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GAMBURYAN IS RIGHT AT HOME
The Daily News of Los Angeles
August 5, 2012 Sunday
VALLEY EDITION
Fighting in front of family and friends, Hollywood's Manny
Gamburyan ended his three-fight losing streak with an impressive
unanimous-decision victory over Michihiro Omigwa on the undercard of
UFC on Fox 4 on Saturday at Staples Center.
The judges scored the featherweight bout 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 for
Gamburyan (14-8), who trains out of Hayastan MMA Academy in North
Hollywood.
It was obvious to Gamburyan even walking to the ring that he was home.
"There were a lot Armenians, I saw the flags, that's why I jumped up,
I thanked the people, thanked them for coming," he said.
In a sluggish first round partly because Gamburyan was puzzled by
Omigawa's southpaw stance, Omigawa (13-12-1) tagged Gamburyan with
a left, but "The Anvil" was quickly on his feet.
"I didn't get hurt. It was right in my eye and my nose," Gamburyan
said.
The action picked up in the second round as they came out exchanging
punches. Two minutes in, Gamburyan took Omigawa down twice, only to
have the Japanese judo expert pop right back up.
Gamburyan managed to land a third takedown, get Omigawa's back and
lock in a leg triangle. After trying for a rear-naked choke, Gamburyan
lost the ground control but caught Omigawa with a quick right hand.
The third round easily was the best round of the fight. Gamburyan,
seeing his opponent come out hunched over and with his hands lower,
started it with a head kick that wobbled Omigawa.
"My leg hurts. Look at that," Gamburyan said, showing off a bruised
and swollen lower leg. "Homeboy doesn't go down. I kick really hard,
but he's got a chin for days."
Crisp punches and two more head kicks kept Omigawa off guard.
Another Gamburyan takedown was followed by Omigawa rising quickly
to his feet and going for a guillotine choke. Gamburyan escaped,
held on and hoisted Omigwa for a big slam with 1:22 left in the round.
After Omigawa got up, Gamburyan picked him up and slammed him again.
Omigawa made one last attempt at a guillotine choke, but Gamburyan
broke free and reset with 20 seconds left, with the crowd applauding
the fighters for their efforts.
Gamburyan credited boxing coach Edmond Tarverdyan for the aggressive
style.
"My boxing coach said, 'Just go out there and let your hands go.
You're looking amazing sparring, you're looking great. Just be the
old Manny you are," he said. "I'm like, I'm gonna do something I've
never done before, like the head kick."
In what was the most entertaining fight on the preliminary card
based on the crowd's reaction, featherweight Nam Phan (18-11) earned
a split-decision victory over Cole Miller (18-7). The judges scored
it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for the Garden Grove resident.
Other bouts
In the opening fight, flyweight John Moraga (11-1) made a stunning
debut in the Octagon by knocking out Ulysses Gomez (9-3) at 3:46 of
the first round.
British heavyweights Phil De Fries (9-1) and Oli Thompson (9-4)
slogged through an uninspiring first round before De Fries started
popping Thompson and finished it at 4:16 of the second round with a
rear-naked choke that was announced as a face crank.
Rani Yahya (17-7) of Brazil came up with a stunning north-south choke
at 3:15 of the first round to force Josh Grispi (14-4) to tap out in
their featherweight bout.
The card wasn't without controversy. The light heavyweight fight
between Phil Davis (9-1) and Wagner Prado (8-0) was ruled a no-decision
after the doctor's stoppage at 1:36 of the first round after an
inadvertent eye poke by Davis. Prado and booing fans protested
the decision, but his eye was swollen and his vision appeared to
be affected.
From: A. Papazian
The Daily News of Los Angeles
August 5, 2012 Sunday
VALLEY EDITION
Fighting in front of family and friends, Hollywood's Manny
Gamburyan ended his three-fight losing streak with an impressive
unanimous-decision victory over Michihiro Omigwa on the undercard of
UFC on Fox 4 on Saturday at Staples Center.
The judges scored the featherweight bout 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 for
Gamburyan (14-8), who trains out of Hayastan MMA Academy in North
Hollywood.
It was obvious to Gamburyan even walking to the ring that he was home.
"There were a lot Armenians, I saw the flags, that's why I jumped up,
I thanked the people, thanked them for coming," he said.
In a sluggish first round partly because Gamburyan was puzzled by
Omigawa's southpaw stance, Omigawa (13-12-1) tagged Gamburyan with
a left, but "The Anvil" was quickly on his feet.
"I didn't get hurt. It was right in my eye and my nose," Gamburyan
said.
The action picked up in the second round as they came out exchanging
punches. Two minutes in, Gamburyan took Omigawa down twice, only to
have the Japanese judo expert pop right back up.
Gamburyan managed to land a third takedown, get Omigawa's back and
lock in a leg triangle. After trying for a rear-naked choke, Gamburyan
lost the ground control but caught Omigawa with a quick right hand.
The third round easily was the best round of the fight. Gamburyan,
seeing his opponent come out hunched over and with his hands lower,
started it with a head kick that wobbled Omigawa.
"My leg hurts. Look at that," Gamburyan said, showing off a bruised
and swollen lower leg. "Homeboy doesn't go down. I kick really hard,
but he's got a chin for days."
Crisp punches and two more head kicks kept Omigawa off guard.
Another Gamburyan takedown was followed by Omigawa rising quickly
to his feet and going for a guillotine choke. Gamburyan escaped,
held on and hoisted Omigwa for a big slam with 1:22 left in the round.
After Omigawa got up, Gamburyan picked him up and slammed him again.
Omigawa made one last attempt at a guillotine choke, but Gamburyan
broke free and reset with 20 seconds left, with the crowd applauding
the fighters for their efforts.
Gamburyan credited boxing coach Edmond Tarverdyan for the aggressive
style.
"My boxing coach said, 'Just go out there and let your hands go.
You're looking amazing sparring, you're looking great. Just be the
old Manny you are," he said. "I'm like, I'm gonna do something I've
never done before, like the head kick."
In what was the most entertaining fight on the preliminary card
based on the crowd's reaction, featherweight Nam Phan (18-11) earned
a split-decision victory over Cole Miller (18-7). The judges scored
it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for the Garden Grove resident.
Other bouts
In the opening fight, flyweight John Moraga (11-1) made a stunning
debut in the Octagon by knocking out Ulysses Gomez (9-3) at 3:46 of
the first round.
British heavyweights Phil De Fries (9-1) and Oli Thompson (9-4)
slogged through an uninspiring first round before De Fries started
popping Thompson and finished it at 4:16 of the second round with a
rear-naked choke that was announced as a face crank.
Rani Yahya (17-7) of Brazil came up with a stunning north-south choke
at 3:15 of the first round to force Josh Grispi (14-4) to tap out in
their featherweight bout.
The card wasn't without controversy. The light heavyweight fight
between Phil Davis (9-1) and Wagner Prado (8-0) was ruled a no-decision
after the doctor's stoppage at 1:36 of the first round after an
inadvertent eye poke by Davis. Prado and booing fans protested
the decision, but his eye was swollen and his vision appeared to
be affected.
From: A. Papazian