| Marius Žaromskis | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 30, 1980 [1] Šiauliai, Lithuania |
| Other names | Raging Demon, The Whitemare,[1] |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] |
| Weight | 169 lb (76.7 kg; 12.1 st) |
| Division | Welterweight (170 lb) |
| Style | Freestyle, Kickboxing, Kyokushin Karate, Muay Thai |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | London, England |
| Team | MMA Bushido London Shootfighters (2001–2010) American Kickboxing Academy (2010-present) |
| Years active | 2000 - present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 16 |
| By knockout | 12 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Unknown | 1 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Unknown | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
Marius Žaromskis (born July 30, 1980) is a Lithuanian welterweight mixed martial artist. After fighting the majority of his career for British promotion Cage Rage, he signed with DREAM in 2009 and then, later that year, with Strikeforce. With DREAM, Žaromskis won their 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix and became their first Welterweight Champion and then signed with Strikeforce. Žaromskis is well known for his combinations, excellent takedown defense, and unorthodox techniques. He holds notable victories over Hayato Sakurai, Jason High and Kazushi Sakuraba.
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Žaromskis made his MMA debut in 2000, at the Knight of the Ring 6 event. He won his first fight against Viktoras Kontrimas and lost his second fight against Ricardas Jancevicius at that event. Žaromskis returned after 5 years in Essex, England at UKMMAC 13 against Jack Mason and won by technical knockout.
With a 3-1 MMA record, Žaromskis joined the Cage Rage organization in May 2006. His first fight was against Afnan Saheed. After a big combination of knees and punches from Žaromskis, the referee stopped the fight. After his successful Cage Rage debut, Žaromskis fought against Che Mills, and the fight was pretty competitive until Mills caught Žaromskis with a knee that knocked him out. After that loss, Žaromskis returned against Darius Swierkosz at Cage Rage: Contenders 3 and won by submission in the first round. His next opponent was Damien Riccio, and Žaromskis knocked him down several times, but Riccio survived. In round 3 Žaromskis won by TKO due to a cut on Riccio's face. It is one of the most impressive fights in Cage Rage history. After his crushing victory over Riccio, Žaromskis fought Ross Mason. Žaromskis completely dominated Mason in the first two rounds and knocked him out in the third round with a flying knee. His next opponent was Ross Pointon. The fight looked competitive in the first round, but in the second round Pointon got a big cut on his head and the referee stopped the fight and declared Žaromskis the winner. After this series of wins, Žaromskis got a chance to fight for the Cage Rage British welterweight championship and avenge his only loss in Cage Rage fighting against Che Mills for a second time. Žaromskis dominated the first round by taking him down two times and holding top positions for most of the round, but developed a cut on his right eye during the first round and doctors stopped the fight declaring Che Mills the winner. He fought for the company a total of seven times until May 2008 when it was bought by EliteXC who soon fell into bankruptcy, meaning Cage Rage ceased operations. He had compiled a Cage Rage record of 5-2.
After leaving Cage Rage, Žaromskis returned to fight in Lithuania. He participated in Bushido Lithuania: Hero's 2008 event against Jedrzej Kubski. Kubski desperately tried to take the fight to the ground, and Žaromskis got on top by using his takedown defense. After landing multiple unanswered punches from the top, the referee stopped the fight. With an MMA record of 9-3, all wins finished by T/KO or submission, Žaromskis was the most promising Lithuanian fighter.
In April 2009, Žaromskis was invited to participate at Dream Welterweight Grand Prix 2009 tournament. At Dream 8 he fought against Seichi Ikemoto in the quarter-finals. Žaromskis out-struck him all 3 rounds, earning a unanimous decision victory. In the semi-finals Žaromskis faced Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, who had just come off a KO victory over WAMMA Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki in the previous round of the tournament. A heavy underdog in the fight, Žaromskis looked comfortable exchanging with the seasoned veteran. The two exchanged relatively evenly on the feet, both showing good combinations with their straight jabs and hooks, whilst Sakurai favored leg kicks and Žaromskis chose to use high kicks while working the body with his feet. Sakurai landed one takedown and assumed the half guard position in the middle of the ring, but Žaromskis was swiftly able to rise to his feet. The bout was then temporarily halted for several minutes to clean up a cut on Sakurai's face. When the bout resumed Žaromskis came out with a renewed intensity and after a brief exchange he landed a left high kick that dropped his opponent. Žaromskis followed with punches on the ground, prompting the referee to stop the fight for the TKO victory at 4:03 of the first round. Now in the final, Žaromskis faced Jason High who had defeated Andre Galvao previously that night in the other semi-final bout. Žaromskis again won in spectacular fashion, knocking out his opponent with a head kick at 2:22 of the first round crowning him the 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix Champion and the inaugural Dream Welterweight Champion.
At Dream 12, the event which marked the first time DREAM used a hexagonal cage for instead of a ring, Žaromskis met Korean Myeon Ho Bae in a non-title fight. Coming out from the opening bell aggressively, Žaromskis was caught by a right hand which backed him up for a few seconds until connecting a flush left high kick to the head of his opponent at 0:19 of the first round to knockout his opponent. It marked his third consecutive win via KO in just the first round.
Žaromskis successfully defended his DREAM Welterweight championship against Kazushi Sakuraba at Dynamite!! 2010 on December 31, 2010.[3] The fight was stopped early into the first round by doctors when it appears Žaromskis' strikes had partially torn Sakuraba's ear from his head.
Žaromskis was set to fight at Dream 17 in a rematch with Hayato Sakurai, in a non title fight, but an unspecified leg injury forced Sakurai out of the bout and he was replaced by Eiji Ishikawa. Ishikawa had won last 7 of 9 his fights before fight against Žaromskis. Ishikawa was out-struck for almost all three rounds and was almost finished several times, but he was able to survive, eventually losing a unanimous decision.
It was announced on October 31 that Žaromskis had signed a multi fight contract with North American promotion Strikeforce. He will still fight for DREAM as well due to the organizations' alliance.[4]
Žaromskis had 5 wins in a row and last 3 by head kick KO. For this, he earned a fight against Nick Diaz for the inaugural Strikeforce Welterweight Title at Strikeforce: Miami on January 30, 2010.[5] After rocking Diaz earlier, Žaromskis ran into a right straight and lost by TKO at 4:38 of round 1.
Žaromskis next fought Evangelista Santos at Strikeforce: Los Angeles. From the start of the fight, it was obvious that Cyborg had a size advantage over Žaromskis. Žaromskis lost by TKO at 2:38 in the 1st round.
After this, Žaromskis faced Waachiim Spiritwolf at Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Ribeiro. Žaromskis started aggressive by attempting a flying knee, but as a result he accidentally poked Spiritwolf's eye and he was unable to continue resulting in a NC.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 23 matches | 16 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 4 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| Unknown | 1 | 1 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 16–6 (1) | Bruno Carvalho | KO (somersault kick and punches) | Rumble of the Kings | November 26, 2011 | 1 | 4:59 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| Win | 15–6 (1) | Eiji Ishikawa | Decision (unanimous) | Dream: Japan GP Final | July 16, 2011 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Catchweight (175 lb) bout |
| Loss | 14–6 (1) | Jordan Mein | Decision (unanimous) | Score Fighting Series | June 10, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 14–5 (1) | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Dynamite!! 2010 | December 31, 2010 | 1 | 2:16 | Saitama, Japan | Defended Dream Welterweight Championship |
| NC | 13–5 (1) | Waachiim Spiritwolf | No contest | Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Ribeiro | November 19, 2010 | 1 | 0:06 | Jackson, Mississippi, United States | Accidental eye poke by Žaromskis |
| Loss | 13–5 | Evangelista Santos | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Los Angeles | June 16, 2010 | 1 | 2:38 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Loss | 13–4 | Nick Diaz | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Miami | January 30, 2010 | 1 | 4:38 | Sunrise, Florida, United States | For vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Title |
| Win | 13–3 | Ho Bae Myeong | KO (head kick) | Dream 12 | October 25, 2009 | 1 | 0:19 | Osaka, Japan | Non title fight |
| Win | 12–3 | Jason High | KO (head kick) | Dream 10 | July 20, 2009 | 1 | 2:22 | Saitama, Japan | Won Dream Welterweight GP, Became First Dream Welterweight Champion |
| Win | 11–3 | Hayato Sakurai | TKO (head kick and punches) | Dream 10 | July 20, 2009 | 1 | 4:03 | Saitama, Japan | Semi-final |
| Win | 10–3 | Seichi Ikemoto | Decision (unanimous) | Dream 8 | April 5, 2009 | 2 | 5:00 | Nagoya, Japan | Quarter-final |
| Win | 9–3 | Jedrzej Kubski | TKO (punches) | Bushido Lithuania: Hero's 2008 | November 8, 2008 | 1 | 0:50 | Vilnius, Lithuania | |
| Loss | 8–3 | Che Mills | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Cage Rage 26 | May 10, 2008 | 1 | 5:00 | London, England | For Cage Rage British Welterweight Championship |
| Win | 8–2 | Ross Pointon | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Cage Rage 24 | December 1, 2007 | 2 | 3:39 | London, England | |
| Win | 7–2 | Ross Mason | KO (flying knee) | Cage Rage 22 | July 14, 2007 | 3 | 2:03 | England | |
| Win | 6–2 | Damien Riccio | TKO (cut) | Cage Rage 20 | February 10, 2007 | 3 | 4:30 | London, England | |
| Win | 5–2 | Darius Swierkosz | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Rage: Contenders 3 | November 12, 2006 | 2 | N/A | London, England | |
| Loss | 4–2 | Che Mills | KO (knee) | Cage Rage: Contenders 2 | August 20, 2006 | 1 | 4:49 | South London, England | |
| Win | 4–1 | Afnan Saheed | TKO (punches) | Cage Rage: Contenders | May 28, 2006 | 1 | 1:21 | London, England | |
| Win | 3–1 | Kazys Grigaliunas | KO (punches) | ZT: Fight Night | February 19, 2006 | 1 | 1:57 | London, England | |
| Win | 2–1 | Jack Mason | TKO (cut) | UKMMAC 13: Warriors Return | November 27, 2005 | 1 | 3:18 | Essex, England | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Ricardas Jancevicius | N/A | Knight of the Ring 6 | February 4, 2000 | N/A | N/A | Šiauliai, Lithuania | |
| Win | 1–0 | Viktoras Kontrimas | N/A | Knight of the Ring 6 | February 4, 2000 | N/A | N/A | Šiauliai, Lithuania |
| New championship | 1st Dream Welterweight Champion July 20, 2009-present |
Current holder |
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