Frank Sebastian Giorgi (born 22 September 1981) is an Australian-

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the middleweight division. Known for his

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

skills, Giorgi made a name for himself domestically by becoming a two-time Australian champion before emerging internationally in 2011 when he won his first

world title A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and reached the final of the Thai Fight 70 kg/154 lb Tournament in Thailand.

Early life

Italian Australian Italian Australians ( it, Italiani Australiani) are Australians with Italian ancestry. Italian Australians constitute the sixth largest ancestry group in Australia, and one of the largest groups in the global Italian diaspora. At the 2021 c ...

and a stonemason by trade, Giorgi was born to

parents (

San Luca San Luca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about east of Reggio Calabria. The town is situated on the eastern slopes of the Aspromonte ...

) in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1981 and raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland. He was first introduced to

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...

at the age of twelve when his uncle Frank Mesiti took him to a

gym in Southport, Queensland. There he met his partner of 15 years Amy Cameron who was a Muay Thai fighter at the time. Admittedly, he was never dedicated to boxing and, although he had a small number of amateur boxing matches, he eventually switched to Muay Thai and began fighting after six months' of training.

Career

Giorgi turned professional after eleven amateur fights and lost to Ben NTG in his debut. After initially starting out training under Richard Walsh at Five Rings Dojo, where he was a training partner of Australian great

Nathan Corbett Nathan "Carnage" Corbett (born 23 October 1979) is a retired Australian Muay Thai Kickboxing, kickboxer, color commentator for Lion Fight Promotions on CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports and feature author at Fightmag. He is a former 11-time Muay T ...

, he later became a student of Arslan Magomedov at Scorpion Gym following a period of upheaval. He established himself domestically by capturing both the WKN and the WMC national titles and taking wins over the likes of

Bruce Macfie The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

. Giorgi made the pilgrimage to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

for the first time in 2005 and would later win the Shell Tournament at Omnoi Stadium in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. On 9 April 2011, he rematched Bruce Macfie at ''Evolution 23'' in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia and won by

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

to take the WMC Intercontinental Super Middleweight (−76.2 kg/168 lb) Championship. Following this, Giorgi was selected as a participant on ''The Challenger Muay Thai''

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show in

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Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, which featured sixteen fighters from around the world competing for a $100,000 prize. He was eliminated at the opening stage when he lost to eventual finalist

Marco Piqué Marco "The Sniper" Piqué (born January 9, 1980) is a Surinamese-Dutch welterweight kickboxer, fighting out of Team Snipers in The Hague, Netherlands. He is the current World Full Contact Association Muay Thai middleweight world champion, WMC in ...

on points. He was then scheduled to face the legendary

John Wayne Parr John Wayne "The Gunslinger" Parr (born 25 May 1976), also known as JWP, is a retired Australian Muay Thai fighter, kickboxer and boxer, fighting out of Boonchu Gym in Gold Coast, Queensland. He is a former 10-time World Champion and was the ru ...

for the WMC World Middleweight (−72.58 kg/160 lb) title at ''Evolution 24'' in Brisbane on 3 September 2011 but Parr was forced to withdraw after suffering a hand injury in training and Nonsai Srisuk came in as his replacement. Giorgi defeated the Thai by split decision after an entertaining, back-and-forth fight to become a

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for the first time. Just twenty-two days later, he was back in action in the quarter-finals of the Thai Fight 2011 70 kg/154 lb Tournament in Bangkok where he outpointed

Vuyisile Colossa Vuyisile Colossa (born 28 June 1982) is a South African professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer, a 5-time world champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai. He has been a professional competitor in kickboxing since 2002 and a professional M ...

to book his place in the semis against

Abraham Roqueñi Abraham Roqueñi Iglesias (born April 16, 1978) is a Spanish welterweight kickboxer. He was the K-1 MAX Spain 2004 tournament winner, and is a former ISKA, WAKO and WFCA world champion. He holds notable wins over Gago Drago, Luis Reis, Andy S ...

on 27 November 2011. The Spaniard hurt him twice in the second round but was unable to finish him off and Giorgi came back to steal the fight in the third, roughing up Roqueñi in the

clinch Clinch may refer to: * Nail (fastener) or device to hold in this way * Clinching, in metalworking * Clinch fighting or the clinch, a grappling position in boxing or wrestling, a stand-up embrace * Clinch County, Georgia, USA * Clinch River, near T ...

. He met Thai superstar

Buakaw Por. Pramuk Sombat Banchamek ( th, สมบัติ บัญชาเมฆ, born May 8, 1982) a.k.a. Buakaw Banchamek ( th, บัวขาว บัญชาเมฆ, links=no, Buakaw meaning "white lotus") is a martial artist from Thailand of ethnic ...

in the final on 18 December 2011 and lost on the judges' scorecards. Buakaw delivered a virtuoso performance, delivering punches to the head and body, '' thip''s,

knees In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

and sweeps that Giorgi simply couldn't defend against. On 27 April 2012, Giorgi defeated Tobias Alexandersson on points on the Gold Coast to win the vacant WKN World Welterweight (−69.9 kg/154.1 lb) Muay Thai strap. He had originally been set to face

Antuan Siangboxing Antoine Pinto (born February 16, 1991), also known as Antoine Siangboxing, is a French Muay Thai kickboxer who trains in Thailand. Pinto is best known as the youngest foreign fighter to have competed at the prestigious Lumpinee Stadium at 14 an ...

but he was injured and had to pull out. Two weeks later in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, he went up against Steve Moxon in a match that many believed would crown the country's top 70 kg/154 lb kickfighter. With Giorgi being a Muay Thai stylist and Moxon a kickboxer, the fight took place under modified Muay Thai rules which excluded

elbow strike An elbow strike (commonly referred to as simply an elbow) is a strike with the point of the elbow, the part of the forearm nearest to the elbow, or the part of the upper arm nearest to the elbow. Elbows can be thrown sideways similarly to a hook ...

s. Moxon floored Giorgi in the first round, but Giorgi then kept him at bay with kicks for the next four and was given the nod via split decision. In July 2012, Giorgi moved into the top ten in the middleweight world rankings for the first time in his career, coming in at #7. A rematch with Nonsai was set to go down at ''Total Carnage II'' on the Gold Coast on 1 September 2012 but Rhyse Saliba stepped in as a late replacement for Nonsai who could not enter the country due to

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues, and Giorgi defeated him via a clear cut unanimous decision. Overtaken by up-and-coming European talent such as

Shemsi Beqiri Shemsi Beqiri (born 3 May 1986) is a Swiss Albanian kickboxer who competes in the middleweight division. Early life A Swiss Albanian, Beqiri was born to Kosovar Albanian parents in Vitina, SFR Yugoslavia (now Kosovo) on May 3, 1986, and, at the ...

Murthel Groenhart Murthel Cyrill Dwyth Groenhart (born October 10, 1986) is a Dutch-Surinamese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Groenhart is the 2012 K-1 World MAX World Championship Tournament Champion and former Glory Welterweight Champion. Caree ...

and

Davit Kiria Davit Kiria ( ka, დავით ქირია) (born February 9, 1988), also spelled as David Kyria, is a Georgian kickboxer who competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of ONE Championship. Also an Ashihara karate stylist, ...

, Giorgi dropped out of the middleweight world rankings in December 2012. He took on surging Thai

Aikpracha Meenayothin Eakpracha Meenayothin (thai language, Thai: เอกประชา มีนะโยธิน) is a Thai Muay Thai kickboxer. He is the Lumpinee Stadium, WMC and Thailand Welterweight Champion. He is also two times Toyota Vigo Marathon Tournam ...

at ''Yokkao Extreme 2013'' in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 26 January 2013 and was dropped twice in round two, once with a left

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

and then again with a high kick, causing the referee to wave off the fight. He defeated Elliot Compton at ''Legacy 2'' in Queensland on 22 November 2013. At ''Total Carnage IV'' held in Gold Coast on 14 December 2013, Giorgi lost a unanimous decision to Marco Tentori. On 13 May 2016 Giorgi took TKO victory over Harald Olsen at ''Thunderdome XV'' in Perth, Australia

Personal life

Giorgi has two sons, Sebastian and Frankie, with his partner of 15 years Amy and is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He also follows football and supports

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

*Omnoi Stadium **Shell Tournament Championship *Thai Fight **Thai Fight 2011 70 kg/154 lb Tournament Runner-up *World Kickboxing Network **WKN Australian Super Welterweight (-72.6 kg/160 lb) Championship **WKN World Welterweight (−69.9 kg/154.1 lb) Muay Thai Championship *World Muaythai Council **WMC Australian Championship **WMC Intercontinental Super Middleweight (−76.2 kg/168 lb) Championship **WMC World Middleweight (−72.58 kg/160 lb) Championship

Kickboxing record

, - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2016-10-14 , , Loss , , align=left,

Brad Riddell Bradley Stephen Riddell (born 30 September 1991) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Riddell netted several kickboxi ...

, , Powerplay Promotions 31 , , Australia , , Decision (Split) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2013-12-14 , , Loss , , align=left, Marco Tentori , , Total Carnage IV , , Gold Coast, Queensland , , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2013-11-22 , , Win , , align=left, Elliott Compton , , Legacy 2 , ,

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, Australia , , , , , , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2013-01-26 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Yokkao Extreme 2013 , ,

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, , TKO (high kick) , , 2 , , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-09-01 , , Win , , align=left, Rhyse Saliba , , Total Carnage II , , Gold Coast, Queensland , , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-04-28 , , Win , , align=left, Steve Moxon , , The Showdown , ,

, Australia , , Decision (split) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-04-07 , , Win , , align=left, Tobias Alexandersson , , Total Carnage I , , Gold Coast, Queensland , , Decision , , 5 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2011-12-18 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , THAI FIGHT 2011 – 70 kg Tournament Final , ,

, Thailand , , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-11-27 , , Win , , align=left,

, , THAI FIGHT 2011 – 70 kg Tournament Semi Finals , ,

, Thailand , , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-09-25 , , Win , , align=left,

, , THAI FIGHT 2011 – 70 kg Tournament Quarter Finals , ,

, Thailand , , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-09-03 , , Win , , align=left, Nonsai Srisuk , , Evolution 24 , ,

, Australia , , Decision (split) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , in 2011 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , The Challenger Muay Thai, First Round , ,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, Malaysia , , Decision , , 5 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-04-09 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Evolution 23 , ,

, Australia , , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-11-27 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Evolution 22 , ,

, Australia , , KO , , 2 , , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-10-30 , , Win , , align=left, Tum Mardsua , , War on the Shore 18 , , Gold Coast, Queensland , , KO , , , , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-03-13 , , Win , , align=left, Dusan Salva , , Domination 4 , , Bentley, Australia , , Decision , , 5 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2009-11-14 , , Win , , align=left, Andrew Rakowski , , Knees of Fury 27 , ,

, Australia , , TKO (cut) , , 1 , , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , in 2007 , , Win , , align=left, Dong Jiang Tao , , Xplosion 17 , , Gold Coast, Queensland , , KO (right low kick) , , 2 , , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2007-06-22 , , Win , , align=left, Brad Small , , Xplosion 16 , , Gold Coast, Queensland , , TKO (punches) , , 2 , , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2006-11-25 , , Win , , align=left, Eli Madigan , , Evolution 9 , ,

, Australia , , , , , , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2005-11-15 , , Loss , , align=left, Andrew Keogh , , Evolution 6 , ,

, Australia , , Decision (split) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giorgi, Frank 1981 births Living people Australian male kickboxers Middleweight kickboxers Australian Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from Adelaide Sportspeople from the Gold Coast, Queensland Australian people of Italian descent Australian stonemasons