| Igor Pokrajac | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 2, 1979 |
| Other names | The Duke |
| Nationality | Croatian |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight |
| Style | Kickboxing, Wrestling |
| Fighting out of | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Team | Croatian Top Team |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 32 |
| Wins | 24 |
| By knockout | 13 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Igor Pokrajac (born January 2, 1979) is a Croatian mixed martial artist currently fighting at Light Heavyweight.
Contents |
Pokrajac started his professional MMA career in 2003, primarily competing in his native Croatia. Over the next six years, he compiled an impressive record of 21 wins and 5 losses.
Pokrajac has been a training partner of Mirko Filipović for over the last decade.
In August 2009, it was announced he would be joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship, with his first fight at UFC 103.[1] He made his UFC debut against Vladimir Matyushenko and lost by a decisive unanimous decision.
Pokrajac next faced James Te-Huna on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110.[2] Pokrajac lost again, this time via third round TKO, due to strikes. This loss was somewhat controversial, as Te Huna had Pokrajac in a modified crucifix position on the mat and landed 5-6 clean shots to Pokrajac's face and although Pokrajac was not able to defend himself from this position, he was signalling to the referee that he was ok, although the ref did not acknowledge this, and stopped the fight after the unanswered shots from Te Huna. Although visibly dazed, Pokrajac disputed the stoppage directly after the fight to no avail.
Pokrajac then faced James Irvin on August 1, 2010 at UFC on Versus 2.[3] Midway through the first round, Pokrajac took Irvin down and immediately got side control on the floor. After taking multiple strikes, Irvin rolled over and was submitted by a rear naked choke, handing Pokrajac his first UFC victory.
Igor Pokrajac fought Stephan Bonnar on December 4, 2010 at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.[4] Bonnar defeated Pokrajac via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26).
Pokrajac defeated Todd Brown on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann by TKO at the very end of the first round. Brown was dropped by a knee in the final minute and hit with several clean follow up shots, being saved by the end of the round. When the fighters went back to their corners, Brown was unable to stand on his own power and the fight was stopped.[5]
Pokrajac was expected to face Krzysztof Soszynski on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131, replacing an injured Anthony Perosh.[6] However, Pokrajac was himself forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by returning UFC veteran Mike Massenzio.[7] The Pokrajac/Soszynski bout ultimately took place on December 10, 2011 at UFC 140.[8] Pokrajac defeated Soszynski via first round KO.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 32 matches | 24 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 4 |
| By submission | 8 | 1 |
| By decision | 3 | 3 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 24–8 | Krzysztof Soszynski | KO (punches) | UFC 140 | December 10, 2011 | 1 | 0:35 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 23–8 | Todd Brown | TKO (knee and punches) | UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann | 3 March 2011 | 1 | 5:00 | Louisville, Kentucky, United States | |
| Loss | 22–8 | Stephan Bonnar | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale | 4 December 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 22–7 | James Irvin | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko | 1 August 2010 | 1 | 2:28 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Loss | 21–7 | James Te-Huna | TKO (punches) | UFC 110 | 21 February 2010 | 3 | 3:26 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Loss | 21–6 | Vladimir Matyushenko | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 103 | 19 September 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Dallas, Texas, United States | UFC Debut |
| Win | 21–5 | Kalvis Gebauers | TKO (punches) | WFC 8: D-Day | 18 April 2009 | 1 | 1:16 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Win | 20–5 | Roderik Jambor | TKO | K-1 ColliZion 2009 Croatia | 21 March 2009 | 1 | N/A | Split, Croatia | |
| Win | 19–5 | Mihajlo Fincur | TKO (punches) | Grand Fight | 27 December 2008 | 1 | N/A | Varaždin, Croatia | |
| Win | 18–5 | Patrik Javicky | Submission (rear naked choke) | Ultimate Fight: Challenge 3 | 6 December 2008 | 1 | N/A | Samobor, Croatia | |
| Win | 17–5 | Jan Antoska | Submission (armbar) | Hell Cage 1 | 3 May 2008 | 2 | N/A | Prague, Czech Republic | |
| Win | 16–5 | Martin Zawada | Submission | Balans: It’s Showtime 75MAX Trophy Final 2008 | 15 March 2008 | 1 | N/A | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | |
| Win | 15–5 | Marko Sintic | TKO | Ultimate Fight: Challenge 2 | 15 December 2007 | N/A | N/A | Samobor, Croatia | |
| Win | 14–5 | Ladislav Zak | Decision | OB-Gula: Fight Night | 8 December 2007 | N/A | N/A | Ogulin, Croatia | |
| Loss | 13–5 | Mamed Khalidov | Submission (kneebar) | Boxing Explosion 2 | 2 August 2007 | 2 | 0:55 | Croatia | |
| Win | 13–4 | Bojan Spalevic | TKO | Osijek Challenge 07 | 27 May 2007 | 1 | N/A | Osijek, Croatia | |
| Win | 12–4 | Slaven Planinic | TKO | Bilic Fight Night | 25 April 2007 | N/A | N/A | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 11–4 | Sasa Lazic | Submission (armbar) | Noc Gladiatora 1 | 16 March 2007 | 1 | N/A | Karlovac, Croatia | |
| Loss | 10–4 | Assuerio Silva | Decision (split) | Jungle Fight Europe | 17 December 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Win | 10–3 | Ivan Brguljan | Decision (unanimous) | International Fight Night | 3 August 2006 | 1 | N/A | Opatija, Croatia | |
| Win | 9–3 | Lukasz Jurkowski | Decision (split) | Sukosan Fight Night | 9 September 2006 | 2 | N/A | Sukošan, Croatia | |
| Win | 8–3 | Jure Lucic | Submission (armbar) | Ultimate Nokaut 4 | 17 March 2006 | 1 | N/A | Karlovac, Croatia | |
| Win | 7–3 | Ivan Bacic | Submission (rear naked choke) | Ultimate Nokaut 3 | 17 December 2005 | 1 | N/A | Rijeka, Croatia | |
| Loss | 6–3 | Lukasz Jurkowski | TKO (corner stoppage) | KSW 4: Konfroncacja | 10 September 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Warsaw, Poland | |
| Win | 6–2 | Branislav Zeman | Submission (rear naked choke) | Ultimate Nokaut 2 | 29 July 2005 | 2 | N/A | Zadar, Croatia | |
| Loss | 5–2 | Miodrag Petkovic | TKO | Ultimate Nokaut 1 | 11 March 2005 | 2 | N/A | Karlovac, Croatia | |
| Win | 5–1 | Peter Cakic | TKO | Trboulje 2: Croatia vs Slovenia | 12 February 2005 | 1 | N/A | Slovenia | |
| Loss | 4–1 | Miodrag Petkovic | KO | Ultimate Fight Dubravc | 4 April 2004 | 2 | N/A | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Andre Castro | KO (knee) | DF: Durata World Grand Prix 1 | 3 May 2003 | 1 | 2:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Matthias Riccio | TKO (cut) | DF: Durata World Grand Prix 1 | 3 May 2003 | 1 | 4:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Pavel Botka | TKO | DF: Durata World Grand Prix 1 | 3 May 2003 | 1 | 4:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Nik Peric | TKO | Strabag Free Fight | 9 February 2003 | 1 | N/A | Rijeka, Croatia |