Meet the first Greek fighter to win in the UFC, who trained with Rampage Jackson and beat two men in one night —The Andreas Michailidis story

EXCLUSIVE: With an incredible legacy already assured, Andreas Michailidis will aim to write the next chapter of his remarkable story at Oktagon’s Summer Party on Saturday evening.

When ‘The Spartan’ emerged victorious at UFC Las Vegas back in 2021, he not only made history for himself but also for his nation, cementing his place as the first-ever Greek fighter to pick up a victory in the promotion.

With the win filling his heart with joy, the fighter headed into the bars to celebrate, drinking cocktails and enjoying a night with his team. Little did he know that he’d changed the landscape of the sport in Greece forever, with budding mixed martial artists across the country using his story as inspiration to make it themselves.

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In an exclusive interview with Sporf, Michailidis explained: “Many kids and grown-ups started doing MMA after watching me. My career helped make MMA a big thing in Greece.

“It was great to win in the UFC. It was my life’s dream and a mission accomplished for me. I’m always thankful for the Greek fans who support me.”

Andreas Michailidis trained alongside Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson

While the world knows Michailidis today for his tremendous performances in the UFC and Oktagon, his road to success started long before he reached the peak of the mountain.

After years of hard work and dedication on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene, the Greek made the switch to MMA, where he excelled to an incredible extent. Blessed with formidable skills, he caught the attention of the great Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.

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The 36-year-old explained: “It was at the beginning of my career. I had around five fights. There was a Greek guy from California who introduced me to Rampage. He was about to do a training camp for his fight with Tito Ortiz, which got cancelled. He wanted to do the camp in Mexico. I used to watch this guy when I was younger, so it was great for me. I said, ‘yes’, and we started training together.”

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Andreas Michailidis beat two people in one night

While going head-to-head with one fighter is challenging enough, on a night he still holds close to his heart, the Athens-based athlete bit down on his gum shield, submitting two dangerous adversaries to win the European Fight League title.

He remembered: “It was in Greece. There were eight people, so to win the tournament, you’d need to beat three fighters. I won and took the belt. It was nice. When this happened, many of the guys couldn’t make it to the end. I won the first two fights, but I didn’t have to do a third, because the guy I was meant to face was too messed up.

“It was very tough. The good thing was that I didn’t have to lose extra weight; it was like, ‘Everything is going to happen tonight’. There were bad things about it, but good things also.”

While Michailidis has already achieved so much, he still has plenty more left in the tank.

At Oktagon 59, he steps back up to middleweight for an intriguing collision with the promotion’s former interim champion — Piotr Wawrzyniak.

UK fans can watch the eagerly-anticipated collision live on DAZN.

Featured Image Credit: Oktagon MMA

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