By TXMMA Staff // Hannah Robinow
Despite recent setbacks, Geo Pacurariu still aiming to become first Romanian to make it to the top of the MMA world
DALLAS, TX, July 17, 2014 – Legacy Fighting Championship 33 (LFC 33) takes place this Friday at the Allen Event Center and one of the most exciting fighters set to compete also has perhaps the most on the line. A 29 year old fighting out of Octagon MMA, George Pacurariu surged onto the scene in earnest with his first round KO of Steven Peterson at LFC 19. At that point most pundits on the scene considered him to be one of the fastest rising stars out of the Dallas area. Unfortunately for the Romanian born kempo specialist, a nasty cut courtesy of Aaron Cerda cost him a win at LFC 22 and it got even worse when he lose to (UFC bound) Thomas Almeida this past December at LFC 26. He hasn’t fought since then but is hoping to turn his fortunes around when he returns to the cage this this Friday against late replacement Kashif Solarin. For Geo and his camp, this bout represents the first of what they believe will be many wins in a row as he embarks on the comeback trail.
Pacurariu started his mixed martial arts training under the close tutelage of Coach Gabriel Oroviceanu, a Romanian Kempo, Wushu, and Judo champion. Next, he refined his skills at the Romanian Kempo Federation Team under Amatto Zaharia. Now a representative of Octagon MMA in Dallas, Pacurariu has compiled a 6-3 record including the fights above. He moved to Texas and began fighting here in 2011 after compiling a 2-1 record in Eastern Europe. Beginning his Texas MMA exploits with a bang, Geo Pacurariu won his first four bouts in the state and won many accolades along the way, including the prestigious “Knockout of the Year” award for AXS TV’s flagship show, “Inside MMA.” Along with that Pacurariu also received a Medal of Honor from the Romanian President Traian Basescu for representing Romania in his fights. Motivated more than ever despite his setbacks, he is still determined to become the first and most successful Romanian ever at the highest level of MMA. “I’ve accomplished some of my goals by fighting for Legacy FC, but I want to work even harder to make it the UFC,” he says.
That quest continues with this “comeback fight” against Solarin at LFC 33. It’s his first since his last two losses and he’s eager to get back in there and erase the memory of those in emphatic fashion:
“I… am a well-rounded fighter—winning some fights already by submission—but my main style and weapon is striking. I started with Full-Contact Kempo in Romania, and I can say that I have a Kempo Fighter style”. Going into his upcoming battle, “I always go into the cage with bad intentions for my opponents. I always want to finish the fights and my mind is always set up for winning… My team at Octagon MMA and I… prepare a good game plan that will work in the fight. We try to find holes in our opponents’ skills and we work on this”.
And work he shall. Show up at the Allen Event Center for Legacy Fighting Championship 33 this Friday night to see where he goes from here.