George Sotiropoulos is coming out of retirement.
Sotiropoulos, 45, hasn’t competed since a 2014 decision loss to Mike Ricci at Titan FC 29. The Australian MMA pioneer will step back in the cage when he takes on Josh Togo in a lightweight bout at Hex Fight Series 26 on May 26 at Melbourne Pavilion, promotion officials announced.
An “Ultimate Fighter 6” alum, Sotiropoulos (14-7) helped pave the way for Australian MMA. He won his first seven UFC fights, then dropped his next four in a row, which led to his release. His fifth straight loss came at the hands of Ricci, which is the last time he fought.
Sotiropoulos also coached “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” opposite Ross Pearson, which included then-future, now former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Sotiropoulos holds notable wins over George Roop, Joe Stevenson and Joe Lauzon.
Fighting out of Australian Top Team, Togo (12-4) has won eight of his past nine fights. In his most recent outing, Togo scored a unanimous decision win over Tahir Abdullaev last September at UAE Warriors 33.
