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.