Marat Grigorian
Marat Grigorian (; born 29 May 1991) is an Armenian-born Belgian kickboxer currently signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in the featherweight division. Grigorian has previously competed for Glory and is a former Glory Lightweight Champion. He is famous for his technical aggressive fighting style and knockout power. Combat Press ranks him as the #2 lightweight kickboxer in the world. Background. Marat Grigorian was born on 29 May 1991 in Talin, Soviet Armenia and has three older sisters. The family moved to Germany when he was three years old, but were sent back to Armenia after three  years in the country. After gathering funds by working multiple simultaneous odd jobs, the parents relocated the family to Antwerp, Belgium, when Marat was nine. In Belgium, Marat started training kickboxing in a nearby gym in his early adolescent years. Kickboxing career. Marat trains at Hemmers Gym in the Netherlands: He has established himself as one of the rising stars of the Dutch circuit around the 70 kg weight category. According to Simon Rutz, the promoter of It's Showtime, Grigorian has a potential to be the next big star. In 2011, Grigorian fought for the inaugural It's Showtime  73MAX world title, losing a close unanimous decision to Yohan Lidon. Grigorian did, however, become the youngest fighter to ever challenge for a Showtime title, at the age of 18. He was set to face Mohamed Khamal at "" in Brussels, Belgium. However, Khamal pulled out of this bout citing personal issues and was replaced by Alex Vogel. He defeated Vogel via TKO due to low kicks in the second round. Grigorian fought Chingiz Allazov at "" in Milan, Italy on 20 April 2013. The bout ended in a no contest late in round one when Allazov was cut above the nose  by an unintentional elbow. Grigorian won a rematch via decision on 14 December 2013. He lost to Robin van Roosmalen via split decision in the co-main event of "" in Istanbul, Turkey on 12 April 2014. Grigorian competed in the eight-man grand prix at the "K-1 World GP 2015 -70kg Championship Tournament" held in Tokyo, Japan on 4 July 2015. He defeated Yoichi Yamazaki and Makihira Keita by second-round knockouts in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, and defeated Jordan Pikeur by a first-round knockout in the finals to win the K-1 -70kg Championship . In 2016, Grigorian fought Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong twice, with the first bout taking place in the Glory Lightweight Contender Tournament finals and the second bout being for the Glory Lightweight Championship held by Sitthichai. Grigorian lost both bouts by close decisions. Grigorian competed in the Kunlun Fight 2017 70 kg World Max Tournament in China. He defeated Jomthong Chuwattana in the Final 16, Mohamed Mezouari in the Final 8, and Dzianis Zuev in the semifinals. The finals were held in Guiyang on 4 February 2018, between Grigorian and the #2 lightweight in the world Superbon Banchamek. Grigorian knocked out Superbon with  a left hook 29 seconds into the first round and won the Kunlun Fight World MAX Tournament Championship. In a fifth fight with Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Marat Grigorian defeated him at to win the title of Glory Lightweight Champion. Grigorian knocked Sitthichai down in the second round. On August 23, 2020, news surfaced that Grigorian had signed with ONE Championship. He made his promotional debut against Ivan Kondratev at on December 4, 2020. After getting knocked down by Kondratev in the first round, Grigorian came back to win via second-round knockout. Grigorian was scheduled to face Andy Souwer at on  October 15, 2021 in the quarterfinals of the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix. He won the fight by second-round technical knockout. Grigorian was expected to face Chingiz Allazov in the semifinals of the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix at on January 28, 2022. He withdrew from the bout after a positive COVID-19 test. Grigorian challenged the reigning ONE Featherweight kickboxing champion Superbon Banchamek at on March 25, 2022. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Personal life. Marat and his teammate Harut Grigorian are often mistaken to be brothers, however both have confirmed that they are good  friends but not related. Kickboxing record. ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white |