KT Phenom strikes MMA career with UNFC Tokyo

Fighter profile of Arunas Samusiovas by Adam Leigh

Arunas Samusiovas had 10 TKO’s from 12 wins in 14 KT bout appearances before turning his attention to MMA. Even with such undeniably impressive stats to accompany his status as the #1 ranked KT middleweight and #7 ranked KT fighter overall, Samusiovas takes a modest approach when talking about his time in the sport.

“I would hardly name my run in KT as ‘domination’. There was a lot of close fights, real brawls with tough guys like Halfdan Lodbrok, Yvgeny Molotov, JT Redman. I just were the luckier man.” 

Luck or not, it isn’t hard to see the humble nature of the former EFFA Middleweight champion whom retired from the sport with the belt still around his waist after 7 successful straight title defences.

The Lithuanian has since become one of UNFC Tokyo’s hottest prospects. His debut MMA fight ended in typical fashion for the world renowned striker, halting Nich DiM’s night prematurely at 02:15 of the first round by referee stoppage due to TKO (strikes).

When questioned about the reason he chose Tokyo’s premier fighting promotion, the young KT champion told me it was about more than it being just a stepping stone. “It's always hard to start from scratch and I felt like UNFC is organization who really cares about their fighters and will help me in developing my career.”

Samusiovas’ time in KT was undeniably successful, arguably dominant (even if the man himself says otherwise), and at just 24 years of age he could’ve become one of the all-time greats to have ever graced the sport come retirement. His crossover to MMA at such a peak in his striking career may come as a shock to some, yet it’s a natural progression for the ‘Steel Penn Alliance’ fighter.

“I don't think my accomplishment in KT is something outstanding. KT nowadays is in the shadow of MMA. There are no money and thinner pool of competitive fighters, if you check KT rankings there are [the] same names every month. In MMA it's much harder to hold on [to] the top.”

Arunas Samusiovas has trained and lived in Amsterdam throughout his stellar KT career, the city in which the sports premier KT organization Extreme Fist Fighting Association is based. He’s a member of Amsterdam’s prestigious Gym Beam team and trains with some of MMA’s elite in Jameson Connemara, Yury Vesnev, Bo Juggernaut, Timofey Boyko and Timur Rubin.

Samusiovas, even as a KT fighter, has been managed by one of the greatest current MMA managers in Klatz Matz. With this kind of champion calibre training environment and world renowned management, the process to extend his golden KT career to MMA is a simple tweak to his training regime.

“For sure MMA is complex sport, I had to adjust my training and use more versatile technics.” Arunas said. “I'm still new to ground game but my sparring partners are one of the best grapplers in sport. A J Hearts, Yury Vesnev, Evgeniy Malkin. Those guys know all the tricks.”

UNFC is the new stomping grounds for the former KT champion and currently undefeated MMA fighter. As he looks to continue his fighting legacy in Tokyo, he has only one thing on his mind. “I will work hard to become top MMA-fighter. I'm looking for the belt and I'd be happy to test current champ.”

And when questioned about a move back to KT in the future, he was even more direct. “All my thoughts [are] now with UNFC and the belt.”

Arunas Samusiovas enters the UNFC cage for the second time against Big J Smiles at UNFC64 on June 20. Tune in as he continues his run toward UNFC and MMA gold. 

I feel it’s just a matter of time but the unpretentious Lithuanian would likely say it’s just a matter of luck, and either way, this KT Phenom is one to watch.

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