Georgi Karakhanyan Expects 'Exciting Show' Against Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 170 | MMAWeekly.com

While he was able to pick up wins in two of his three fights in 2016, veteran featherweight Georgi Karakhanyan still believes he could have done better in the year.

Karakhanyan feels that no matter how many times he wins or how strongly he performs in his fights, there is always something more that can be done each time out.

“2016 was an okay year,” Karakhanyan told MMAWeekly.com. “I went 2-1. I lost to (Jeff) Curran, and then beat Bubba (Jenkins) and Kirill (Medvedoski), so it was an okay year. I would have liked it to be better.

“As a fighter I’m never satisfied – even if I win very impressively – it’s just in my nature to not be satisfied. I want better things out of me. I want better fights out of me. So you can say it was an okay year.”

A decade into his MMA career and with over 30 bouts under his belt, Karakhanyan has a solid grasp on who he is as a fighter, but that doesn’t mean he feels as if he can’t grow with the sport.

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“I went through a lot different phases where I was trying to figure out what works for me and what doesn’t work for me,” said Karakhanyan. “At a certain point in your career you figure out what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, and what you need to work on.

“The sport is evolving. You’ve got to stay up with it and keep grinding and keep training. I sharpen every single tool I have in me and get better as a martial artist.”

Karakhanyan (26-6-1) will look to pick up his third win in a row when he takes on Emmanuel Sanchez (13-3) in a main card 145-pound bout at Bellator 170 on Saturday in Inglewood, Calif.

“He comes from a good camp, he comes to fight, and I think it’s going to be an exciting show for all the fans,” Karakhanyan said of Sanchez. “To get the win, I’ve got to be Georgi. I’ve got to be aggressive and control the fight right away.

“The main thing is listening to my corner. Sometimes I tend to not listen and get too crazy, but I like to take chances. I think he and I like to bang, so we’re going to see who goes down first.”

Having had some injury issues in the recent past, Karakhanyan is eager to stay as active as he can in 2017 and continue his way up the Bellator ranks.

“The main goal is to stay healthy,” he said. “I have three fights under my contract with Bellator, so I want to have those in 2017, finish my contract and then re-sign with them, and make bigger money and stay busy.”

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