UFC Returning Manny Gamburyan: A Welcome Back to the Octagon
Exclusive Interview by Marc Anthony
“He is in my way and I want to whip his ass and move on.” — Manny Gamburyan
Manny Gamburyan, a proud Armenian, built a strong foundation in judo, winning Jr. Nationals seven times ,a Jr. Olympics Champion, a 2-Time Judo male of the year, 2-Time champion, and a member of the 2000 Jr. World Team, before moving on to compete in Mixed Martial Arts.
He made his pro-debut on February 1st, 1999, winning by quick submission in under seventeen seconds. Going on to win his next three fights by submission before tasting defeat against former UFC lightweight Champion Sean Sherk on March 30th of 2001.
Manny got his first break in stardom by competing in the extremely popular reality show “The Ultimate Fighter,” season 5, going on to compete in the finals of the show against UFC standout Nate Diaz.
Although he lost by an injury, his performance throughout the show earned him a spot in the UFC and taking full advantage of the opportunity, he went on to win back to back fights by submission.
Manny decided to compete in the now defunct organization WEC (merged with the UFC) to compete at a lighter weight class. The move served him well. He went on to win three fights in a row against top level competition.
In his last fight, before facing WEC feather weight championship Jose Aldo, he knocked out former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown earning him “KO of the night.”
Returning to the UFC, Manny is set to fight on March 19, 2011, against Raphael Assunção at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Tickets for UFC® 128: SHOGUN vs. JONES are on sale now and priced at $500, $350, $225, $150, $100 and $60, not including applicable service charges. Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations and at the Prudential Center box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.prucenter.com or ticketmaster.com.
MA: Raphael Assunção UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jon Jones March 19, 2011. Your thoughts on your opponent?
I fought every style. I am used to his style. He is more of a brawler; he tries to take people down and he is pretty much well rounded everywhere. I have done a lot of cardio and a lot of sparring.
MA: This will be Raphael’s first time competing in the UFC, not saying he will be easy but do you feel you have a competitive edge because of this?
You can say that. Fighting in the UFC, I am sure he is excited. I am not saying I am not excited, but he is going to be more excited. Anybody who fights in the UFC, you get really excited. I am excited every time I fight.
MA: I saw you sparring last weekend during an open workout. What stood out to me is everyone from little kids to adults treats you like family! Do you actively try to be a role model for the kids at Glendale Fighting Club?
(Laughter) You can say that. They ask me a lot of questions. They want to fight in the UFC and I say: “Every fighter is different. Don’t follow what I am doing. If you are tall lanky you have a different style. Don’t ever try to look like me; you have your own style. If you are short and stocky it’s a different style vs. if you are tall and lanky.” I look after the kids and I have fun helping them. A lot of kids are growing up and in the future these kids are going be number one fighters in the UFC.
MA: Looks like your stand up has improved considerably and you have always had natural punching power. Have you been working extra hard on your stand up?
Every time I fight, I want to improve. Every time you want to improve yourself. If you don’t try to improve yourself then you shouldn’t fight again. I have been improving on my boxing, my footwork and more technique.
I have been doing a lot more wrestling, boxing and jiu jitsu. I am mostly working on my boxing and kickboxing more.
MA: You have said in the past that Shogun is your favorite fighter of all time, and now you get to fight on the same card. What are your thoughts on that?
Yeah, Shogun is my favorite fighter and I have been following him since his Pride days. I think he is the best fighter ever and he still is. He is the light-heavyweight champion. It is an honor fighting in the same card with him fighting Jon Jones. Hopefully I can get that belt at 145 pounds someday.
MA: How do you see Shogun vs. Jones fight playing out?
Against Rashad, I think it would have been an easier fight. But against Jon Jones: he can strike, wrestle, and he is more athletic. It’s kind of crazy how he goes through his fights. It’s going be tough for Shogun.
MA: Edmond is your striking coach. Vanes Martirosyan also comes by to train with Edmond; does it give you extra confidence knowing that a lot of great strikers go to Edmond?
Yeah of course! He makes me strike better. I improve every time when I spar. We have a lot of good boxers in our gym. When I box, I get in there with a lot of professional boxers now. I am getting used to it. I try to improve my game. That’s what we have to do. I try to improve everything. My background is judo but this is MMA: Mixed Martial Arts. You can not only be a judo fighter and be a world champion or be successful in the UFC.
So you have to mix it up all the time. Leg kicks, knees, your boxing, your kickboxing, your elbows, your ground and pound. For this fight, I have to be more active and keep him guessing what I am going try to do. I am going throw knees, I am going throw leg kicks and I am going to try to get him down. I am going make sure to keep him guessing.
MA: As a fighter, does it make a big difference fighting in the UFC octagon vs. the WEC cage?
Not really, a cage is a cage. It can be the cage in King of the Cage or WEC cage. If you are fighting it doesn’t matter. A cage is a cage. I have fought in the UFC then in the WEC and I feel like I am coming back home. It doesn’t matter.
MA: A welcome back!
Yeah, my welcome back!
MA: After you fight do you guys get the best seats in the house?
I usually don’t go inside the crowd; I usually stick to my locker room and watch it from there. It’s because I give my seat away to my friends or my fans. There a lot people out there who want to watch the UFC live so I give my seats away to the people who can’t really afford it.
MA: When you fought in Denver was it a big difference fighting in that type of altitude?
Not really, I was absolutely ready. Jose Aldo is a phenom and he is a champion for a reason. But I am looking forward to fighting him again, hopefully in the future sometime this year. I am not saying I am looking past Raphael Assunção; he is a great fighter and has fought a lot of top notch guys. He has fought Diego Nunes, Urijah Faber, LC Davis and those are great fighters. He is in my way and I want to whip his ass and move on.
MA: Final Words?
I want to thank all my fans, my dad and mom, all my friends out there, my trainers, my coaches, my training partners, and my sponsors I love them all. I want to give a special thanks to Araz, thank you very much.
Special thanks to Araz from http://www.hyefighters.com/ in helping facilitate the interview.
Manny Gamburyan
Nickname: “Anvil”
Division: Featherweight
Professional Record: 11- 5-0, 2 KO’s & 6 submissions
Loss Jose Aldo KO (Punches) WEC 51 – Aldo vs. Gamburyan 9/30/2010 2 1:32
Win Mike Thomas Brown KO (Punches) WEC 48 – Aldo vs. Faber 4/24/2010 1 2:22
Win Leonard Garcia Decision (Unanimous) WEC 44 – Brown vs. Aldo 11/18/2009 3 5:00
Win John Franchi Decision (Unanimous) WEC 41 – Brown vs. Faber 2 6/7/2009 3 5:00
Loss Thiago Tavares Decision (Unanimous) UFC 94 – St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 1/31/2009 3 5:00
Loss Robert Emerson KO (Punches) UFC 87 – Seek and Destroy 8/9/2008 1 0:12
Win Jeff Cox Submission (Guillotine Choke) UFC – Fight Night 13 4/2/2008 1 1:41
Win Nate Mohr Submission (Achilles Lock) UFC 79 – Nemesis 12/29/2007 1 1:31
Loss Nate Diaz Submission (Shoulder Injury) UFC – The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale 6/23/2007 2 0:20
Win Sam Morgan Decision (Unanimous) RSF – Shooto Challenge 2 1/2/2004 3 5:00
Win Jorge Santiago KO (Punch) KOTC 27 – Aftermath 8/10/2003 1 0:21
Loss Sean Sherk Decision (Unanimous) RSF 3 – Reality Submission Fighting 3 3/30/2001 1 18:00
Win Pat Benson Submission (Guillotine Choke) RSF 2 – Reality Submission Fighting 2 1/5/2001 1 2:01
Win Darren Bryant Submission (Heel Hook) KK 14 – Kage Kombat 14 4/5/1999 1 0:35
Win Timothy Morris Submission (Guillotine Choke) KK 12 – Kage Kombat 12 2/1/1999 1 0:16
Win Danny Henderson Submission (Armbar) KK 12 – Kage Kombat 12 2/1/1999 1