Bout Blog

T shirts have always been the “cool” thing to wear.  Lately, they are the fashion that everyone is wearing and I think that the growth and popularity of MMA has a lot to do with this.  Everywhere you turn, you are bound to see people of all ages wearing MMA shirts.  The design are bold, bright and have a very high “cool” factor.  These shirts are worn dressed down or dressed up and are very comfortable.

Its crazy how the sport of MMA has inspired so much fashion into the mainstream and its popularity just seems to be growing with no bounds.  MMA clothing is the new rage and I think it is here to stay and will be a staple in any ones wardrobe, regardless of their age and or sex, just like a pair of blue jeans.  Every one I know has at least one pair of blue jeans, and now they also own at least one MMA inspired article of clothing.  There is a subculture of MMA fashion present at all major televised MMA events.  The big name fighter’s cage entrance is always something that is highly anticipated by the fans to see what their favorite fighter is wearing and which products he (or she) is endorsing.  And, more often than not, its always a new shirt.  The fights are like the preview of what shirts will be available the next day.  Fans,will see the fighter’s wearing their new “Walk Out” shirts and end up buying one.

MMA apparel can now be found in the mainstream department stores, however the online stores of the manufacturers are still the better place to buy these types of apparel as they often have the newer selections and a much bigger choice of items to choose from.  In the 80’s the rock band’s made a killing selling concert t-shirts…remember…the concert baseball t-shirts? They came and left because peopel’s taste in music changed.  I do not see the same happening with MMA.  It is here to stay and has brought with it a new fashion attitude. Tastes in music changes, sports however,once established, will flourish and just keep on growing.

I enjoyed my Direct TV so much this year that I have decided to make this the gift I give to my brother.  He is a big time Los Angeles sports fan that has moved to New Jersey but still follows his Los Angeles teams like the Lakers, King and Trojans.  He always calls me or texts me to find out the scores.  Not that I don’t like talking to him, but I think if he had DirectTV he would be able to watch these games and then when we do talk, we could talk about the game as opposed to me having to tell him what happened.

The funny thing is that when my brother lived inLos Angeles, he had Directv but never  signed up for it after he moved.  Now that he has a family also, his wife and 6 year old son could also enjoy all that this gift will offer.  And the best part about it, is that this is one of those gifts that will keep on giving…..and never stop.  The programing  that is available is a wide range of channels that will always have something anyone is interested in watching.

By Marcos Villegas on the Oct 28 2009, from MMAWORLDWIDE.com

MMA Worldwide had a chance to sit down with Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan as he invited us to the Hayastan MMA academy in North Hollywood, CA on the heels of his upcoming bout with Leonard Garcia at WEC 44 November 18^th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Manny speaks on what he is working on in preparation for his match with Leonard Garcia, the recovery of his hand and much more!

MMA Worldwide: Before we start I just want to say, man that was insane! You just finished your training session and you went for like an hour and ten minutes non stop and your not even tired man

Manny Gamburyan: Yea, I’m in pretty good shape right now

MMAWW: So how’s the hand?

MG: The hand is doing great you know, I rehabbed it and went to the doctor. He told me to still get it checked to see if it wasn’t fractured or anything like that. I got cleared so I called the WEC and told them I was cleared and ready to go.

MMAWW: Now everyone knows you are going to be fighting Leonard Garcia, which I think is going to be an awesome fight. You just go and go and go and come straight forward. He’s known as a brawler with good stand up; so how is your training camp coming together?

MG:  My training camp is going great, I got a lot of good training partners that are sparring exactly the way Leonard is. He’s a brawler, he’s a good fighter and I’m not going to take anything away from him. It’s a good challenge for me and I’m going to do the best I can.

MMAWW: So who have you been bringing in for your training camps and who have you been working with?

MG: I’ve been working with a lot of people dude. A lot of people, though I’m not going to mention any names but I have really good guys. Training partners, sparring partners, jiu-jitsu partners, wrestling partners, all mimicking the way he fights. The way he throws wild punches, straight punches. He comes from a really good camp and I respect his camp and I respect his coach Greg Jackson. I’m going to be a hundred and ten percent and you have to be like that when you go up against Greg Jackson’s camp.

MMAWW: So I know a majority of your wins come from submission, are you going to look to try and take the fight to the ground?

MG: To be honest with you, for this fight I don’t really care. I’m ready to brawl with him, let my hands go and see what happens. If he waits, I’m going to attack, if he attacks I’m going to knock him out. Obviously his game plan is to not go to the ground with me because I think I have an advantage over him as well as in wrestling. Stand up wise, if I connect, I connect, and he goes to sleep.

MMAWW: So what holes in Garcia’s game are you looking to attack?

MG: You know I’m going to go out there, engage in the middle and just go from there. Whatever happens, happens. If I have to throw my hands, I’ll throw my hands, and kicks and I’ll take him down. I have the advantage in the majority of categories. If you look at it on paper I just about have the advantage everywhere. So I’m looking forward to having a good fight

MMAWW: I have a feeling it’s going to be fight of the night

MG: I hope so too.

MMAWW: So how many days out of the week are you training now?

MG: About six days a week and three to four hours a day

MMAWW: Now If you get past Leonard Garcia, are you looking for a title shot?

MG: Whatever the WEC wants me to do, if they want me to take on the winner of Jose Aldo/Mike Brown, I’m ready to take the challenge bro. I’m not trying to look past Leonard though. I’m prepared for Leonard and then after that, whoever comes up.

MMAWW: Between those two, who would you rather fight, Aldo or Brown?

MG: They are both good, Jose Aldo is a good striker, good jiu-jitsu and Brown is the champion and you can’t take anything away from him. He beat Urijah Faber two times in a row and he’s a great champion. I have a lot of respect for him.

MMAWW: So you made the drop to 145 and the switch to the WEC. How is that?

MG: To tell you the truth, I wasn’t having a hard time in the UFC just the one hundred and fifty five pounders are just way to big for me. They walk around 185-190 and I walk around 160-161 so I have no advantage. The day of a fight the most I weigh is 160-161, like in my last fight in the UFC with Thiago Tavares. I weighed 160, he probably outweighed me by 25 pounds. I realized it’s not my weight class… I can fight the lightweights and challenge anyone they throw at me but 145 is just a better weight class for me. I get to have a height advantage, weight advantage and strength advantage

MMAWW: I would say speed advantage also.

MG: Yea and speed advantage also

MMAWW: So I’m seeing a lot of Armenian fighters springing up everywhere in boxing and MMA, and a lot are becoming really great fighters. What’s your take on this?

MG:  Oh, obviously we have a lot of talent not only here, but back in Armenia too. A lot of really good wrestlers, to lifting, everything. It’s coming along right now, fighters like Vic Darchinyan, Arthur Abraham…

MMAWW: Yea, Abraham just knocked out Jermain Taylor in the boxing super six tournament.

MG:  Yea exactly, we are coming along and we still have a couple more guys out there, like Karen Darabedyan who fights the same night as me and I don’t know if you heard but “Razor” Rob McCullough’s opponent got injured and Karen got offered that fight

MMAWW: Yea, Karen Darabedyan signed a four fight deal with the WEC.

MG: Yup, he’s a dangerous opponent and he has been my training partner for a long time now and he’s a bad motherfucker. It’s going to be a real hard time for Rob, and if he’s looking to just walk past him it’s going to be a long night for him.

MMAWW: Well thank you very much Manny, it was a pleasure.

As often happens in the months and weeks leading up to a mixed martial arts or boxing card, opponents and fights change.

For Glendale MMA fighter Sevak Magakian, that’s just what he’s dealing with, as, according to www.calledoutmma.com, Saad Awad, Magakian’s original opponent for Called Out MMA II on Nov. 14 in Ontario has been forced to withdraw from the 155-pound bout.

Taking Awad’s place will be the undefeated Jeremy Umphries (4-0). Magakian is 7-2 and last fought under the same promotional umbrella on the May 16 card Called to Arms, where he submitted Harold Lucambio.

GLENDALE — Just 22 years old, Karen Darabedyan’s fast-rising mixed martial arts career has taken its most monumental turn yet.

Live and in living color, the Glendale fighter will make his World Extreme Cagefighting debut Nov. 18 at WEC 44 in Las Vegas when he takes on former lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough as part of the live broadcast airing on Versus. The announcement came as Darabedyan agreed to a reported five-fight contract with the organization on Tuesday.

“I think just about everything,” said Darabedyan of the emotions he was experiencing. “I’m really excited, I’m nervous.

“Finally, all these years and I get on a big show, it’s on TV, everybody will be watching.”

Darabedyan made his mixed martial arts debut in July of 2006 and has built an 8-1 record. He’ll now debut for the WEC, which is owned by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

“This is a huge step up,” said Darin Harvey, Darabedyan’s manager. “It’s from the small time to the big time.”

Talks between Harvey and the WEC had been going on for roughly a month and, originally, plans were thrown around for Darabedyan to fight in December for the company. However, McCullough’s original opponent, Anthony Pettis, withdrew from the fight due to an injury and the opportunity was given to Darabedyan.

“That’s why I tell my athletes to be ready at any time,” Harvey said.

Despite a bit of short notice and the caliber of opponent, Darabedyan didn’t hesitate when offered the chance.

“Fighting Rob, being on the main card, I said why not,” Darabedyan said.

McCullough (17-5) is likely to be the most formidable and certainly the most well-known opponent Darabedyan has faced. The 32-year-old, who has trained with Tito Ortiz as a member of Team Punishment and is married to adult film actress Lexxi Tyler, is a former WEC lightweight (155 pounds) champion.

In direct contrast, Darabedyan is far from well-known, at least not yet, anyhow.

“He’s absolutely on his way,” Harvey said. “He’s the best 155-pounder in the world nobody’s heard of. …Win or lose, his name will be on the map.”

And Darabedyan’s hoping that his unknown status may very well help him get the win as McCullough is likely unfamiliar with Darabedyan’s game and will be hard-pressed to find footage of his fights.

Upon hearing the news Tuesday, Darabedyan was back training hard for the fight on Wednesday.

“I don’t have too much time [to train], but I think I have just enough time,” he said. “It’s not the best, but I have to do what I have to do.

“I have a pretty tough fight on my hands, but every time I’m pushed, I push a little bit harder.”

I need my Liverpool FC tickets and I need the soon.  I have a business trip setup to go to the UK in 2 weeks and want to get in a game while I am there.  The 2009/10 Premier League Season just started and I need to attend at least one game there!!!

I have put out a message to all of my buddies and acquaintances in England to be on the lookout for Liverpool tickets.  But the problem with that is that if and when they are able to get these tickets, they will probabbly keep it for themselves.  And, I really can’t blame them for that.  I understand how popular these tickets are.

All I know is that I will be in Liverpool and will do whatever I can to purchase Liverpool FC tickets while I am there.  You can count on that!!!

Karen Darabedyan signs with WEC

(PRESS RELEASE) — World Extreme Cagefighting® proudly confirms the remaining bouts of a tremendous fight card headed to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV on Nov. 18. In addition to the outstanding main event pitting featherweight champion Mike Brown against top challenger Jose Aldo, WEC is pleased to announce nine other quality bouts.

“WEC continually delivers some of the best fights in the business,” WEC General Manager Reed Harris said. “With this event taking place the same week as UFC 106, we guarantee that this will be one of the best fight weeks in the history of the sport.”

Brown vs. Aldo will be televised nationally live on VERSUS beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. All of the network’s live WEC events are presented in HD and Spanish language SAP where available. For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.

Two of the featherweight division’s top stars will collide on Nov. 18 in a bout that could very well determine the next title challenger to the crown. Fresh off a win over John Franchi in his WEC debut in June, judo ace Manny Gamburyan (fighting out of Hollywood, Calif.) hopes to secure a shot at the world championship with a win over heavy-handed Leonard Garcia (fighting out of Albuquerque, NM). Known for his explosive throws and punishing ground and pound, the 28-year-old Armenian Gamburyan (11-5) believes he can diffuse Garcia’s power. Training out of Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, NM, Garcia (17-5) has won three of his last four bouts, including a win over Jameel Massouh in August. He’ll bring his polished striking game to Las Vegas with the aims of knocking out Gamburyan.

WEC newcomer Karen Darabedyan (fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) faces the toughest test of his young career when he battles former WEC lightweight champion Rob McCullough (fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.). A training partner of Manny Gamburyan, Darabedyan (8-1) looks to prove that he is a legitimate contender at 155 pounds. Standing in his way is the seasoned veteran McCullough. An 11-fight veteran of WEC, McCullough (17-5) returns to the cage for the first time since defeating Marcus Hicks in March. A hard-hitting kickboxer, “Razor” Rob wants to derail Darabedyan and reclaim his spot as one of the best lightweights in the sport.

Three-time Division I All-American Shane Roller (fighting out of Las Vegas, NV) believes that a November win over Danny Castillo (fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) could serve as the catalyst for a return bout with WEC interim lightweight champion Ben Henderson. With an impressive win over Marcus Hicks in August, the takedown-savvy Roller (6-2) believes his strong wrestling background will guide him past Castillo. No slouch in the wrestling department himself, Castillo (8-1) had an impressive knockout win over Ricardo Lamas in his last bout. A training partner of former featherweight champion Urijah Faber, Castillo hopes to extend his winning streak to four straight when he battles Roller at the Palms.

Alex Karalexis (fighting out of Boston, MA) could be the hardest-hitting fighter in the WEC. A member of the original season of The Ultimate Fighter™, the 32-year-old Karalexis (10-4) has spent most of the past year improving his strength and conditioning with Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen. He believes that the rigorous training with Allen will allow him to sack WEC newcomer Kamal Shalorus (fighting out of Austin, TX) next month. An undefeated prospect originally born in Iran, Shalorus was a junior national wrestling champion in his home country. After moving to England as an adult, Shalorus continued his wrestling dominance and competed on England’s 1994 Olympic team. A refined striker with vicious ground and pound, Shalorus (4-0-1) looks to add to his decorated background with a win over Karalexis in his WEC debut.

Closing in on a world title opportunity, undefeated featherweight Diego Nunes (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) seeks his third win in the WEC when he faces the gritty L.C. Davis (fighting out of Davenport, IA). A phenomenal Muay Thai striker with wins over Cole Province and Rafael Dias in his WEC career, Nunes (13-0) boasts precise standup and good cage awareness. Those assets will prove valuable when he meets the crisp Davis in Las Vegas. Having defeated Javier Vazquez in his WEC debut in August, Davis (14-2) believes he can leapfrog Nunes in the 145-pound division by using his strong wrestling and fast hands.

A pivotal bout in the featherweight division pits hard-nosed wrestler John Franchi (fighting out of Cortland, NY) against ground ace Cub Swanson (fighting out of Orange County, Calif.). Known for his powerful takedowns and athleticism, Franchi (5-1) will look to outmuscle the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt when the two collide on Nov. 18. No stranger to tough grappling sessions, Swanson (13-3), who has spent much of the past few months training with Donald Cerrone, Joe Stevenson, and Leonard Garcia in New Mexico, Swanson (13-3) believes he can neutralize Franchi’s wrestling and regain his place in the title hunt.

Antonio Banuelos (fighting out of Arroyo Grande, Calif.) continually competes in fights that are considered among the year’s best. His last fight against Scott Jorgensen in June was no different. For three, high-energy rounds, Banuelos and Jorgensen traded leather, with Banuelos eventually earning a narrow decision victory. Riding the emotional high of the win, Banuelos (17-5) now turns his attention to Japanese striker Kenji Osawa (fighting out of Tokyo, Japan). A former top contender in the Shooto organization, Osawa (15-8-2) is a solid boxer with a sturdy chin. He’ll look to outbox and outwork Banuelos when the two lock horns at the Palms.

Lightweights James Krause (fighting out of Lee’s Summit, MO) and Ricardo Lamas (fighting out of Chicago, IL) meet in a bout between two fighters with 16 combined pro wins. A lanky, slick ground fighter, the 23-year-old Krause is a handful for most fighters in the 155-pound division. With excellent submissions and a long-reach in the standup, the Rob Kimmons-trained Krause (10-1) could pose problems for his Chicago-based opponent. A Division III All-American wrestler at Elmhurst College, Lamas (6-1) is an explosive athlete with good all-around skills. With a win over Krause next month, Lamas hopes to prove that he is worthy of his status as one of WEC’s hot prospects.

Bantamweight submission artists Frank Gomez (fighting out of Albuquerque, NM) and Seth Dikun (fighting out of Victorville, Calif.) are also set to do battle at the Palms in Las Vegas. Both fighters are coming off crowd-pleasing submission wins in June. Gomez (7-1), who trains under the tutelage of the renowned Greg Jackson, bested Noah Thomas via submission in his last fight. Not to be outdone, Dikun also scored a submission victory on the same June card, using a flying triangle to stop Rolando Perez. On Nov. 18, the world will find out which grappler will reign supreme and push himself closer to the likes of Brian Bowles and Miguel Angel Torres atop the 135-pound class.

My son, who is in the 4th grade, is a good student and does well in his classes, specially math.  Since I have noticed this, I want to push him more to solve math problems so he can get better and is not stuck with only what is taught in school.

As such, I have spent countless hours on the web looking for Free online math help to try to augment my kids math assignments in an effort to expand his learning.  I found a couple of sites that offer Help with math and Free Algebra help which was a great place to start.  I gave some of the problems to my son and actually started with the Math problem solver that was available.  It was very interesting to see how my son was able to follow along easily and at his own pace in learning new math concepts.

This online math tutor program is looking like it will help a great deal.  The best part about it is that it makes math fun and my son actually wants to spend the time on the computer doing the math and algebra problems.  He is having fun, and learning at the same time.  It is a great combination.  I guess in a couple of years he will still be online looking for Free college algebra help.  I am just hoping he does this while he is still in High School as opposed to college.

Hockey started and I have a trip planned to New Your in a few weeks. So you know what that means don’t you? I need to get in a Rangers game in New York.  Every year I do the same thing. I combine some fun with my business trip to the East Coast and along with my plane tickets I make sure to get my New York Rangers Tickets for my trip to New York as well as my Boston Celtics Tickets for my trip to Beantown.

I am even able to have the company I work for pay for the tickets because I attend theses games with the clients I visit.  They are happy  because they get in a free game, and I am happy because I get to have some fun on my business trips.  It is a win win situation all the way around.

Now that I have the basketball and hockey tickets thing own. I am working on securing The Masters Tickets to really wow some of the bigger clients we have at work.