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Fighters From Armenia
Only a small number of Armenian fighters have made their way into professional mixed martial arts, but those that have are among the very best athletes the sport has to offer. Two of Armenia's greatest MMA standouts, Karapet ("Karo") Parisyan and Manvel "The Anvil" Gamburyan, are cousins. They were born in the Armenian cities of Yerevan and Gyumri, respectively, at a time when the present-day Republic of Armenia was incorporated into the USSR as the "Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic." Gamburyan, a compact lightweight/featherweight wrestling powerhouse, emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of 2. Parisyan, his better-known cousin and a world-class Judoka, came over at the age of 9. Both trained Judo extensively with "Judo" Gene LeBell at the Hayastan MMA Academy ("Hayastan" is an ancient name for Armenia, a mixture of Hayk' (Armenia) and -stan (land)). Gamburyan and Parisyan each went on to successful careers in the UFC and other promotions.
Armenian fighters Amar Suloev and Karen Darabedyan are also highly respected, high profile cagefighters, with Suloev boasting extensive experience in the UFC and Pride, and Darabedyan having made his home in Zuffa's former World Extreme Cagefighting promotion.
Gegard Mousasi is the latest great talent of Armenian descent to emerge in MMA. Mousasi was born in 1985 in Tehran, Iran to ethnic Armenian parents who relocated to the Netherlands. Mousasi began Judo at age 8 and boxing at 15, followed by kickboxing and ultimately mixed martial arts, in which he has defeated world class fighters Melvin Manhoef, "Jacare" Souza and "Babalu" Sobral in Dream and Strikeforce.
With 8 million to 11 million Armenians on the planet worldwide, and a mixture of traditional martial arts influences, including freestyle wrestling, Judo and Combat Sambo introduced to many young Armenians at an early age, there are sure to be more great Armenian fighters emerging in the years to come.
Fighters From Armenia (9)
| Fighter | Weight Class | Record | Forum | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akop Stepanyan | 7-3-0 | View | ||||
| Amar Suloev | Middleweight | 24-7-0 | View | |||
| Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi | Light Heavyweight | 32-3-2 | View | |||
| Grigor Aschugbabjan | Welterweight | 7-7-0 | View | |||
| Karen Darabedyan | Lightweight | 9-4-0 | View | |||
| Karo "The Heat" Parisyan | Welterweight | 20-8-0 | View | |||
| Manvel "The Anvil" Gamburyan | Featherweight | 11-7-0 | View | |||
| Roman "The Emperor" Mitichyan | Welterweight | 7-3-0 | View | |||
| Sako "The Psycho" Chivitchian | Lightweight | 5-1-0 | View |
