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Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan is an Armenian American mixed martial artist. Gamburyan is fighting in the featherweight division of the UFC's sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting, and is currently ranked as the #2 Featherweight mixed martial artist in the world by Sherdog.com and MMAFighting.com. In May 1991, Gamburyan's family relocated from Armenia to the United States. Shortly after his arrival, he began training in judo at Gokor Chivichyan's and Gene LeBell'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. Gamburyan began his MMA career in 1999 at the age of 17. He won his first four fights, then lost a decision to future UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk in 2001. He got his nickname "Pitbull" for the tenacity he displayed in the fight. In 2007, Gamburyan appeared on the reality show The Ultimate Fighter 5, fighting on Jens Pulver's team. His nickname was changed to "Anvil" for his UFC career because "Pitbull" was already taken by other UFC fighters such as Andrei Arlovski and Thiago Alves. Gamburyan reached the Ultimate Fighter 5 finale. In the finale he was fighting Nathan Diaz. Manny 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. Despite losing the show, Gamburyan secured a UFC contract with his performance. He won his next two UFC fights, defeating Nate Mohr by ankle lock at UFC 79 and Jeff Cox by guillotine choke at UFC Fight Night 13. At UFC 94, Gamburyan lost to Brazilian contender, Thiago Tavares. Manny recalls this fight as one of the toughest in his career because Thiago outweighed him at least 20 pounds. After this defeat, Manny Gamburyan decided to drop down to the WEC's featherweight division (145 pounds). His first featherweight fight was a win over John Franchi at WEC 41. Gamburyan's next fight is with José Aldo for the WEC Featherweight Championship on September 30, 2010 at WEC 51. |
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| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 0:17 |