Constantinos Philippou born November 29, 1979) is a retired Cypriot

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He formerly fought for the UFC's

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division.

Early life

Philippou was born in

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

on 29 November 1979.

Career

Boxing

Philippou began

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

in 1994 and had his first fight six months later. In 2005, his best friend and coach Polis encouraged him to move to the United States to become a professional. Costas fought in the

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

two months after coming to the United States, but lost in the finals at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

by a split decision to

Nagy Aguilera Nagy Aguilera De La Rosa (born May 28, 1986) is a Dominican Republic, Dominican professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for his upset first-round knockout win over former World Boxing Council, WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev. Profess ...

. Philippou then turned pro and had three fights three wins, the third being featured on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Costas transitioned to

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

after disputes with his manager and coach.

MMA

Philippou made his professional MMA debut in May 2008 for the Ring of Combat promotion, losing to fellow future UFC fighter Ricardo Romero by split decision. However, he subsequently amassed a record of 7 wins, 1 loss and 1 no contest within that promotion. Philippou had previously trained with the Serra-Longo Fight Team, but as of May 30, 2013, he decided to switch camps to Bellmore Kickboxing Academy. According to

Matt Serra Matt Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor and a former UFC Welterweight Champion. He is the co-sta ...

, Philippou left the team on good terms.

''The Ultimate Fighter 11''

Philippou first made his appearance in the UFC on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz. However, he never made it as part of the cast to move into the house after losing to Joseph Henle via submission in the opening elimination bout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Philippou got a second chance in the UFC after stepping in as a late replacement for Dan Miller, who was moved up the card to face Nate Marquardt, facing Nick Catone at

UFC 128 ''UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background This event was expected to take place in Abu Dhab ...

in a catchweight bout of 195 pounds. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Philippou was expected to face BJJ black belt Rafael Natal on August 6, 2011, at

UFC 133 ''UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 6, 2011, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of mun ...

, replacing an injured Riki Fukuda. However, an injury forced

Alessio Sakara Alessio Sakara (born September 2, 1981) is an Italian professional mixed martial artist, former professional boxer and Sanshou kickboxer, currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, Sakara has als ...

out of his main card bout against Jorge Rivera, and Philippou was pulled from his bout with Natal and named as Sakara's replacement against Rivera. Philippou won the fight via split decision, earning his first UFC victory. Philippou faced off against Jared Hamman on December 10, 2011, at UFC 140. He won the match via KO at 3:11 in the first round. Philippou fought TUF 11 winner

Court McGee Court McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local pr ...

on March 3, 2012, at UFC on FX 2. He won the fight via unanimous decision after a back and forth bout. Philippou next defeated Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148. Philippou was expected to face Nick Ring on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154 however, the fight was cancelled on the day of the event as Ring fell ill. Philippou replaced his injured training partner Chris Weidman against Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 on December 29, 2012. Philippou was victorious with a third round TKO stoppage. Philippou was expected to face

Ronaldo Souza Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born 7 December 1979), nicknamed " Jacaré" (), is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Souza was a multiple time BJJ World ch ...

on May 18, 2013, at

UFC on FX 8 ''UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 8'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 18, 2013, at the Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. The event was broadcast live on FUEL TV and FX (TV channel), FX. Backgrou ...

. However, Philippou pulled out of the bout in early May, citing a cut above his eye, and was replaced by Chris Camozzi. Philippou next faced Francis Carmont at UFC 165. He lost the fight via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, 30–27). Philippou faced Luke Rockhold on January 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 35. He lost the fight via KO in the first round. Philippou faced Lorenz Larkin in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 40. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Philippou was expected to face

Uriah Hall Uriah Alexander Hall (born July 31, 1984) is a Jamaican-American former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Kickboxing, kickboxer, and current Professional boxing, boxer. He competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight divi ...

on January 18, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 59, however, Philippou would be forced out the bout due to injury. Philippou faced

Gegard Mousasi Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985) is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Mousasi most recently competed in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. He is also the former DREAM Light Heavywe ...

on May 16, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 66. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On July 7, 2015, Philippou retired from mixed martial arts competition. Earlier in the day, he made his Twitter account private, with an avatar that read, "THIS ACCOUNT IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE. PLEASE UNFOLLOW." The UFC then confirmed via Twitter that Phillippou had told them of his retirement.

Personal life

Philippou resides in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

**UFC.com Awards ***2011: Ranked #10 Newcomer of the Year ***2012: Ranked #10 Fighter of the Year *Ring of Combat **ROC Middleweight Championship (1 time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 (1) , Lorenz Larkin , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:27 ,

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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Duluth, Georgia Duluth ( ) is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United Stat ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 (1) , Francis Carmont , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 165 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 (1) , Tim Boetsch , TKO (punches) , UFC 155 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 (1) , Jared Hamman , KO (punches) , UFC 140 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:11 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 (1) , Jorge Rivera , Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 (1) , Nick Catone , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 (1) ,

, Decision (majority) , Ring of Combat 34 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 (1) , Aung La N Sang , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:11 ,

, United States , , - , NC , align=center, 5–1 (1) , Marcus Finch , NC (groin kick) , Ring of Combat 32 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Victor O'Donnell , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 26 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Aaron Meisner , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Combat 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , John Doyle , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:05 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Brendan Barrett , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Ring of Combat 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Tony Andreocci , KO (punch) , Ring of Combat 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 ,

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References

External links

*
Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philippou, Constantinos 1979 births Living people American people of Greek Cypriot descent Cypriot male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Limassol Cypriot practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Cypriot expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters