Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan is an Armenian American
mixed martial artistMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
. He was a cast member of Spike TV's
The Ultimate Fighter 5The Ultimate Fighter 5 was the fifth season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter...
. Besides
The Ultimate Fighter, Gamburyan has fought for notable promotions such as
King of the CageKing of the Cage, also known as KOTC, is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, USA.-History:KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features up and coming MMA stars as well as experienced combat fighters....
and the
Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
.
Gamburyan is fighting in the
featherweightFeatherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
division of the UFC and is currently ranked as the #10 Featherweight mixed martial artist in the world by Sherdog.com, #9 by MMAFighting.com.
Early life
In May 1991, Gamburyan's family relocated from
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
to the United States. Shortly after his arrival, he began training in judo at
Gokor Chivichyan'sGokor Chivichyan is an Armenian Judo, submission grappling, and mixed martial arts instructor. Gokor currently trains professional and amateur fighters at the Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood. Chivichyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia....
and
Gene LeBellIvan Gene LeBell is a former American Judo champion, instructor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and professional wrestler born in Los Angeles, California. LeBell has worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows, and has authored a number of books.In 2000, he was promoted to 9th Dan in US Ju-Jitsu...
's Hayastan MMA Academy and quickly became one of the top judoka 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
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 SherkSean Keith Sherk is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting for the UFC. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion...
in 2001. His cousin Karo Parisyan nicknamed him "Pitbull" for the tenacity he displayed in the fight.
The Ultimate Fighter
In 2007, Gamburyan appeared on the reality show
The Ultimate Fighter 5The Ultimate Fighter 5 was the fifth season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter...
, fighting on
Jens PulverJens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...
's team. His nickname was changed to "Anvil" for his UFC career because "Pitbull" was already taken by other UFC fighters such as
Andrei ArlovskiAndrei Valeryevich Arlovski is a Belarusian kickboxer, mixed martial artist and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion.-Biography:...
and
Thiago AlvesThiago Alves d'Araujo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He started training in Muay Thai when he was 15 and mixed martial arts at 17. He is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has been described as a "Muay Thai wrecking machine". As of July 2011, He is currently ranked the #10 welterweight...
.
Gamburyan defeated Noah Thomas by kimura lock in the preliminary round. In his next matchup, Gamburyan defeated
Matt WimanMatthew Charles Wiman is an American mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
to advance to the semifinal round.
In the semifinal round, Gamburyan beat
Joe LauzonJoseph E. Lauzon Jr. is an American mixed martial artist from Brockton, Massachusetts. He currently lives in Massachusetts and is training at Lauzon MMA in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.-Early life and background:...
in a unanimous decision and advanced to the finale with
Nathan DiazNathan Donald Diaz is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing for the UFC in the welterweight and lightweight divisions. He is well known as the Ultimate Fighter Season 5 champion and has amassed victories in Strikeforce, Pancrase, and the World Extreme Cagefighting promotions...
. He was considered an underdog in each of his fights, in part due to his short stature. After the Lauzon fight, UFC president
Dana WhiteDana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
personally apologized to Gamburyan for doubting him. In the finale, Gamburyan controlled Diaz for the majority of the fight, but tapped out in the second round after dislocating his right shoulder on an unsuccessful takedown attempt.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Despite losing the show, Gamburyan secured a UFC contract with his performance. He won his next two UFC fights, defeating
Nate MohrNate Mohr is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division.He made his UFC debut in April 2007 against Kurt Pellegrino. He was sidelined over a year due to a leg injury following his loss by achilles lock to Manny Gamburyan at UFC 79. He lost his last fight at UFC 93...
by ankle lock at
UFC 79UFC 79: Nemesis was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , that took place on December 29, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
and Jeff Cox by
guillotine chokeThe guillotine choke is a chokehold in martial arts and wrestling applied from in front of the opponent. The choke involves using the arms to encircle the opponent's neck in a fashion similar to a guillotine. The technique is either a type of tracheal compression restraint that prevents air flow...
at
UFC Fight Night 13UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon referred to by the media as UFC Fight Night 13 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 2, 2008 at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was a lead-in to the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7 on...
. 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 was knocked out by Rob Emerson at
UFC 87UFC 87: Seek and Destroy was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 9, 2008, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Background:...
in 12 seconds, one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history.
At
UFC 94UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts...
, Gamburyan lost to Brazilian contender,
Thiago TavaresThiago de Mello Tavares is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the lightweight division in the UFC.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:Thiago Tavares entered the UFC with an undefeated record and was highly regarded...
.
World Extreme Cagefighting
After his defeat to
Thiago TavaresThiago de Mello Tavares is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the lightweight division in the UFC.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:Thiago Tavares entered the UFC with an undefeated record and was highly regarded...
at UFC 94, Gamburyan decided to drop down to the Zuffa-owned WEC's featherweight division (145 pounds). His first featherweight fight was a win over
John FranchiJohn Franchi is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights in WEC's featherweight division. His debut for WEC was a split-decision-win over Mike Budnik at WEC 39...
at
WEC 41WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on June 7, 2009 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. It was the most successful show in the WEC's history....
.
Gamburyan defeated
Leonard GarciaLeonard Garcia is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He previously fought for the UFC in the lightweight division before moving down to the featherweight division in the World Extreme Cagefighting...
on November 18, 2009 at
WEC 44WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting. It took place on November 18, 2009 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.The event drew an estimated 414,000 viewers on Versus.-Preliminary card:...
via unanimous decision.
Gamburyan fought former WEC Featherweight Champion
Mike BrownMike Thomas Brown is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and is a former WEC Featherweight Champion...
at
WEC 48UFC Presents: Aldo vs. Faber, also referred to as WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California...
. He won by knockout in the first round as well as getting the Knockout of the night bonus of $65,000.
Gamburyan lost by knockout to
José AldoJosé Aldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion...
in the second round of the WEC Featherweight Championship bout on September 30, 2010 at
WEC 51WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was the first that the WEC hosted in Colorado.-Background:...
.
UFC Return
On October 28, 2010,
World Extreme CagefightingWorld Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...
merged with the
Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
. 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 128UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.-Background:...
, but was forced out of the bout with a back injury and replaced by
Erik KochErik Koch is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Personal Life:Koch enrolled in Taekwondo classes at the ripe age of four peaking his interest in MMA...
.
Gamburyan next faced
Tyson GriffinTyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:...
on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Gamburyan was expected to face Diego Nunes on September 24, 2011 at
UFC 135UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 24, 2011 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.-Background:...
, but but was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a shoulder injury.
Gamburyan/Nunes is expected to take place on December 30, 2011 at
UFC 141UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
.
Mixed martial arts record
|-
|Loss
|align=center| 11-6
|
Tyson GriffinTyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:...
| Decision (unanimous)
|UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center| 11-5
|
José AldoJosé Aldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion...
| KO (punches)
|
WEC 51WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was the first that the WEC hosted in Colorado.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:32
|
Broomfield, ColoradoThe City and County of Broomfield is a prominent suburb and tier of the Denver metropolitan area in the State of Colorado of the United States. Broomfield has a consolidated city and county government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
For WEC Featherweight Championship
|-
|Win
|align=center| 11-4
|
Mike BrownMike Thomas Brown is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and is a former WEC Featherweight Champion...
|KO (punches)
|
WEC 48UFC Presents: Aldo vs. Faber, also referred to as WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:22
|
Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
Won Knockout of the Night
|-
|Win
|align=center| 10-4
| Leonard GarciaLeonard Garcia is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He previously fought for the UFC in the lightweight division before moving down to the featherweight division in the World Extreme Cagefighting...
| Decision (unanimous)
|WEC 44WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting. It took place on November 18, 2009 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.The event drew an estimated 414,000 viewers on Versus.-Preliminary card:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 9-4
| John FranchiJohn Franchi is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights in WEC's featherweight division. His debut for WEC was a split-decision-win over Mike Budnik at WEC 39...
|Decision (unanimous)
|WEC 41WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on June 7, 2009 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. It was the most successful show in the WEC's history....
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Sacramento, California, United States
|Debut at Featherweight
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 8-4
| Thiago TavaresThiago de Mello Tavares is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the lightweight division in the UFC.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:Thiago Tavares entered the UFC with an undefeated record and was highly regarded...
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 94UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 8-3
| Rob EmersonRobert Michael Emerson is an American mixed martial artist. Emerson is a former Pancrase and King of the Cage fighter. He was a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter 5.-The Ultimate Fighter:...
| KO (punches)
| UFC 87UFC 87: Seek and Destroy was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 9, 2008, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:12
|Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8-2
| Jeff Cox
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:41
|Broomfield, Colorado, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7-2
| Nate MohrNate Mohr is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division.He made his UFC debut in April 2007 against Kurt Pellegrino. He was sidelined over a year due to a leg injury following his loss by achilles lock to Manny Gamburyan at UFC 79. He lost his last fight at UFC 93...
| Submission (achilles lock)
| UFC 79UFC 79: Nemesis was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , that took place on December 29, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:31
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 6-2
| Nate Diaz
| Submission (injury)
| The Ultimate Fighter 5 FinaleThe Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 23, 2007. Featured were the finals from The Ultimate Fighter 5 in the Lightweight division as well as a main event between B.J. Penn and Jens Pulver.- Preliminary card :*Lightweight...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 0:20
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6-1
| Sam Morgan
| Decision (unanimous)
| RSF – Shooto Challenge 2
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Belleville, IllinoisBelleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5-1
| Jorge Santiago|-| Loss|align=center| 23-10| Demian Maia| Decision | UFC 136| |align=center| 3|align=center| 5:00| Houston, Texas, United States||-| Loss|align=center| 23–9| Brian Stann| TKO | UFC 130| |align=center| 2|align=center| 4:29...
| KO (punch)
| KOTC 27 – Aftermath
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:21
|San Jacinto, CaliforniaSan Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 4-1
| Sean SherkSean Keith Sherk is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting for the UFC. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion...
| Decision (unanimous)
| Reality Submission Fighting 3
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 18:00
|Belleville, Illinois, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4-0
| Pat Benson
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Reality Submission Fighting 2
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:01
|Belleville, Illinois, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3-0
| Darren Bryant
| Submission (heel hook)
| Kage Kombat 14
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:35
|Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2-0
| Timothy Morris
| Technical Submission (choke)
| Kage Kombat 12
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:16
|Los Angeles, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1-0
| Danny Henderson
| Submission (armbar)
| Kage Kombat 12
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:17
|Los Angeles, California, United States
|
External links