Nestoras Batzelas ( gr, Νέστορας Μπατζέλας; born January 7, 1980, in

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

, Thessalia) is a Greek MMA fighter and retired amateur freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category. Batzelas has been selected to the nation's Olympic wrestling team when

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

hosted the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, and also trained as a member of the wrestling team for E.A. Larissa, under his personal coach Konstantinos Avramis. Batzelas qualified for the Greek squad in the men's super heavyweight class (120 kg), when

welcomed the world to the

. He filled up an entry by the International Federation of Association Wrestling and the Hellenic Olympic Committee, as Greece received an automatic berth for being the host nation. He lost his opening match to 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Alexis Rodríguez of Cuba on technical superiority, but bounced back to dismantle Ukraine's

Serhii Priadun Serhii Anatoliyovych Priadun ( uk, Сергій Анатолійович Прядун; born October 11, 1974, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR) is a retired amateur Ukrainian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight categor ...

with a 5–0 decision in front of the home crowd inside

Ano Liossia Olympic Hall Ano Liosia Olympic Hall is a multi-purpose and multi-sport indoor arena that is located in Ano Liosia, a suburb of Athens, Greece. The arena was mainly used to host various martial arts tournaments but from 2021 its used by AEK B.C. for its home g ...

. Placing second in the prelim pool and thirteenth overall, Batzelas' performance fell short to put him further into the quarterfinals.

Championships and accomplishments

MMA

*No Limits **No Limits Heavyweight Champion (1 Time)

Professional mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 6-2 ,

Ioannis Arzoumanidis Ioannis Arzoumanidis ( gr, Γιάννης Αρζουμανίδης; born October 22, 1986) is a male freestyle wrestler from Greece. Championships and accomplishments MMA *MMA Challenge Pro **MMA Challenge Pro Heavyweight Champion (2 ...

, Decision (Unanimous) , MMA Challenge Pro 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, Greece , For MMA Challenge Pro Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 6-1 , George Katsinopoulos , TKO (Punches) , No Limits 23 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, ,

, Greece , Wins No Limits Heavyweight Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 5-1 , Ricco Rodriguez , TKO (punches) , Final Fight Championship 10 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

, Macedonia , , - , Win , align=center, 5-0 , Julian Chilikov , Submission (Guillotine Choke) , GFC - Greek Fighting Championship 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, ,

, Greece , , - , Win , align=center, 4-0 , Emil Zahariev , Submission (Heel Hook) , No Limits 20 Νέστωρας Μπατζέλας: Το ήξερα ότι θα είναι εύκολο
/ref> , , align=center, 1 , align=center, ,

, Greece , , - , Win , align=center, 3-0 , Emil Zahariev , TKO (RTD) , , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Greece , , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Borislav Balabanov , TKO (Punches) , Throwdown MMA Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, , Greece , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Marian Rusu , Submission (Punches) , GFC - Greek Fighting Championship 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:27 ,

, Greece , , -

Amateur mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 0-1 , Allen Crowder , TKO (Referee Stoppage) , Battle In The South VI , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

, United States , Fight was for the Heavyweight Title. , -

References

External links

Profile – International Wrestling Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batzelas, Nestoras 1980 births Living people Greek male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers of Greece Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Larissa Greek male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling