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Chaos at the Casino to feature over dozen Armenian fighters
April 15, 2012 - 19:49 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Chaos at the Casino will feature over a dozen
Armenian fighters with local connections across three different
fighting disciplines - boxing, mixed martial arts and Muay Thai,
Glendale News-Press reports.
In the meantime, most of the principle figures set to compete on the
May 5 card at Hollywood Park Casino can be found under one roof on
Saturday mornings at the Glendale Fighting Club on Brand Boulevard.
An open workout at the GFC on Saturday, April 14 featured several of
the fighters associated with the Hye Fighters community who will ply
their trade at Chaos at the Casino, including GFC proprietor Edmond
Tarverdyan, a former Muay Thai champion, who will use the venue to
make his MMA debut.
"I'm getting in there and the guys I train are fighting on the same
card, so hopefully I can get my fight done with quick so I can go
corner them," said Tarverdyan, whose pupils Art "Lionheart"
Hovhannisyan (boxing) and Roman Mitichyan (MMA) will have high-profile
fights on the card.
Hovhannisyan and Mitichyan were both present Saturday, along with
fellow Chaos at the Casino combatants mixed martial artists Ara
Muradyan and Sako Chivitchian, boxers Azat Hovhannesyan and Georgi
Karakhanyan and Alfred Keshishyan, Sevak Ohanjanian and Ando Janoyan
competing in Muay Thai.
"Having all my friends that I've trained with and fought on the same
cards with, putting them all on the same card, I've always wanted to
do that," said George Bastrmajyan, Tarverdyan's partner in Lights Out
Promotions, which is putting on the card. "My last card I put on, I
had 5 Armenians, now I have 14. I feel blessed that everybody can be
and will be fighting on the card."
While many of the fighters at the GFC on Saturday have roots in
various other camps across the region, from Gokor Chivichyan's Team
Hayastan MMA Academy to SK Golden Boys Wrestling Club and Main Event
gym, among others, the GFC remains a major epicenter of the Hye
Fighters movement and a natural gathering place for training and
sparring among its members.
In an odd role reversal, World Boxing Council light middleweight
contender Vanes Martirosyan, Tarverdyan's most high-profile boxing
trainee, donned the pads to help Tarverdyan work on his striking.
Tarverdyan then sparred several rounds with Karakhanyan, a veteran of
MMA, who will make his boxing debut on May 5.
Next up in the ring, a spirited sparring session between Keshishyan
and mixed martial artist Jared Papazian that had both men spent in the
center of the ring after several intense rounds.
Hovhannisyan, who has just returned from his first trip home to
Armenia in five years and looks forward to ending an eight-month span
without a fight, also has a lot at stake in his fight.
"I'm hungry for a fight," Hovhannisyan said. "I'm ready for any fight.
There are a lot of Armenians fighting [May 5], so you have to win."
From: A. Papazian
April 15, 2012 - 19:49 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Chaos at the Casino will feature over a dozen
Armenian fighters with local connections across three different
fighting disciplines - boxing, mixed martial arts and Muay Thai,
Glendale News-Press reports.
In the meantime, most of the principle figures set to compete on the
May 5 card at Hollywood Park Casino can be found under one roof on
Saturday mornings at the Glendale Fighting Club on Brand Boulevard.
An open workout at the GFC on Saturday, April 14 featured several of
the fighters associated with the Hye Fighters community who will ply
their trade at Chaos at the Casino, including GFC proprietor Edmond
Tarverdyan, a former Muay Thai champion, who will use the venue to
make his MMA debut.
"I'm getting in there and the guys I train are fighting on the same
card, so hopefully I can get my fight done with quick so I can go
corner them," said Tarverdyan, whose pupils Art "Lionheart"
Hovhannisyan (boxing) and Roman Mitichyan (MMA) will have high-profile
fights on the card.
Hovhannisyan and Mitichyan were both present Saturday, along with
fellow Chaos at the Casino combatants mixed martial artists Ara
Muradyan and Sako Chivitchian, boxers Azat Hovhannesyan and Georgi
Karakhanyan and Alfred Keshishyan, Sevak Ohanjanian and Ando Janoyan
competing in Muay Thai.
"Having all my friends that I've trained with and fought on the same
cards with, putting them all on the same card, I've always wanted to
do that," said George Bastrmajyan, Tarverdyan's partner in Lights Out
Promotions, which is putting on the card. "My last card I put on, I
had 5 Armenians, now I have 14. I feel blessed that everybody can be
and will be fighting on the card."
While many of the fighters at the GFC on Saturday have roots in
various other camps across the region, from Gokor Chivichyan's Team
Hayastan MMA Academy to SK Golden Boys Wrestling Club and Main Event
gym, among others, the GFC remains a major epicenter of the Hye
Fighters movement and a natural gathering place for training and
sparring among its members.
In an odd role reversal, World Boxing Council light middleweight
contender Vanes Martirosyan, Tarverdyan's most high-profile boxing
trainee, donned the pads to help Tarverdyan work on his striking.
Tarverdyan then sparred several rounds with Karakhanyan, a veteran of
MMA, who will make his boxing debut on May 5.
Next up in the ring, a spirited sparring session between Keshishyan
and mixed martial artist Jared Papazian that had both men spent in the
center of the ring after several intense rounds.
Hovhannisyan, who has just returned from his first trip home to
Armenia in five years and looks forward to ending an eight-month span
without a fight, also has a lot at stake in his fight.
"I'm hungry for a fight," Hovhannisyan said. "I'm ready for any fight.
There are a lot of Armenians fighting [May 5], so you have to win."
From: A. Papazian