Manvel Gamburyan Youtube Videos
Manvel Gamburyan Bio
Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan (Armenian: Õ„Õ¡Õ¶Õ¾Õ¥Õ¬ Ô³Õ¡Õ´Õ¢Õ¸Ö‚Ö€ÕµÕ¡Õ¶; born May 8, 1981) is an Armenian mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 5. Gamburyan is currently fighting in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Early life [edit]
In May 1991, Gamburyan's family relocated from Armenia to the United States. Shortly after his arrival, he began training in judo at Gokor Chivichyan's and Gene LeBell's Hayastan MMA Academy and quickly became one of the top judokan in the country, winning junior nationals less than two years later. He went on to win junior nationals eight times, the junior Olympics once, and was a member of the 2000 judo junior world team.
Mixed martial arts career [edit]
Gamburyan began his career in 1999 at the age of 17. He won his first four fights, then lost a decision to future UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk in 2001. His cousin Karo Parisyan nicknamed him "Pitbull" for the tenacity he displayed in the fight.
The Ultimate Fighter [edit]
In 2007, Gamburyan appeared on the reality show The Ultimate Fighter 5, fighting on Jens Pulver's team. His nickname was changed to "Anvil" for his UFC career because "Pitbull" was already taken by other UFC fighters such as Andrei Arlovski and Thiago Alves.
Gamburyan defeated Noah Thomas by kimura lock in the preliminary round. In his next matchup, Gamburyan defeated Matt Wiman to advance to the semifinal round.
In the semifinal round, Gamburyan beat Joe Lauzon in a unanimous decision and advanced to the finale with Nate Diaz. He was considered an underdog in each of his fights, in part due to his short stature. After the Lauzon fight, UFC president Dana White personally apologized to Gamburyan for doubting him. In the finale, Gamburyan controlled Diaz for the majority of the fight, but was forced to tap out in the second round due to punches after dislocating his right shoulder on an unsuccessful takedown attempt.
Ultimate Fighting Championship [edit]
Despite losing the show, Gamburyan secured a UFC contract with his performance. He won his next two UFC fights, defeating Nate Mohr by ankle lock at UFC 79 and Jeff Cox by guillotine choke at UFC Fight Night 13. Gamburyan raised some controversy in the Cox fight by delivering a spinning leg kick after feigning the mutual tap of gloves that is often seen at the beginning of the match. The crowd in attendance reacted with heavy booing.
He returned to action at UFC 87 and was knocked out in 12 seconds, one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history, by Rob Emerson.
At UFC 94, Gamburyan lost to Thiago Tavares in a back and forth fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
World Extreme Cagefighting [edit]
After his loss to Tavares, Gamburyan decided to drop down to the featherweight division and fight in the Zuffa-owned WEC.
Gamburyan's first fight at featherweight was a decision win over John Franchi at WEC 41.
Gamburyan defeated Leonard Garcia on November 18, 2009 at WEC 44 via unanimous decision.
Gamburyan fought former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown at WEC 48. He won by knockout in the first round as well as getting the Knockout of the Night bonus of $65,000.
Gamburyan lost via second round KO to José Aldo in a bout for the WEC Featherweight Championship on September 30, 2010 at WEC 51.
UFC Return [edit]
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.
Gamburyan was expected to face Raphael Assunção on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128, but was forced out of the bout with a back injury and replaced by Erik Koch.
Gamburyan next faced Tyson Griffin on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4. He lost the fight via majority decision.
Gamburyan was expected to face Diego Nunes on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135, but was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a shoulder injury. The bout ultimately took place at UFC 141 and Gamburyan lost via unanimous decision.
Gamburyan defeated Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision on August 4, 2012 at UFC on FOX 4.
Gamburyan was expected to face Chad Mendes on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157. However, Gamburyan was forced out of the bout with a thumb injury. Mendes was then pulled from the card as a suitable replacement could not be found on short notice.
Gamburyan was expected to face Hacran Dias on May 18, 2013 at UFC on FX 8. However, Gamburyan was forced to pull out of the bout citing another injury and was replaced by Nik Lentz.
Personal life [edit]
He is the older cousin of UFC veteran Karo Parisyan.
Championships and accomplishments [edit]
Mixed martial arts [edit]
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- The Ultimate Fighter 5 Lightweight Tournament Finalist
- World Extreme Cagefighting
- Knockout of the Night (One time)
Mixed martial arts record [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
- See him in The HyeFighters Show
- Official UFC Profile
- Anvil Official website
- HyeFighters - Armenian Combat Sports Athletes
- [1] – Ultimate Fighter 5 Show on Spike TV
- Professional MMA record for Manvel Gamburyan from Sherdog
- The Ultimate Fighter 5 Bio
MMA Shirts
