Goran Reljić
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Goran Reljić (born 20 March 1984) is a Croatian mixed martial artist and bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor who began his career in 2004 and most recently competed in 2020, he has fought for the UFC, RIZIN, and KSW.
Mixed martial arts career
Reljić made his professional MMA debut on April 4, 2004 against Bojan Spalević. Reljić won the fight via submission (armbar) in the first round. His second fight was against Andrej Bregar in Trbovlje, Slovenia. Reljić won the fight via submission (arm-triangle choke).
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Reljić made his UFC debut at light heavyweight against Wilson Gouveia at UFC 84, where he won in the second round by TKO. He then dropped down to middleweight.
His next fight was slated to be at UFC 90 against Thales Leites, but Reljić sustained a serious back injury and was replaced by Drew McFedries. He would not return to active competition for nearly two years.
Reljić finally made his return and faced CB Dollaway on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110, where he would be making his middleweight debut. Reljić lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Reljić faced Kendall Grove on July 3, 2010 at UFC 116 and lost via split decision. One judge scored the fight 29–28 for Reljić, while the other two judges scored it 30–27 and 29–28 for Grove.
Reljić returned to the light heavyweight division and faced Krzysztof Soszynski on November 13, 2010 at UFC 122. After losing the fight via unanimous decision, Reljić was released from the promotion.
Post-UFC
In his first post UFC fight, Reljić faced Goran Šćepanović on October 7, 2011 at BEFN 6, where he won by TKO in the first round.
Reljić then faced Rogent Lloret in a heavyweight bout on March 24, 2012 at Strength and Honor Championship in Geneve Switzerland. Reljić won the fight by TKO in the first round.
Reljić fought Jan Błachowicz in a main fight on KSW 22 for light heavyweight world title. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Reljić then faced Nikolay Osokin at Draka 13 on August 30, 2013. Reljić won the fight via TKO (body kick) in the first round.
Reljić returned to KSW on March 22, 2014 against Karol Celinski at KSW 26. Reljić won the fight via unanimous decision.
In his debut for the Rizin Fighting Federation, Reljić faced Vadim Nemkov on December 29, 2015. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Absolute Championship Berkut
Reljić faced Nikola Dipchikov at ACA 109: Strus vs. Haratyk on August 20, 2020. He lost the bout via first round TKO.
Reljić faced Carlos Eduardo on April 23, 2021 at ACA 122. He won the bout via split decision.
Reljić faced Davrbek Isakov at ACA 133 on December 4, 2021. He won the bout via TKO in second round.
Reljić faced Vojtech Garba at RFA 3 on July 23, 2022. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
Reljić faced Stepan Gorshechnikov on April 8, 2023 at ACA 155, losing the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round.
Reljić faced Alexey Efremov on November 24, 2023 at ACA 166, losing the bout after retiring from the bout after the first round.
Bare knuckle boxing career
He made his debut in a bare knuckle boxing becoming UBBADA world light heavyweight champion at BKB 7 event in Liverpool on September 9, 2017, defeating Ricky Nelder via unanimous decision.
On next event he defended title against Jimmy McCrory on November 4, 2017. Fight was declared no contest because McCrory's jaw appears to be broken after a clash of heads.
Bare knuckle boxing record
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Wins, 0 Losses, 0 Draws, 2 NC | |||||||
| 2018-06-09 | NC | England Danny Macintosh | BKB 11, O2 Arena, London, England, United Kingdom | NC | 1 | N/A | Retains UBBADA World Light Heavyweight Championship after Macintosh's corner indicated to ref their fighter couldn't continue due to an arm injury. |
| 2018-03-24 | Win | England Kevin Thompson | BKB 10 Liverpool | TKO | 2 | 2:00 | Defended UBBADA World Light Heavyweight Championship. TKO due to a doctor stoppage. |
| 2017-11-04 | NC | England Jimmy McCrory | BKB 8 Coventry | NC | 1 | N/A | Retains UBBADA World Light Heavyweight Championship. NC due to a clash of the heads. |
| 2017-09-09 | Win | England Ricky Nelder | BKB 7 Liverpool | UD | 5 | 2:00 | Wins UBBADA World Light Heavyweight Championship. |
Championships and accomplishments
- Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki KSW Light Heavyweight World Championship (One time) Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Jan Błachowicz
- Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Wilson Gouveia UFC.com Awards 2008: Ranked #9 Fight of the Year vs. Wilson Gouveia
Mixed martial arts record
| 33 matches | 21 wins | 12 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 5 |
| By submission | 7 | 0 |
| By decision | 7 | 7 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 21–12 | Alexey Efremov | TKO (retirement) | ACA 166: Magomedov vs. Dolgov | November 24, 2023 | 1 | 5:00 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
| Loss | 21–11 | Stepan Gorshechnikov | TKO (punches) | ACA 155: Karginov vs. Silva | April 8, 2023 | 1 | 1:56 | Minsk, Belarus | |
| Loss | 21–10 | Vojtech Garba | Decision (unanimous) | RFA 3 | July 23, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | |
| Win | 21–9 | Davrbek Isakov | TKO (punches) | ACA 133: Bimarzaev vs. Lima | December 4, 2021 | 2 | 1:25 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 20–9 | Carlos Eduardo | Decision (split) | ACA 122: Johnson vs. Poberezhets | April 23, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Minsk, Belarus | |
| Loss | 19–9 | Nikola Dipchikov | TKO (punches) | ACA 109: Strus vs. Haratyk | August 20, 2020 | 1 | 2:38 | Łódź, Poland | |
| Win | 19–8 | Miro Jurković | Decision (split) | Serbian Battle Championship 28 | June 19, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Odžaci, Serbia | |
| Win | 18–8 | Pedro Brum | KO (punch) | Serbian Battle Championship 27 | March 14, 2020 | 2 | 0:24 | Vrbas, Serbia | |
| Win | 17–8 | Anđelko Kitić | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Trieste Fight Night 2 | December 8, 2018 | 1 | 3:50 | Trieste, Italy | |
| Win | 16–8 | Daniel Dörrer | Submission (armbar) | Mannheimer Hafenkeilerei 6 | December 9, 2017 | 1 | 3:50 | Mannheim, Germany | |
| Loss | 15–8 | Mattia Schiavolin | Decision (unanimous) | Superior FC 15 | October 29, 2016 | 5 | 5:00 | Rüsselsheim, Germany | For the Superior FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Loss | 15–7 | Kazbek Saidaliev | Decision (unanimous) | Akhmat Fight Show 23: Grand Prix Akhmat 2016 | June 11, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Grozny, Russia | |
| Loss | 15–6 | Vadim Nemkov | TKO (punches) | Rizin WGP 2015: Part 1 - Saraba | December 29, 2015 | 1 | 2:58 | Saitama, Japan | Rizin FF World Grand-Prix Quarterfinal. |
| Loss | 15–5 | Tomasz Narkun | KO (punches) | KSW 32: Road to Wembley | October 31, 2015 | 1 | 1:55 | London, England | Lost the KSW Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 15–4 | Attila Végh | Decision (split) | KSW 31: Materla vs. Drwal | May 23, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Gdańsk, Poland | Won the vacant KSW Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–4 | Tomasz Narkun | Decision (majority) | KSW 29: Reload | December 6, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Kraków, Poland | KSW Light Heavyweight title eliminator. |
| Win | 13–4 | Karol Celinski | Decision (unanimous) | KSW 26: Materla vs. Silva 3 | March 22, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Warsaw, Poland | |
| Win | 12–4 | Nikolay Osokin | TKO (body kick) | Draka 13 | August 30, 2013 | 1 | 0:47 | Vladivostok, Russia | |
| Loss | 11–4 | Jan Błachowicz | Decision (unanimous) | KSW 22: Pride Time | March 16, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Warsaw, Poland | For the KSW Light Heavyweight Championship. Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 11–3 | Gadji Magomedov | Decision (unanimous) | Draka 8 | August 11, 2012 | 4 | 3:00 | Nakhodka, Russia | |
| Win | 10–3 | Rogent Lloret | TKO (punches) | S&HC 5 | March 24, 2012 | 1 | 3:02 | Geneva, Switzerland | Heavyweight bout. |
| Win | 9–3 | Goran Šćepanović | TKO (punches) | Bilic-Eric Security Fight Night 6 | October 7, 2011 | 1 | 1:31 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Loss | 8–3 | Krzysztof Soszynski | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 122 | November 13, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Oberhausen, Germany | Return to Light Heavyweight. |
| Loss | 8–2 | Kendall Grove | Decision (split) | UFC 116 | July 3, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 8–1 | C.B. Dollaway | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 110 | February 21, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | Middleweight debut. |
| Win | 8–0 | Wilson Gouveia | TKO (punches) | UFC 84 | May 24, 2008 | 2 | 3:15 | Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 7–0 | Waldemar Golinski | Decision (unanimous) | BE 2 - Boxing Explosion 2 | August 2, 2007 | 2 | 5:00 | Celje, Slovenia | |
| Win | 6–0 | Tomek Smykowski | Submission (armbar) | CF - The Real Deal | May 5, 2007 | 1 | 4:51 | Maribor, Slovenia | |
| Win | 5–0 | Petr Kelner | Submission (armbar) | Ultimate Fight - Challenge 1 | December 9, 2006 | 2 | 3:47 | Samobor, Croatia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Bojan Mihajlović | Submission (kimura) | NS 3 - Noc Skorpiona 3 | February 18, 2006 | 1 | 2:51 | Šibenik, Croatia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Nenad Đurić | TKO (punches) | NS 1 - Noc Skorpiona 1 | April 29, 2005 | 2 | 0:54 | Zadar, Croatia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Andrej Bregar | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Trboulje 1 - Croatia vs. Slovenia | November 5, 2004 | 1 | 1:52 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Bojan Spalević | Submission (armbar) | UFD - Ultimate Fight Dubravc | April 4, 2004 | 1 | 4:20 | Zagreb, Croatia |