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.

The Second HyeFighter to Walk to the Ring was Bantamweight Gabriel Tolmajyan and amature star in Europe with over 220 fights to his credit including a 2nd place finish in the 2006 world games.  His opponent was another undefeated warrior Sammy “June” Yenenez with a record of 2-0-2. Tolmajyan and Yenenez started the first round exchanging jabs and feeling ther distance with Tolmajyan a tall southpaw getting the better of the exchanges with counter right hooks and crisp left hands. Midway into the second round Tolmajyan Hurt Yenenez with a one two combination having Yenenez cover up and tie up Tolmajyan preventing him from going down, Tolmajyan  showed his growth in the ring  by not getting careless and wasted no energy and went back to work behind his jab, again hurting Yenenez with a hard left hand to the body that got Yenenez back peddling. Tolmajyan went in for the kill but the Bell sounded saving Yenenez. Round 3 was more of the same with Tolmajyan Landing at will as Yenenez tried to end matters with once punch attacks. Tolmajyan used his foot work to avoid getting hit.  In Round Four Tolmajyan again Hurt Yenenez with a body shot and was immediately grabbed  by his opponent. After the Final Bell all three Judges Awarded Tolmajyan with a 40-36 Victory,uUpping Tolmajyan’s Record to 3-1 and dropping Yenenez to 2-1-2.

Third match was in my opinion the Fight of the night as Artyom “LionHeart” Hovhannisyan 6-0 2KO’s and Knock Out Artist Luis “Whiteboy” Lugo 10-3 7KO’s   brought the crowd to there feet from the opening bell as they engaged in a toe to toe War from start to finish. Hovhannisyan after his longest layoff, started the fight with caution feeling out the Dangerous Lugo feeling his range and working his jab as lugo tried to work the body of Hovhannisyan, with 1:30 into the round the two exchanged punches with Hovhannisyan rocking Lugo in the corner, to his credit Lugo shook it off and went right after Hovhannisyan throwing heavy shots to the body.  Round two through six was not only a fight of the night but could very well be a fight of the year, as both fighters threw over a 120 punches in each round Hovhannisyan using sharp uppercuts in the inside hurt Lugo time and time again but the rugged Mexican Warrior would not go down, in round 3 Lugo had his best round as he was able to land his lead right hand and left hook to the body, Hovhannisyan was fighting with a hurt right hand he suffered in the second round. In the Fourth round Hovhannisyan had Lugo in the corner and threw a 12 punch combination that had the referee looking in close, but again Lugo fought out of it and survived another round. Round 6 hand both fighters in the center of the ring throwing punches till the Final Bell. After the bout the Judges Awarded Hovhannisyan with a unanimous decision with the scores of 59-55 and 58-56 twice. Hovhannisyan improves to 7-0 2KO’s as Lugo Drops to 10-4 7KO’s. Hovhannisyan has become a fan favorite in the local boxing scene not only for the Armenian fans but also everyone else. With his two fisted attack he should be showcased on Shotime and HBO in the years to come.

The Main Event of the Evening Feature the Popular Vartan “Vito” Gasparyan 9-1 4KO’s vs Heavy handed Anthony Charnell 7-4 6KO’s. This fight brings fresh new start to Gasparyan young career as he is now training at the Glendale fighting Club with Trainer and Fellow hyefighter Edmond Tarverdyan. With his new trainer and managment team lead by older Brother Mher Gasparyan Vartan showed much improvment as he dismentled Charnell in 2:30 into the first round. Gasparyan came out calm measuring his tall opponent behind a stiff jab as Charnell tried to circle away, Gasparyan found the chin of charnell with a sold one two combination that dropped Charnell for the first knockdown. After the mandatory eight count Charnell was allowed to continue but Gasparyan was right back in the face of Charnell Droping him again with a flurry of punches. Charnell was again allowed to continue but after a clean right hand to the chin the Game Charnell was on his back again as the referee waived of the bout 2:30 in the opening round awarding Gasparyan the Win.  The Win moves Gasparyan to 10-1 with 5KO’s and Charnell drops to 7-6 with 6KO’s.  I have followed Gasparyan’s career from his first fight and his improvment was very noticable under the guidences of Tarverdyan and the rest of his team, and with his work ethic and great amatur background we should see Vardan in some high profile fights the next few years.

The journey to become an elite boxing superstar is a marathon, not a sprint. Two well respected young prospects; Anthony Peterson and Vanes Martirosyan desire to become a part of the cream of the crop. And their talents were on display for the boxing world when both combatants won unanimous decision victories on Thursday, June 26, at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada .

Vanes Martirosyan 20-0 (13 KO’s) is spooky inside the ring. The 22 year old Armenian is technical in his approach, working an offensive attack behind a solid left jab. On this night, Martirosyan towered over the much smaller and overmatched Angel Hernandez from the sound of the opening bell. During the first minute of the bout, Martirosyan went for the knockout. The former Olympian used an aggressive assault highlighted by a quick right cross to the temple that sent a lackluster Angel Hernandez’s to the canvas.

At this point, many at ringside expected a short night. Yet, to his credit, Hernandez displayed toughness and rose to his feet. However, the Hernandez girt was not efficient enough to prevent the seemingly obvious Martirosyan triumph. Instead of pressing for the knockout, Martirosyan worked behind his jab, and threw the left uppercut at will, over the course of ten rounds, on way to a unanimous decision victory.

Sometimes in boxing, speed is power. In the main event of the night, the visibly strong Anthony Peterson used his excellent speed to baffle Fernando Trejo inside the ring. Peterson kept Trejo at bay by rapidly throwing a piston like jab towards the torso of throughout the duration of the bout. Most of the fight took place in the center of the ring. But, Peterson controlled the bout. At one point in round nine, Peterson connected with seven jabs in a row before Trejo even threw a punch.

The contest looked like a sparring session at best. If Peterson pressed the action he could have closed the show. However, the Washington D.C. based lightweight prospect was not going for the knockout, to the dismay of the crowd. In the end result was clear Peterson wins via a landslide unanimous decision victory. Peterson’s record improves to 27-0 with 19 KO’s.

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make their mark in MMA

Parisyan, Gamburyan and Mitichyan all

featured on next UFC Fight Night

By David A. Avila MSNBC contributor updated 10:58 a.m. PT, Thurs., March. 13, 2008

Don’t sleep on the Armenians.

Armenians are no strangers to American culture, and throughout the past century they’ve made their contributions to the world of entertainment.

Now they’re hitting the fight cage.

Three high-powered Armenian mixed martial artists, Karo “the Heat” Parisyan, Roman Mitichyan and Manvel “the Anvil” Gamburyan from North Hollywood are taking part in the Ultimate Fight Night show in Broomfield, Colorado on Wednesday April 2. It will be televised on Spike TV.

It’s Armenian power at its finest.

About six to eight million Armenians live in Eurasia. Another one million live in the United States. In the past century they’ve made contributions in all phases of the entertainment world and culture.

From writer William Saroyan to actress-singer Cher, Armenian Americans have brought something extra that all recognize as special. It’s that something special that MMA fighters Parisyan, Mitichyan and Gamburyan want to bring to the sport.

They all love to fight.

As teens Gamburyan and Parisyan were so anxious to get in the cage they crossed the border into crazy Tijuana, Mexico and tangled with older professional fighters. It didn’t matter to them if they were too young or it was too dangerous.

“My parents didn’t want me to do it,” said Gamburyan about his baptism into MMA at 15. “They were really against it and asked me if I was sure.”

Parisyan echoes those sentiments.

“I was fighting for free in judo and never made a penny. Instead I was paying to fight in judo,” said Parisyan who was 14 years old when he traveled to Mexico to fight. “I fought a guy who was 23 years old and 10-0. I fought him for five rounds and pretty much beat the crap out of him.”

That was all the proof the Armenian cousins needed. MMA was their world and they were going to stick to it.

“I had no plans to be a doctor or lawyer. I’m a very hot-blooded kid so fighting was my task,” Parisyan (18-4) says. “I love to fight, kick and punch and show my dominance. Not take advantage of it, but in the culture I come from, it’s right up my alley.”

Can you imagine a family with two MMA fighters? It must have been a pretty physical upbringing.

As a child Parisyan was pretty rambunctious and always ready to scrap. His father put him into grappling classes with master teachers Gokor Chivichyan and Gene LeBell. His cousin Gamburyan joined him at the fight club in Glendale. It’s also where they met Mitichyan.

Glendale grappling
“We come from Gokor Chivichyan’s academy. He owns a grappling system and Gene LeBell works with us in judo. He’s one of the best,” said Mitichyan, who’s been training in martial arts since age eight.

Mitichyan (5-1) also trains in Sambo. He was good enough in the discipline to place third while representing Team USA in Panama in 2002.

“Fedor (Emelianenko” trains in the same thing,” Mitichyan, 29, says. “It’s called self-defense without weapons. There’s amateur Sambo and combat Sambo. Or just call it MMA.”

Mitichyan is matched against George Sotiropoulos, a Greek fighting out of Australia.

“We were in Ultimate Fighter 6 together,” Mitichyan says of his next opponent. “I didn’t get a chance to fight because I got injured. But I know George from there and he’s a good fighter.”

Another Ultimate Fighter alum is Gamburyan, who made it to the Ultimate Fighter 5 finals where he suffered a dislocated shoulder and was forced to submit during the fight with Nate Diaz last year. No matter, the fighter known as “the Anvil” has returned healthy and deadly. A quick win over Nate Mohr last December proved that.

“Ultimate Fighter was the craziest thing that happened to me and the hardest thing,” says Gamburyan, a junior national champion in judo for multiple years. “Not only do you learn different styles, but training, attitudes, the whole thing is an experience.”

Few realized that before Gamburyan entered the Ultimate Fighter show he had already fought several elite fighters including Sean Sherk in a mini-marathon fight that ended in a decision loss seven years ago.

“It was 18 (straight) minutes we fought,” Gamburyan remembers of their meeting that took place in 2001. “I fought Sean Sherk when I was about 18, but I did pretty good and went the distance with him. We can do it again hopefully.”

Gamburyan, his cousin Parisyan and Mitichyan, are poised and anxious to fight on the same fight card next month.

Parisyan says he knows he fights with a certain intensity and anger, but hopes everyone understands. His next opponent is dangerous Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (18-4).

“Armenians like to stick together,” says Parisyan. “There’s only about 8 million of us in the whole world.”

Mitichyan and Gamburyan both agree with their fellow countryman about wanting to showcase their fighting skills.

“Hopefully we can make history and go 3-0,” chimes Gamburyan (7-2) who is fighting Jeff Cox. “I don’t know what the problem is but people underestimate us.”

The three California Armenians may want to include one other fighter in their history-making effort next month. Kenny Florian is part Peruvian and Armenian.

You can’t sleep on those Armenians. They like to fight.