Georgi Karakhanyan could not have known how his upbringing would shape him. The son of Armenian parents, he grew up in Moscow, where bitter cold, hard work and an unsettling uncertainty challenged the heartiest of souls. Karakhanyan, a mixed martial artist who now lives and trains in California, was a talented soccer player but unsure of what direction he was going to take in life.
“Growing up there was rough,” he told Sherdog.com. “It was very cold, unlike out here in California. Just the memories of my childhood being in soccer camps, there were times where if you didn’t play good, you’d get yelled at.