Manny Gamburyan: Happy to be out of that House

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By Armando Alvarez

“There were 16 dudes in the same house. I’m from LA. I go out every other day. There’s always something to do: partying ,clubs, and lots of things. Imagine being used to living like that and then being stuck in a house with 16 dudes. One day you’re eating with them and the next day you’re fighting them. I don’t even wanna remember that.”

That quote you just read was stated by a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5. If you had to guess what round a fighter who didn’t want to be there was eliminated in, what would it be? First round? Second round? Wrong on both. This fighter made it all the way to the finals, and that fighter is Manny Gamburyan.

Gamburyan, who lost in the finale of TUF 5 to Nate Diaz, is back on December 29th as he takes on Nate Mohr. It’s his first fight since his loss to Diaz, a loss that occurred when his shoulder popped out of place. It was an unfortunate way for the fight to end, but Gamburyan says “it’s all good.”

“I had that shoulder injury for a long time,” Gamburyan said. “I never thought my shoulder would pop out in The Ultimate Fighter finale, but everything happens for a reason. It was a bad experience because I had a great year and I was really prepared for Nate Diaz, but I’m not complaining because I have another chance.”

Gamburyan gets that chance on December 29th. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva called him and said the fans wanted to see him enter the Octagon again.

“I was really excited when he called me,” Gamburyan said. “He asked me if I wanted to fight in January or February, but I said I wanted to fight in December. He told me to be prepared for December 8th on The Ultimate Fighter 6 finale, but that fell through and now I’m on a card with two big fights: Liddell vs. Silva and Hughes vs. St-Pierre. This is my first big show in front of thousands of fans. I need to win this fight. I’ve trained hard and if all goes well I’ll have my hand raised in history.”

Although Gamburyan is excited that he gets to fight at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, he says it doesn’t matter who is on the card. All he cares about is that he comes out on top.

“To be honest I don’t care who’s on the card,” Gamburyan said. “Being part of the card with legends is exciting, but I gotta take care of my business. I’m happy it’s a big huge card, but I have to win my fight. That’s what’s important to me. If I lose does it really matter that I fought on such a good card?”

If he wins this fight he says he’d like another shot at Nate Diaz, but he’s not looking past Nate Mohr.

“Anytime Dana White and Joe Silva want to make that fight they can make it,” Gamburyan said. “I’m ready for Diaz again, but I take it one fight at a time. I never say ‘I‘ll fight this guy after this fight and then this other guy.’ I take everyone seriously no matter if they‘re a rookie, or a veteran or whatever. I come in smart to every fight and get prepared really well.”

Gamburyan became an overnight star after The Ultimate Fighter. He was amazed fans would know who he was and ask him for autographs and pictures, but although he thanks The Ultimate Fighter for his success, he says he hated it with a passion.

“I hated living in that house,” Gamburyan said. “You learn to fight and you learn discipline, but you miss your friends, your family, you have no television, no phone number. I never thought I would survive in that house, but every time I won I had to stay there. I didn’t want to lose to anyone, but at the same time I wanted to go home. Don’t get me wrong, I was there for one reason only, which was to win the whole thing.”

Gamburyan is the cousin of UFC star Karo Parisyan. Parisyan is one of the most colorful fighters in the UFC. Gamburyan says he’s even more colorful and crazier than his cousin, but although he says he’s done a lot of crazy things, the craziest thing he’s ever done in his life was join The Ultimate Fighter.

“The Ultimate Fighter is no joke,” Gamburyan said. “If you would pay me $100,000 I still wouldn’t go back in that house again. The experience messed with my head. When I left the show I thought I was psycho. You don’t want to be in that house. It’s nuts.”

Gamburyan is happy he’s out of that house and back in the Octagon. He’s also happy he’s fighting in the lightweight division; a division he feels is the most talented in the UFC.

“It’s a very challenging division, but I like that,” Gamburyan said. “You have Sean Sherk in that division, BJ Penn, Kenny Florian, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, and the list just goes on and on. Everybody is good at 155. It’s a tough division and all these fighters come out to do their best.”

Gamburyan wants to make a statement in this fight against Mohr. His first fighting style is judo, but he wants to show fans and other fighters that he can do more than just judo.

“I’m a complete mixed martial arts fighter,” Gamburyan said. “I just don’t want to do judo and throw people on their heads. I want to throw them on their heads, look for the knockout and then submit them.”

Gamburyan is proud that he and his cousin Parisyan are representing Armenia in the UFC. He said the Armenian fans are proud of them, and he was happy to see tennis legend Andre Agassi, at one of his cousin’s fights. The American born Agassi is of Armenian descent.

“Andre Agassi is someone I’d like to meet some day,” Gamburyan said. “He was at my cousin’s fight and every time he’s at a fight its extra pressure since he’s Armenian too. He’s a superstar and loves the UFC. I hope he’s at my fight on the 29th and I’ll get a victory and celebrate with him.”

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