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MANVEL
‘MANNY’ GAMBURYAN System of a Takedown
©
Marc Wickert Special
thanks to Raffi Nahabedia It’s
5.30pm in Northern Hollywood, and Manvel ‘The Anvil’ Gamburyan has
just finished dining at The Cheesecake Factory. “It’s okay for
my diet,” says Manny, who did strength and conditioning training this
morning, and will be returning to the gym later tonight for a wrestling
and jiu jitsu session. On
August 9, Manny is set to rendezvous with fellow TUF Season 5
competitor, and Ruas vale tudo exponent, Rob Emerson, when they lock
horns at the Target Center in Minneapolis for UFC 87: Seek and
Destroy. The
Anvil won his last two fights convincingly, submitting Jeffrey Cox in
1:41 in round one and Nate Mohr in 1:31 also in the first round.
And Manny was looking good against Nathan Diaz at TUF 5 Finale, before
he dislocated his shoulder during a takedown. Now Manny is
fighting fit and ready to resume his winning ways, and although he has
pleaded for a rematch with Nathan, he meanwhile deals with any combatant
the UFC chooses to put in his path. Known
for his explosive shoots and dynamic body slams, Gamburyan says these
trademark features in his game have just come about naturally through
his varied training styles. “I started with judo and then
wrestling. What I do is cross training, which includes boxing,
kickboxing, Muay Thai… I just mix everything together. It’s
MMA, so you can’t stick with only one sport. But I do like body
slams. Who doesn’t? If I have the chance, I will drop
anybody on their head.” It’s
been a long journey for Manny, who, like his cousin Karo Parisyan, was
born in Armenia and moved to California. Today, both UFC fighters
train under the guidance of Gokor Chivichyan and Gene Lebelle in
Hollywood. Manny,
how old were you when you commenced judo? “I
was 10 and I took it up when I first arrived with my family in
America.” Do
you still work out with Karo? “Yes.
He is my training partner; we have been training together for years.” Gokor
said wrestling was very popular in Armenia. Did you do wrestling
as a child in Armenia? “I didn’t do any training in Armenia.”
Where
did you pick up the heel hooks and Achilles locks? “I
learnt those techniques from Gokor and Gene.” Was
that an ankle lock you submitted Nate Mohr with, or an Achilles lock? “Basically,
it was a straight leg-lock.” What
is your connection with the band System of a Down? “I
met them once at a party. They are an Armenian rock band and
they’re very cool guys. Actually, for the Nathan Diaz fight I
came out to their song Toxicity.” What
did you think of the BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk bout? “It
was a very technical fight. BJ was very smart and he took care of
all three rounds, then at the end he knocked him out. I knew that
was exactly the way the fight would go.” Do
you expect Rob Emerson will want to stand and bang with you?
“I
don’t know. I’m very comfortable wherever the fight goes right
now. I’m training my boxing, Muay Thai… I’m going to go out
there and do my thing. It’ll be just another day in the office:
Go out there and have fun. The main thing is to train hard and
stay healthy; other than that, I don’t care.” But
Rob won’t want you to take him down, will he? “I
don’t think he will want me to. I think he will want me to stand
with him. I can hit hard and I can brawl, but wherever the fight
goes, I’m comfortable.” Your
sponsors? “Sprawl.” Manny,
is there anything you’d like to add? “I
just want to thank all my fans out there for supporting me. It’s
going to be a great fight and there are other big fights on the card, so
I hope everyone can watch them.”
For
more on Manny
vs. Nate Mohr: http://www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-ufc79.htm.
Karo
Parisyan: www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-karo_parisyan.htm. Gokor
Chivichyan: www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-gokor.htm. UFC
87: www.ufc.com.
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