Christos Giagos makes his return to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo, facing submission specialist Charles Oliveira.
The bout will mark the return of Giagos to the UFC, a return that Giagos credits to the tear he went on fighting outside of the UFC.
“My first fight outside of the UFC, I fought Josh Emmett. Emmett shot to the top (by getting signed to the UFC) and he gave me a huge shout out saying I was one of his toughest fights, then I went on kind of a tear after that. I won four out of my last five, but that one loss…it was controversial…it was in Russia, it was a split (decision) loss and I think it was arguable. I just went on a tear and the combined record of all of my opponents was like 56 and 10, so its was like I’m not out here fighting scrubs and padding my record. I’m out here fighting guys who are on the top as well, just (in) other organizations. I felt like I went out and did my part, I’m glad I got recognized,” says Giagos in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.
During that time outside of the UFC, a returning Giagos picked up victories over Karen Darabedyan, Arthur Estrazulas, Alexandre Pimental and Herdeson Batista.
Elias Theodorou and Giagos both share the nickname of “The Spartan,” but Giagos doesn’t mind sharing the nickname with somebody who rocks.
“I don’t mind anybody else having that name, he rocks it…he rocks it well. There can be more than one spartan, so I don’t mind," says Giagos.
UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo takes place on Saturday, September 22 from the Ibirapueroa Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil with Jimi Manuwa and Thiago Santos headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.
