CPT MMACombat & Performance Register interest
Melbourne · MMA & K1 Kickboxing · ONE Championship veteran

Trained to Win Conditioned for life

Sotir Kichukov carried the fight from a small town on the Black Sea coast to the biggest cages on three continents. Now he coaches fighters, athletes and everyday people in Melbourne through Combat and Performance Training. Learn from someone who has done it at the highest level.

Meet Sotir Small groups · by application
Small groups · places by application

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Professional record
31 fights across three continents
Coaching experience
19+ years on the mats
Career honours
ONE first Bulgarian in ONE Championship
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First Bulgarian in ONE Championship Max Fight Champion 31 pro fights 3 continents 19+ years coaching K1 · Kickboxing · Boxing · Wrestling · Grappling First Bulgarian in ONE Championship Max Fight Champion 31 pro fights 3 continents 19+ years coaching K1 · Kickboxing · Boxing · Wrestling · Grappling
The programme
Home gym
On the mats

Immersion Mixed Martial Arts
60 Charter Street, Ringwood, Victoria

31Professional fights
3Continents fought on
19+Years coaching
#1Record flyweight · Aus & NZ
Knee to the straight right
Walking him onto the ropes
Magnum 44, hand raised

Ring footage from the Magnum 44 four man K1 tournament, Melbourne, November 2023.

Sotir Kichukov portrait with the Bulgarian flag
The Trouble · Pomorie to Melbourne
The coach

Forged across three continents

Sotir Kichukov grew up in Pomorie, a fishing and salt town on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast that the ancient world knew as Anchialo. He first stepped onto the mats in 2006, became a Bulgarian kickboxing champion at only his second competition, then turned professional and reigned through the Max Fight promotion to claim its bantamweight championship.

Around 2015 he signed with ONE Championship and became recognised as the first Bulgarian to compete in the promotion, sharing the cage at flyweight with names such as Yusup Saadulaev, Mark Striegl and Danny Kingad. He coached at Saigon Sports Club in Vietnam before settling in Melbourne, where he now leads Combat and Performance Training.

Sotir KichukovFounder · CPT Combat & Performance Training

2006Started martial arts at Warrior MMA in Pomorie under coach Teodor Karastoyanov.
2008Became a Bulgarian kickboxing champion at only his second competition.
2009Turned professional in MMA, winning his debut at Max Fight 7 by first round submission.
2015Signed with ONE Championship, recognised as the first Bulgarian in the promotion.
VietnamFought at flyweight and coached at Saigon Sports Club in Ho Chi Minh City.
2023Won the Magnum 44 four man tournament under K1 rules.
TodayCoaches at Immersion Mixed Martial Arts in Melbourne and leads CPT.
From the archive

Written up back home

The Bulgarian national press followed Sotir out of Pomorie and across the world. Two features from the daily Meridian, four years apart, one at the height of his ONE Championship run and one from the middle of the pandemic.

Meridian Weekend newspaper feature on Sotir Kichukov, 24 December 2016 Open the page
Meridian Weekend24 December 2016 · page 25

Sotir becomes a Vietnamese fighter, by eating a worm

Filed under the paper's Bulgaria Without Borders series, this one catches him at 26, newly signed to ONE Championship and living in Saigon. He talks about a city of twelve million where he first saw a kitchen ride past on a motorbike, roads with no rules, and how he would still keep Christmas Eve the Bulgarian way, an odd number of dishes, homemade wine and a candle. The cage photos run from his bout with Mark Striegl in Manila.

Published in Bulgarian
Meridian newspaper feature on Sotir Kichukov, 1 May 2020 Open the page
Meridian1 May 2020 · Stories

A Bulgarian in the pandemic, between Ho Chi Minh City, Bali and Melbourne

Four years on, the paper tracks the move that brought him here. Sotir walks through what the lockdowns looked like from three countries in a row, the training that carried on in Indonesia alongside the brother of a Bulgarian European silver medallist, and gyms shutting their doors in Melbourne. The park sessions below were shot here that same October.

Published in Bulgarian
Melbourne · October 2020

When the gyms closed, the work did not

No mats, no bags, no partners. Sprint repeats on the car park, mobility and core on the grass, then the same session again the next day. It is the habit the coaching is built on, and it is where the conditioning work in the program came from.

Sotir Kichukov holding an L sit on the car park during Melbourne lockdown Sotir Kichukov training outdoors in a Melbourne park Sotir Kichukov stretching on the grass between sprint sets
The training

Built to make you complete

Striking and grappling trained together, never as rivals. Sotir coaches the whole fighter, the mechanics, the mindset and the recovery, so you get sharper every session.

01

K1 Kickboxing & Boxing

Sharp, relaxed stand up under K1 rules. Kicks, knees, hands and clinch, with stance, angles, timing and output built from the ground up.

Grappling in the cage
02

Wrestling & Grappling

Clinch, takedowns, control and a deep submission game that has finished fights at the top level.

Pad work coaching
03

Fight IQ & Movement

Read the round, move with purpose and make the smart decisions that win exchanges.

Conditioning sprint
04

Prehab & Conditioning

Build a body that holds up. Corrective work, strength and cardio for real world durability.

Recovery and nutrition
05

Nutrition & Recovery

Fuel, sleep and mineral balance. How you recover shapes what you can do under pressure.

Mindset and readiness
06

Mindset & Readiness

Always be prepared. Resilience trained as a skill, so you show up ready when it matters.

Choose your path

Coaching for every level

Every path is by application so Sotir can keep the rooms small and the coaching personal. Spots are limited each intake.

Start here

Fundamentals

For beginners who want to learn properly from day one.

  • Small group classes
  • Stance, striking and base grappling
  • Friendly, welcoming room
By application
Enquire
For competitors

Fighter's Path

Serious training for those chasing the cage or the ring.

  • Full fight camp structure
  • Striking, wrestling and submissions
  • Cornering and fight preparation
By application · few spots
Apply now
One to one

Private Coaching

Bespoke sessions built entirely around your goals.

  • Fully personalised plan
  • Prehab, rehab and movement
  • The fastest way to improve
By application
Enquire
Anywhere

Online Coaching

Train under Sotir from any city in the world.

  • Remote programming
  • Video review and feedback
  • Anchialo recovery gel access
By application
Enquire
Sotir Kichukov
Training in Melbourne

Every place is
by application

Sotir keeps every group small on purpose so the coaching stays personal and everyone gets corrected properly. Tell him what you are working towards and he will let you know what fits.

Beginners and competitive fighters both welcome
Register your interest
In their words

People who train with him

★★★★★

"Sotir taught me from the basics, from a proper relaxed stance, all the way to cutting angles and increasing my output. He makes the technical feel simple."

A
Alexa YoungAmateur fighter
★★★★★

"One of the most technically knowledgeable coaches I have ever trained with. Every detail has a reason behind it."

S
Shane O GallchobhairStudent
★★★★★

"A very well rounded trainer who is professional and always takes into consideration his client's experience level."

R
Ramon LedoStudent
Also CPT

Canine personal training

The same coaching runs on four legs. Sotir works dogs the way he works fighters: clear standards, honest repetition, and calm under pressure.

Canine Personal Training
One to one · Melbourne

Build the dog you actually want to live with

A dog that pulls, will not come back, or cannot settle is not a bad dog. It is an untrained one. Sessions are one to one, outdoors and in the real places you walk, so the behaviour holds up where it actually matters rather than only in a quiet backyard.

Obedience foundations, place, settle and a recall that works
Loose lead walking and focus around real distractions
Structured conditioning for working breeds who need a job
Handling coached to you, so the dog listens to you and not just him
Explore canine training Enquire about your dog
Anchialo Natural Magnesium Gels
Members only

Anchialo Natural Magnesium Gels

Hard training is only half the work. The other half is how you recover. Sotir gives his members Anchialo, his own natural magnesium gel, to support muscle function, calm the nervous system and help you sleep, so you come back to every session ready.

Supports muscle function and recovery
Helps calm the nervous system after training
Reserved for members only
Learn more
The journal

Notes from the corner

Read the journal
The Story

Pomorie to the cage

How a kid from the old coastal town of Anchialo became the first Bulgarian in ONE Championship.

Read
Coaching

The CPT method

Performance, prehab, rehab and practical martial arts. The thinking behind how Sotir coaches.

Read
Performance

Recovery, sleep and magnesium

The quiet work that wins fights, and why minerals matter more than most people think.

Read
Limited spots

Register your interest

Tell Sotir a little about you and your goals. If a spot is right for you, he will be in touch to organise a trial. No pressure, no obligation, just a real conversation about your training.

Coaching from a genuine ONE Championship veteran
Small rooms and personal attention
Beginners and fighters both welcome
Melbourne based, plus online coaching worldwide
Small groups · places by application

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Thanks for registering your interest. Sotir will review your details and reach out to organise a trial. Keep an eye on your phone and inbox.

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