THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Armed with a new contract to be back in the Bellator fold, Georgi Karakhanyan believes it’s his time to make a run.
If it’s to happen, it’ll start with a rematch against someone he’d like to get a win back from: Emmanuel Sanchez.
Karakhanyan (28-8-1 MMA, 6-6 BMMA) is back in Bellator after two fights away in Russia, the country he was born in, and headlines Bellator 218 against Sanchez (17-4 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) on Friday at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
In January 2017, Sanchez took a majority decision from Karakhanyan at Bellator 170.
“The first thing that came to my head was just excitement – we both are very exciting fighters,” Karakhanyan today told MMA Junkie. “I think this is a perfect main event and it shows that (Bellator President) Scott Coker and Bellator believe in me, so I’m happy to represent them and get that win.
“Emmanuel brings a lot of things to the table. There’s not just one thing you’ve got to watch out for from him. He has multiple things. I like forward-pressure fighters because that’s my style, too. … I feel very excited fighting him and this time around will be different.”
Sanchez is coming off a unanimous decision loss to featherweight champion Patricio Freire this past fall and will be looking to rebound to get back into the title picture.
An upset win for Karakhanyan, though, would have him in that conversation.
For more from Karakhanyan about his fight with Sanchez and return to Bellator, check out the video above.
And for more on Bellator 218, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
