the current Combat FC bantamweight champ. He even had a title defense lined up, but knew the Contender Series call would be forthcoming.
“It was waiting for the call, man. I was waiting for the Contender Series or a short-notice fight,” Grigoriou told Cageside Press ahead of his DWCS bout with Cameron Smotherman. “I had already a fight booked with Kris Mutinho to defend my title. But I knew that they were going to call me.”
Then came the call from his manager, saying “we have to cancel the fight.” When his manager explained that the call for Dana White’s Contender Series had finally come, Grigoriou didn’t even ask who his opponent was. “I didn’t even ask for my opponent. He told me the name of my opponent, I’m like ‘whatever, I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight.”
“Now it’s time to prove who is the ferocious man,” he added.
Tuesday night marks a big fight for Grigoriou. The biggest, in fact, of his combat sports journey to date. “It’s the biggest fight of my career. It’s the biggest fight for Cypress, too,” he continued. “For my country.”
In Smotherman, Grigoriou sees a “a young kid, tough kid, but he’s not tough enough, man.” And, he added, “because he’s young, he’s going to have more opportunities. Now it’s my chance. Sorry Cameron, but it’s my chance now.”
With that said, Grigoriou likes what his upcoming opponent brings to the table. “I like his style. I like his style because he likes to strike, I like to strike a lot. So it’s going to be a fun fight,” Grigoriou stated. “I don’t think it’s going to go to a second round or third round. It’s going to be an exciting fight, because I’m a striker, but I’m not just a striker. I use everything. I use everything, my grappling, my wrestling, everything. I have very hard hands. It’s going to be a problem for him. But it’s going to be an exciting fight.”
And while he’s ready to go the distance, or even five rounds, if need be, Charalampos Grigoriou is aiming for the finish. A knockout, specifically.
“If you see my record, I have like five knockouts over seven wins. Most likely, it’s going to be a knockout. I have only two decisions, and I like exciting fights and I like to put on a show. And I hit hard.”
If you’ve ever watched the Contender Series, you know the format by now. After fighting, the winners will be brought to the back, sitting and waiting for Dana White to make a decision: yay or nay on a UFC deal. Before that, usually speaking to Laura Sanko, they get a chance to plead their case.
Grigoriou doesn’t plan to leave anything to chance.
“I’m not going to give him a choice. I’m going to go in there, and he’s going to be— he’ll see. I’m not going to give him a choice, to think [about it].”
Watch our full interview with DWCS Season 7 Week 2 bantamweight Charalampos Grigoriou above.
