Tomasz "Giraffe" Narkun is a Polish mixed martial artist

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 who competes in the light heavyweight

Light Heavyweight (MMA)

The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....

 division. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Narkun has won all of his professional fights by submission. He is the M-1 Global

M-1 Global

M-1 Global is the mixed martial arts promotion based in Russia - The Netherlands which organizes between 40 and 50 competitions per year...

 Western Europe champion in his weight division.

Career

Weighing in at around 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st), Narkun is considered small by North American standards for light heavyweights. He has, however, earned respect for his tactical and defensive capabilities. Gregard "Dreamcatcher" Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi, born Geghard Movsesian is an Armenian-Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is fighting out of Team Jurojin in Leiden, Netherlands and is a member of Russian Red Devil Sport Club and Netherlands' Golden Glory...

, a regular training partner of Narkun, has said of Narkun: "Tactically and technically he has reached a very high level". Mousasi has also stated his belief that Narkun "is the future light heavyweight champion".

Narkun's path to the M-1 Global Western European Light Heavyewight Championship was remarkably easy. He defeated Olutobi Ayodeji "Deji" Kalejaiye with a rear naked choke

Rear naked choke

The Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...

 inside a minute, and defeated Timo Karttunen with an armbar in even quicker time. His championship bout against David Tkeshelashvili was slightly longer, but Narkun was still victorious with a rear naked choke inside of two minutes.

In the upcoming championship bout between Narkun and Vasilevsky, the outcome may well come down to experience. With a 10–1 win-loss record, Vasilevsky has considerably more fight experience than Narkun, and unlike Narkun has fought in bouts that went beyond the first round. Vasilevsky's split decision

Split decision

A split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...

 victory over Sergey Guzev was hard fought and his 2010 bouts have included three round victories over Xavier "Professor X" Foupa-Pokam

Xavier Foupa-Pokam

Xavier Foupa-Pokam is a French mixed martial artist from Paris. Foupa-Pokam is best known for his brief career in the Ultimate Fighting Championships in their middleweight division, and his long career in British MMA with promotions such as BAMMA and Cage Rage...

 and Shamil Tinagadjiev.

At the weigh-ins for M-1 Challenge XXVIII in Russia, for his fight against Saparbek Safarov, both fighters ended up slapping each other. At first it appeared to be a joke, but when Safarov threw a right hook at Narkun, M-1 officials intervened. Safarov was disqualified from the event.

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Win
|align=center|5-1
|  Shamil Tinagadjiev
|Submission (triangle choke)
|M-1 Challenge XXIII: Grishin vs. Guram
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|3:33
|Moscow, Russia
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|4-1
|  Vyacheslav Vasilevsky

Vyacheslav Vasilevsky

Vyacheslav "Slava" Vasilevsky is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Vasilevsky has amassed an impressive 13–1 win-loss record...

|TKO (retirement)
|M-1 Challenge XXII: Narkun vs. Vasilevsky
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:20
|Moscow, Russia
|Lost the 2010 M-1 Global Light Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight (MMA)

The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....

 Championship
|-
|Win
|align=center|4-0
|  David Tkeshelashvili
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|M-1 Selection 2010 - Eastern Europe Finals
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:50
|Moscow, Russia
|2010 M-1 Western Europe Light Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight (MMA)

The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....

 Selection Final
|-
|Win
|align=center|3-0
|  Timo Karttunen
|Submission (Triangle/Armbar)
|M-1 Selection 2010 - Western Europe Round 3
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:49
|Helsinki, Finland
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2-0
|  Olutobi Ayodeji Kalejaiye
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|M-1 Selection 2010 - Western Europe Round 2
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:52
|Weesp, Netherlands
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1-0
|  Daniel Biskupic
|Submission (armbar)
|FCB 14 - Fight Club Berlin 14
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|N/A
|Berlin, Germany
|
Except where otherwise indicated, details provided in the record box are taken from Sherdog

Sherdog

Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...

External links