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Igor Pokrajac
| Igor Pokrajac | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | January 2, 1979 Zagreb, Croatia |
| Other names | The Duke |
| Nationality | Croatian |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight |
| Style | Wrestling, Boxing |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Team | Croatian Top Team |
| Years active | 2003 – present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 33 |
| Wins | 25 |
| By knockout | 13 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Igor Pokrajac (born January 2, 1979) is a Croatian mixed martial artist currently signed with the UFC fighting in their light heavyweight division.
Contents |
Mixed martial arts career
Pokrajac started his professional MMA career in 2003, primarily competing in his native Croatia. Over the next six years, he compiled an impressive record of 21 wins and 5 losses.
Pokrajac has been a training partner of Mirko Filipović for over the last decade.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In August 2009, it was announced he would be joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship, with his first fight at UFC 103.[1] He made his UFC debut against Vladimir Matyushenko and lost by a decisive unanimous decision.
Pokrajac next faced James Te-Huna on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110.[2] Pokrajac lost again, this time via third round TKO, due to strikes. This loss was somewhat controversial, as Te Huna had Pokrajac in a modified crucifix position on the mat and landed 5-6 clean shots to Pokrajac’s face and although Pokrajac was not able to defend himself from this position, he was signalling to the referee that he was ok, although the ref did not acknowledge this, and stopped the fight after the unanswered shots from Te Huna. Although visibly dazed, Pokrajac disputed the stoppage directly after the fight to no avail.
Pokrajac then faced James Irvin on August 1, 2010 at UFC on Versus 2.[3] Midway through the first round, Pokrajac took Irvin down and immediately got side control on the floor. After taking multiple strikes, Irvin rolled over and was submitted by a rear naked choke, handing Pokrajac his first UFC victory.
Igor Pokrajac fought Stephan Bonnar on December 4, 2010 at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.[4] Bonnar defeated Pokrajac via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26).
Pokrajac defeated Todd Brown on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann by TKO at the very end of the first round. Brown was dropped by a knee in the final minute and hit with several clean follow up shots, being saved by the end of the round. When the fighters went back to their corners, Brown was unable to stand on his own power and the fight was stopped.[5]
Pokrajac was expected to face Krzysztof Soszynski on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131, replacing an injured Anthony Perosh.[6] However, Pokrajac was himself forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by returning UFC veteran Mike Massenzio.[7] The Pokrajac/Soszynski bout ultimately took place on December 10, 2011 at UFC 140.[8] Pokrajac defeated Soszynski via first round KO.
Pokrajac was expected to face Thiago Silva on May 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier, replacing an injured Brandon Vera.[9] However, Silva was pulled from the bout to face Alexander Gustafsson on April 14, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 2 after Gustafsson’s original opponent Antônio Rogério Nogueira pulled out of the bout citing an injury.[10] Pokrajac instead faced Fabio Maldonado at the event.[11] He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 33 matches | 25 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 4 |
| By submission | 8 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 3 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 25–8 |  Fabio Maldonado |
Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier | 15 May 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Fairfax, Virginia, United States | |
| Win | 24–8 |  Krzysztof Soszynski |
KO (punches) | UFC 140 | 10 December 2011 | 1 | 0:35 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 23–8 |  Todd Brown |
TKO (knee and punches) | UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann | 3 March 2011 | 1 | 5:00 | Louisville, Kentucky, United States | |
| Loss | 22–8 | Stephan Bonnar |
Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale | 4 December 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 22–7 | James Irvin |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko | 1 August 2010 | 1 | 2:28 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Loss | 21–7 |  James Te-Huna |
TKO (punches) | UFC 110 | 21 February 2010 | 3 | 3:26 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Loss | 21–6 |  Vladimir Matyushenko |
Decision (unanimous) | UFC 103 | 19 September 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Dallas, Texas, United States | UFC Debut. |
| Win | 21–5 |  Kalvis Gebauers |
TKO (punches) | WFC 8: D-Day | 18 April 2009 | 1 | 1:16 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Win | 20–5 |  Roderik Jambor |
TKO (punches and elbows) | K-1 ColliZion 2009 Croatia | 21 March 2009 | 1 | 1:09 | Split, Croatia | |
| Win | 19–5 |  Mihajlo Fincur |
TKO (punches) | Grand Fight | 27 December 2008 | 1 | 3:59 | Varaždin, Croatia | |
| Win | 18–5 | Patrik Javicky |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | Ultimate Fight: Challenge 3 | 6 December 2008 | 1 | 1:42 | Samobor, Croatia | |
| Win | 17–5 |  Jan Antoska |
Submission (armbar) | Hell Cage 1 | 3 May 2008 | 2 | 3:39 | Prague, Czech Republic | |
| Win | 16–5 |  Martin Zawada |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | Balans: It’s Showtime 75MAX Trophy Final 2008 | 15 March 2008 | 1 | 1:01 | ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | |
| Win | 15–5 | Marko Sintic |
TKO (punches) | Ultimate Fight: Challenge 2 | 15 December 2007 | 2 | 2:00 | Samobor, Croatia | |
| Win | 14–5 |  Ladislav Zak |
Decision (unanimous) | OB-Gula: Fight Night | 8 December 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Ogulin, Croatia | |
| Loss | 13–5 | Mamed Khalidov |
Submission (kneebar) | Boxing Explosion 2 | 2 August 2007 | 2 | 0:55 | Croatia | |
| Win | 13–4 |  Bojan Spalevic |
TKO (elbows) | Osijek Challenge 07 | 27 May 2007 | 1 | 0:43 | Osijek, Croatia | |
| Win | 12–4 |  Slaven Planinic |
TKO (knee and punches) | Bilic Fight Night | 25 April 2007 | 1 | 3:09 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 11–4 | Sasa Lazic |
Submission (armbar) | Noc Gladiatora 1 | 16 March 2007 | 1 | 2:02 | Karlovac, Croatia | |
| Loss | 10–4 | Assuerio Silva |
Decision (split) | Jungle Fight Europe | 17 December 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Win | 10–3 | Ivan Brguljan |
Decision (unanimous) | International Fight Night | 3 August 2006 | 1 | 4:01 | Opatija, Croatia | |
| Win | 9–3 | Lukasz Jurkowski |
Decision (split) | Sukosan Fight Night | 9 September 2006 | 2 | 1:41 | Sukošan, Croatia | |
| Win | 8–3 | Jure Lucic |
Submission (armbar) | Ultimate Nokaut 4 | 17 March 2006 | 1 | 3:19 | Karlovac, Croatia | |
| Win | 7–3 | Ivan Bacic |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | Ultimate Nokaut 3 | 17 December 2005 | 1 | 0:59 | Rijeka, Croatia | |
| Loss | 6–3 | Lukasz Jurkowski |
TKO (corner stoppage) | KSW 4: Konfroncacja | 10 September 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Warsaw, Poland | |
| Win | 6–2 | Branislav Zeman |
Submission (rear-naked choke) | Ultimate Nokaut 2 | 29 July 2005 | 2 | 2:49 | Zadar, Croatia | |
| Loss | 5–2 | Miodrag Petkovic |
TKO (punches) | Ultimate Nokaut 1 | 11 March 2005 | 2 | 4:51 | Karlovac, Croatia | |
| Win | 5–1 | Peter Cakic |
TKO (punches and elbows) | Trboulje 2: Croatia vs Slovenia | 12 February 2005 | 1 | 2:25 | Slovenia | |
| Loss | 4–1 | Miodrag Petkovic |
KO (punches) | Ultimate Fight Dubravc | 4 April 2004 | 2 | 3:21 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Andre Castro |
KO (knee) | DF: Durata World Grand Prix 1 | 3 May 2003 | 1 | 2:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 3–0 |  Matthias Riccio |
TKO (cut) | DF: Durata World Grand Prix 1 | 3 May 2003 | 1 | 4:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Pavel Botka |
TKO (punches) | DF: Durata World Grand Prix 1 | 3 May 2003 | 1 | 4:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Nik Peric |
TKO (knees) | Strabag Free Fight | 9 February 2003 | 1 | 1:33 | Rijeka, Croatia |
References
- ^ “Vladimir Matyushenko returns to UFC at 13-fight “UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort” event”. MMAJunkie. August 12, 2009. http://mmajunkie.com/news/15826/vladimir-matyushenko-returns-to-ufc-on-13-fight-ufc-103-franklin-vs-belfort-event.mma.
- ^ “Pokrajac meets UFC newcomer Te Huna at UFC 110″. http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=3396&offset=0. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ^ “JAMES IRVIN VS IGOR POKRAJAC AT UFC ON VERSUS 2″. mmaweekly.com. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=11428&zoneid=13. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
- ^ “TUF 12 Finale: Stephan Bonnar vs Igor Pokrajac booked for Dec. 4 in Las Vegas”. mmamania.com. http://www.mmamania.com/2010/9/4/1669206/tuf-12-finale-stephan-bonnar-vs. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- ^ “Igor Pokrajac meets Todd Brown at UFC on Versus 3 in March”. mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22060/igor-pokrajac-meets-todd-brown-at-ufc-on-versus-3-in-march.mma. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ “Anthony Perosh out, Igor Pokrajac in against Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 131″. mmajunkie.com. 2011-05-11. http://mmajunkie.com/news/23558/anthony-perosh-out-igor-pokrajac-in-against-krzysztof-soszynski-at-ufc-131.mma.
- ^ “Pokrajac off Saturday’s UFC 131; Massenzio in Against ‘K-Sos’”. sherdog.com. 2011-06-06. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Pokrajac-off-Saturdays-UFC-131-Massenzio-in-Against-K-Sos-32974.
- ^ “Igor Pokrajac vs. Krzysztof Soszynski slated for UFC 140 in Toronto”. mmajunkie.com. 2011-09-22. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25350/igor-pokrajac-vs-krzysztof-soszynski-slated-for-ufc-140-in-toronto.mma.
- ^ “Source: Thiago Silva back in UFC in May”. espn.go.com.com. http://espn.go.com/mma/story/_/id/7553376/source-thiago-silva-igor-pokrajac-agree-ufc-bout. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
- ^ “Silva replaces injured Nogueira, faces Gustafsson at UFC on FUEL TV 2″. mmajunkie.com. March 6, 2012. http://mmajunkie.com/news/27744/silva-replaces-injured-nogueira-faces-gustafsson-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-2.mma.
- ^ “Fabio Maldonado vs. Igor Pokrajac slated for UFC on FUEL TV 3″. mmajunkie.com. March 13, 2012. http://mmajunkie.com/news/27822/fabio-maldonado-vs-igor-pokrajac-slated-for-ufc-on-fuel-tv-3.mma.
External links
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