Alex Karalexis

Alex Karalexis
Born	Alexander Karalexis (1977-09-20) September 20, 1977 (age 46) 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

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.

Background

Karalexis 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

The Ultimate Fighter

Karalexis 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

Traditionally 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

Karalexis 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

Professional record breakdown

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

1. "Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors".
2. "Getting To Know Alex Karalexis". mmafighting.com. June 30, 2005.
3. "Alex Karalexis - Jared Allen' Home for Wounded Warriors". homesforwoundedwarriors.com.
4. Official WEC 28 Fight Results
5. Official WEC 44 Fight Card
6. "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.
7. "WEC 48: Zack Micklewright vs Alex Karalexis on tap for April 24". mmamania.com. 2010-02-23.
8. "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.
9. "Alex Karalexis vs. Zhang Tie Quan in the works for WEC 51 in September". mmajunkie.com. 2010-08-12.
10. "Alex Karalexis Out of WEC 51 Bout Against Tiequan Zhang". MMAFighting.com. 2010-09-07.
11. "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.
12. "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.
13. ^[ dead link ]
14. "Alex Karalexis Photo Gallery: Latest Pictures, Best News Photos, Images about on Alex Karalexis".

External links

• Professional MMA record for Alex Karalexis from Sherdog
• Alex Karalexis at UFC