Alexander Karalexis (born September 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2011, Karalexis was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 1, and competed for the UFC and WEC.
| Alex Karalexis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alexander Karalexis September 20, 1977 Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Other names | The Assassin, T-Rex |
| Residence | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
| Division | Lightweight Welterweight Middleweight |
| Fighting out of | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Team | Team Sityodtong |
| Years active | 2003–2011 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 16 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Background
editKaralexis was raised in Hanson, Massachusetts, and is of Greek descent, as his father is an immigrant from Greece who also fought in the Special Forces. Karalexis began playing soccer when he was six years old, and was talented, going on to be the MVP of the Massachusetts All-Star Game, and also competed in wrestling for all four years Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.[1]
Karalexis then attended Massasoit Community College where he continued playing soccer for one year before being sidelined for the next season due to a recurring leg injury. When he became healthy, Karalexis began playing professionally for the Cape Cod Crusaders but again only played one season before being sidelined from the same injury. After the injury did not heal properly, Karalexis ventured into kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu before transitioning into mixed martial arts.[2][3]
Mixed martial arts career
editThe Ultimate Fighter
editKaralexis competed on The Ultimate Fighter 1 as a Middleweight, and was the third Middleweight pick on Team Couture.[citation needed]
After the challenge in the third episode, Team Liddell won the pick and decided to have Diego Sanchez fight Karalexis in the very first Middleweight fight of the series. Karalexis was defeated via rear-naked choke submission in the first round and was eliminated from the show.[citation needed]
Karalexis later made a return for the series finale as a Welterweight to defeat Josh Rafferty via TKO in the first round. Karalexis then lost his next two fights in the UFC against Kenny Florian and Jason Von Flue, respectively, before being signed by the WEC.[citation needed]
WEC
editTraditionally a Welterweight, Karalexis dropped down a weight class in order to compete in the Lightweight division. Karalexis' first Lightweight bout was on June 3, 2007, at WEC 28, where he defeated Josh Smith by majority decision.[4]
Karalexis was scheduled to face WEC newcomer Kamal Shalorus on November 18, 2009, at WEC 44.,[5] but a broken hand suffered in training has forced Karalexis off the card.[6]
Karalexis was expected to face Zach Micklewright on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48,[7] but Micklewright was forced off the card with an injury. Karalexis instead faced Anthony Pettis,[8] losing via submission.
Karalexis was expected to face WEC newcomer Zhang Tie Quan on September 30, 2010, at WEC 51.[9] However, Karalexis was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Jason Reinhardt.[10] Reinhardt was subsequently injured in training himself, and replaced by Pablo Garza
Following the UFC/WEC merger in December 2010, Karalexis was released by Zuffa, LLC, having lost 3 of his last 4 WEC fights. He would return to action on June 10, 2011, in a Welterweight bout against Tiawan Howard at CES MMA VI: Nowhere To Hide, losing via a controversial split decision. After the fight, a member of Howard's corner bumped into Karalexis, inciting a brawl that was ended by police.[11][12]
Personal life
editKaralexis is close friends with NFL star Jared Allen, who also trained with Karalexis and cornered his fight at WEC 48 against Anthony Pettis.[13] A native of Boston, Karalexis is a fan of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
Mixed martial arts record
edit| 16 matches | 10 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 3 |
| By submission | 1 | 2 |
| By decision | 4 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 10–6 | Tiawan Howard | Decision (split) | CES MMA VI: Nowhere To Hide | June 10, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States | |
| Loss | 10–5 | Anthony Pettis | Submission (triangle choke) | WEC 48 | April 24, 2010 | 2 | 1:35 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Win | 10–4 | Greg McIntyre | TKO (punches) | WEC 39 | March 1, 2009 | 1 | 4:19 | Corpus Christi, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 9–4 | Bart Palaszewski | TKO (punches) | WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia | December 3, 2008 | 2 | 1:11 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 9–3 | Ed Ratcliff | TKO (punches) | WEC 31 | December 12, 2007 | 2 | 1:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–2 | Josh Smith | Decision (majority) | WEC 28 | June 3, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 8–2 | Olaf Alfonso | TKO (referee stoppage) | WEC 25 | January 20, 2007 | 2 | 3:53 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–2 | Thomas Denny | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 23: Hot August Fights | August 17, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
| Win | 6–2 | Josh Lydell | Submission (rear-naked choke) | RF 13: New Hampshire | June 17, 2006 | 1 | N/A | Concord, New Hampshire, United States | |
| Loss | 5–2 | Jason Von Flue | Technical Submission (Von Flue choke)[14] | UFC Fight Night 3 | January 16, 2006 | 3 | 1:17 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 5–1 | Kenny Florian | TKO (doctor stoppage) | UFC Ultimate Fight Night | August 6, 2005 | 2 | 2:52 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Josh Rafferty | TKO (strikes) | The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale | April 9, 2005 | 1 | 1:40 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Mike Littlefield | Decision (unanimous) | Mass Destruction 15 | February 21, 2004 | 2 | 4:00 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Ted Govola | KO | Mass Destruction 13 | October 25, 2003 | 1 | N/A | Taunton, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Mike Varner | Decision (unanimous) | Mass Destruction 11 | June 7, 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Taunton, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Julio Colon | TKO (corner stoppage) | Mass Destruction 10 | January 25, 2003 | 1 | 4:00 | Taunton, Massachusetts, United States |
References
edit- ^ "Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors".
- ^ "Getting To Know Alex Karalexis". mmafighting.com. June 30, 2005.
- ^ "Alex Karalexis - Jared Allen' Home for Wounded Warriors". homesforwoundedwarriors.com.
- ^ Official WEC 28 Fight Results
- ^ Official WEC 44 Fight Card
- ^ "Broken hand forces lightweight Alex Karalexis out of WEC 44 contest". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
- ^ "WEC 48: Zack Micklewright vs Alex Karalexis on tap for April 24". mmamania.com. 2010-02-23.
- ^ "Anthony Pettis vs. Alex Karalexis in the works for star-studded WEC 48 event". mmajunkie.com. 2010-03-13. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
- ^ "Alex Karalexis vs. Zhang Tie Quan in the works for WEC 51 in September". mmajunkie.com. 2010-08-12.
- ^ "Alex Karalexis Out of WEC 51 Bout Against Tiequan Zhang". MMAFighting.com. 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Cage Fight breaks out in Cage after Taiwan Howard bout with Alex Karalexis | Stand Them up Community". Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
- ^ "CES MMA 6 RESULTS: Tiawan Howard Outpoints WEC Vet Alex Karalexis in Rhode Island at NOWHERE TO HIDE - 6/10/11". mmamadman.com. 2011-06-14. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Alex Karalexis Photo Gallery: Latest Pictures, Best News Photos, Images about on Alex Karalexis".
