January 2010 Schedule ( 7 WINS - 1 LOSS - 1 No Contest - 0 Fights to go)

BOXING - WIN

January 8, 2010

Artur Bernetsyan

beats Carlos Herrera

via UD in his Pro Debut

BOXING - WIN

January 16, 2010

Vanes Martirosyan
beats Kassim Ouma

via Unanimous Decision

BOXING - WIN

January 23, 2010

Gevork Khatchikian

beats Selajdin Koxha

via UD

MMA - WIN

January 24, 2010

Sevak Magakian
beats Jeremy Umphries
via UD

MMA - LOSS

January 24, 2010

Ando Dermenjyan
loses to Mike Palo
via TKO

MMA - WIN

January 24, 2010

Jared Papazian
beats Greg Guzman
via UD

BOXING - NO CONTEST

January 30, 2010

Vardan Mnatsakanyan
and Aritz El Chulito Bout
Deemed NO CONTEST

BOXING - WIN

January 31, 2010

Karo Murat
beats Sean Corbin
via TKO in The 2nd

MUAY THAI - WIN

January 31, 2010

Giorgio Patrosyan
beats Mohamed Diaby
via TKO

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Exclusive Videos

Exclusive Videos of
HyeFighter Gegard Mousasi

Fight Results

HyeFighters Go 2 for 3 at
Called Out MMA 2

ONTARIO — In the hours leading into his fight on Sunday night, HyeFighter Sevak Magakian wondered if he should even enter the cage.

His cornermen, in fact, advised him against it, given how poorly he felt after a sudden illness overtook him. But Magakian decided to go down swinging.

And, though visibly ill hours after his bout late Sunday night, Magakian was smiling ear to ear as he had grinded out an impressive unanimous victory over Jeremy Umphries in the co-main event of CalledOut MMA II at the Ontario Citizens Business Bank Arena.

“I wasn’t feeling good. … I didn’t want to back out last minute,” said Magakian, who improved to 8-3 in his mixed martial arts career. “I tried to give 100%, but I probably didn’t.”  But the Glendale fighter did enough to win an exciting three-round lightweight (155 pounds) tilt with 29-28 scores across the board.

However, fortunes for other Glendale fighters in the main event and undercard were not as glorious.

Earlier in the night, HyeFighter Ando Dermenjyan, who trains at the Main Event Gym in Glendale, was knocked out by Mike Palo in the opening round of their featherweight (145 pounds) scrap. Dermenjyan was dealt his first loss in stunning fashion during the fifth bout of the 10-fight card.  Seemingly looking to keep the fight standing, Dermenjyan was caught with a left uppercut from Palo that buckled the Team Hayastan fighter’s knees and dropped him to the canvas. A barrage of Palo punches followed, eliciting a stoppage from referee Herb Dean at the 1:31 mark of the first round.  When Palo (2-0) pushed the fight to the cage early, Dermenjyan (3-1) quickly circled off and got separation. Soon after, Dermenjyan connected on a textbook straight right that scored a flash knockdown on Palo. Dermenjyan later went down, but it appeared to be a stumble and he quickly regained standing position after Palo dropped down on him. Only moments later, Palo, a Team Quest product with a wrestling background, landed the fight-ending uppercut.

CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO VIEW ALBUMS

Miscellaneous Pictures	Ando Dermenjyan
Jared Papazian	Sevak Magakian

Magakian and Umphries (4-1) squared off in the night’s ninth fight.

In the first round, Umphries secured a takedown only to have Magakian go for an armbar and quickly transition into a leg lock attempt. Magakian would later land two judo throws, as well. Much of the round was a back-and-forth scramble, too, as Umphries, a wrestler, and Magakian, a judo player, grappled and changed levels throughout. At the end of the round, it was clear that Magakian was breathing hard.

In the second round, Magakian once again got the best of the grappling, but the most significant blow of the fight came when Magakian landed a left uppercut with Umphries coming in that knocked Umphries to the canvas. A barrage of Magakian punches followed, but Umphries regained his composure soon thereafter.

“That uppercut was from Vanes,” joked Magakian, referring to Glendale boxer and fellow HyeFighter Vanes Martirosyan yelling instructions to him while seated cageside next to Glendale MMA HyeFighter Karen Darabedyan, one of Magakian’s closest friends and training partners.

Magakian was cornered by Main Event’s Roman Kalantaryan, HyeFighter Manny Gamburyan and Team Hayastan’s Gokor Chivitchyan.  “Everybody was there for me,” Magakian said.  In the third round, Magakian secured a takedown early once more. But later in the round, Umphries secured a kimura attempt, which had the crowd on its feet and Magakian’s arm in a precarious position. But the Armenian fighter stayed calm throughout and eventually rolled through and ended the round in top position.  “I was flexible, I got out of it,” Magakian said.

Also on the card, HyeFighter Jared Papazian, who trains with Team Hayastan, pounded out a unanimous decision win over Greg Guzman, 30-27 twice and 29-28. Papazian (6-4-1), who was cornered by HyeFighter Karen Darabedyan, used solid ground and pound to notch the decision against Guzman (7-4) in a fast-paced, action-filled scrap, which in the crowd's opinion seemed to be the "Fight Of The Night"

Fight News

HyeFighter Gegard Mousasi
In Los Angeles

HyeFighter & Strikeforce Lightheavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi is visiting Los Angeles and was at the LA Fitexpo in downtown Los Angeles with fellow HyeFighters, Manny Gamburyan, Roman Mitichyan, Karen Darabedyan, Sako Chivitchian and Edmond Tarverdyan.  In the afternoon they held an open sparring and training session at the Glendale Fighting Club and were joined by fellow fighters and fans.  Gegard will be attending the Called Out MMA fights in Ontario on Sunday January 24th to cheer on Sevak Magakian, Ando Dermenjyan and Jared Papazian.  They even found time to celebrate Ando's birthday.

 - clcik on picture below to view album  -

Fight News

HyeFighter Georgi Karakhanyan
~ The Humble And The Insane ~

Article author: C. M. Holden. from MMAPOST.com

One of the four recently announced featherweight signings by the Chicago-based Bellator Fighting Championships, Russian-born Armenian fighter Georgi "Insane" Karakhanyan aims to put his stamp on the division as he competes in the promotion's promising second season. The 12-week tournament, debuting April 8, is set up to determine the number one contender for each of Bellator's four weight classes (featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, and middleweight) and will conclude with four respective championship bouts.

Karakhanyan (kah-ra-kahn-jan) is intently focused on a title contest with the current featherweight champion, Joe "The Hammer" Soto, and the three elimination fights that will get him there. MMA Spot’s C.M. Holden recently sat down with Karakhanyan (12-1-1) to discuss a variety of topics, including his recent signing with Bellator, his thoughts on the featherweight division, and his career as a mixed martial artist.

Born in Moscow, Russia, not much about his location or upbringing pointed to a career in combat sports as a likely destination for Karakhanyan. In fact, his childhood and adolescence were fairly pedestrian. According to him, "I'm just a normal person, a humble guy.” So what set the stage for the young fighter to become such a successful mixed martial artist on the threshold of becoming a star?

Two converging circumstances got the ball rolling for Karakhanyan: his father, a karate black belt, and an already apparent competitive drive as a child. Following in his father's footsteps, he began studying karate at an early age. "I did it when I was around 5 or 6, I did it for around two years and then I stopped. It was good, my dad wasn't my teacher. I learned a lot of discipline." But, the effort was short-lived. "I just lost interest in Karate. I wasn't taking it that seriously and I started playing soccer."

Karakhanyan proved more earnest in his approach to soccer. His competitiveness lead to great success as a youth; he reached as far as the professional level, and nearly to the Olympics. Nearly, however, wasn't satisfying enough for the fighter-to-be. "If I was extremely good at soccer I would be playing somewhere in Europe, for Barcelona, Real Madrid, or the top teams. I was doing good to the point where I played for the San Diego Sockers and ODP, the Olympic Development Program. So, it was okay, you know." Lacking the possibility of being the very best, he began to shift his interests.

With relatively few professional soccer players making a similar transition, Karakhanyan perhaps gives his former peers too much credit, and himself too little, in making the leap to MMA. On whether other soccer pros could compete in the cage, he stated, "Yeah, it depends on the person. You kick the ball a lot, in fighting you kick your opponent a lot. They would just have to work on their hands and wrestling and jiu-jitsu."

Not mentioning the fact that "just" learning striking, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu are formidable tasks in themselves, especially at a competitive level, Karakhanyan did admit that the added element of pain could be an impediment. "Soccer players sometimes fake to get a yellow card. I'm guessing no [most would not like to deal with the pain]. There might be some soccer players that don't care about pain like I do."

Like most professional athletes, what brought Karakhanyan to karate, soccer, jiu-jitsu, and finally MMA was the competitiveness, and the thrill of victory. Winning a fight, however, does not have a parallel in terms of the intensity of the feeling experienced. "It's kinda similar. When you score a goal, you get the butterfly feelings. But winning a fight is a different story, you put so much time and effort into training and when you win that fight it's a great feeling."

Making the transition out of professional soccer, Karakhanyan found Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and quickly moved to professional fighting just six months later. Like many fighters just beginning their careers, he worked full-time while training for his early fights. "When I started I was working. I used to do construction, digging trenches, and stuff like that. I think it was after my fifth fight, I did it full-time."

The work hasn't exactly stopped, Karakhanyan added, "Right now I still work, my work is teaching kids and law enforcement agency guys. I'm still working, but it's involved with my fighting."

This is an important distinction. Being able to focus entirely on training and competing is an uncommon luxury that allows athletes the gains necessary to perform at an elite level. "It's really important. There is so much you need to learn in this game, so you need to put in a lot of time. It's really important."

With a record of 12-1-1, Karakhanyan has put in that time, and a lot of it has been spent shuffling between multiple MMA organizations on the regional level. Joining the growing ranks at Bellator provides the 24-year-old with the security, stability, and national exposure he has yet to experience in his young career.

"I'm really excited. Last year Bellator did a really good job with all the fights. I was really shocked watching the featherweights and even the lightweights, and with that submission of Toby Imada against Jorge Masvidal, it was really exciting. I personally think Bjorn [Rebney, Bellator's CEO] is a really smart man. With the three channel TV deal he has with Fox Sports, NBC, and Telemundo, it's really good exposure; not just for me but for other fighters to show our skills. It's not on pay-per-view, you know," Karakhanyan exclaimed.

Without some form of national television coverage, it is nearly impossible for any fighter to advance and improve their career. With this in mind, Karakhanyan jumped at the chance to perform in front of a live TV audience. "As soon as I listened, I was like 'yeah, I need to go there.' It's important to have a good place, organization to fight for. Because right now, the top ones are just UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce. I think Bellator is going to take over this year, they are really strong."

That being said, the tournament format implemented by Bellator is no walk in the park. Aside from the possibility of losing one of the three scheduled bouts on the way to the title shot, fighting once a month presents the very real possibility of suffering an injury severe enough that it would force a fighter out of the competition.

Karakhanyan relishes the opportunity. "I feel really excited. I think it's good, you fight every month. If I had the opportunity to fight every month, 12 fights a year, I would have done it. I like to fight a lot. I like to stay busy." And as for injuries, "That might happen, you never know. I don't know until I fight. If it happens, things happen for a reason."

If he does make it through the season victorious and relatively unscathed, the newly crowned champion, Joe Soto, awaits with the belt. Karakhanyan is ready for the shot. "He's a good wrestler. He's well rounded. I match up really good. I'll be a tough opponent for him. We'll see, I can't wait until I beat those three guys and fight him."

With 14 professional fights under his belt, Karakhanyan has just a single loss blemishing his record. In his sixth fight, Karakhanyan lost by split decision to Chris "Dark Lotus" David. However, it was that February 2008 loss that he credits with helping him develop into the fighter he is today.

"I lost that fight because I had no wrestling. It really changed me into a different person. I looked at it in a good way because I started wrestling a lot. I realized there were other things to work on. Because all I was working on was Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu, and no wrestling. After the loss I started working a lot on my wrestling."

Needless to say, wrestling is no longer Georgi Karakhanyan's weakness. He has been working on his wrestling at S.K. Golden Boys in North Hollywood. The man he is working with is fellow Armenian, and three-time Olympic freestyle wrestler, Martin Berberyan.

Of his 12 wins, eight have been by submission. Despite that success, or maybe because of it, Karakhanyan prefers to finish by knockout. "The feeling is that much better. Some knockouts are lucky. You get lucky and knock a guy out. But submissions you need to work for it. If I can get lucky three times in this tournament, that would be perfect."

Outside of "luck," Karakhanyan suggests his strategy for a fight can be somewhat less than predictable, which is in part where his nickname, "Insane," is derived from. He prefers a more improvisational approach.

"I don't think it is good to come up with a [strict] game plan, because if it doesn't happen then you mentally get broken down. I just take it how it is. When I'm fighting, if I feel comfortable talking to my opponent, I'll talk to him. If I feel like doing anything else--I just feel really comfortable in the cage. When I step into the cage it's a different feeling, it's like I could do whatever I want to do."

Importantly, Karakhanyan recognizes how Bellator's success is directly tied to not just his current good fortune, but also to the opportunities afforded to the many undervalued and lesser known fighters not fighting in the larger promotions--as well as the promotion’s contribution to the continued growth of the sport.

Regarding the significance of having multiple organizations succeed, Karakhanyan commented, "It's important for a variety. We can't let just the UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce dominate. So for all the other fighters that think of going there just because of the money, Bellator is doing really good things. Fighters like me have chance, and other fighters. I didn't even know who Joe Soto was, and they give opportunities for guys like that to fight and show their skills, unlike Strikeforce or the UFC. When they sign all these known guys, from Dream and Japan, and bring them over here... but they don't care about the tough guys that have no name."

As far as his long-term goals in the sport, aside from capturing the featherweight belt in the coming months, Karakhanyan remains the humble guy he introduced himself as. "I want to be a well-rounded fighter, and make my name out in Riverside, the current city I am living in. Just hopefully, have my own gym, work with kids teaching them jiu-jitsu and how to defend themselves."

In closing, Karakhanyan would like to thank the following:

“Thanks to all my Millennia training partners; that's my gym. And then out in LA, all my training partners. The Hye Fighters, it's a website based on Armenian fighters. USKO, that's the karate school where I teach all my jiu-jitsu classes--it's in Riverside. Clinch Gear, Nutrishop of Riverside, Original Grappler, and O.N.E, the coconut water drink.”

For more information check out www.georgimma.com.

Fight Results

HyeFighter Vanes Matirosyan
Successfully Defends His Title

In a good action bout, unbeaten super welterweight contender HyeFighter Vanes Martirosyan (27-0, 17 KOs) won a ten round unanimous decision over former world champion Kassim Ouma (26-7, 18 KOs) on Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas. It was Martirosyan’s best performance to date as he sharply landed flush shots against the ever advancing Ouma in every round. Ouma scored a flash knockdown in round nine, and picked up the pace after round six, but it was too little too late. Martirosyan prevailed by scores of 97-92, 97-93, 97-93 to retain his NABF/NABO belts.

Upcoming Fight

HyeFighter Vanes Martirosyan
Will Defend His Title on January 16th
Against Kassim Ouma at
The Hard Rock in Las Vegas
Televised on Fox Sports West

Fight News

2 HyeFighter Boxing Champions
Fighting On the SAME CARD
Arthur Abraham  vs. Andre Dirrell
Vic Darchinyan vs. Raul Martinez
At the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage Near Palm Springs

HyeFighter WBC/WBA super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan will be back in the ring in California on March 6 against the Raul Martinez (25-1, 15 KOs) and after that he will be after Noninto Donaire who holds a knockout win over the Australian based Armenian. Martinez’s only loss was in April last year and was to Donaire. Darchinyan will fight in Australia after the March fight. He will be in action again in April or May on a promotion that will also feature IBO cruiserweight world champion Danny Green. Darchinyan said, “I would love to fight in Australia, the Nonito Donaire rematch could be in June.” (Donaire stopped Darchinyan in five rounds in 2007) Darchinyan continues, “That’s what I want, I have been waiting for that fight (with Donaire) a long time already. I love fighting very often.”

Fight Videos

HyeFighter Vardan Mnatsakanyan's
Fight Video From His Last WIN!!

Fight Result

HyeFighter Artur Bernetsyan
Wins VIA Unanimous Decision
In His Boxing Debut

HyeFighter Artur Bernetsyan, made his professional debut in Glendale, CA to the delight and support of the Armenian fans in attendance.  Glendale Glory 2, was originally slated to have 2 other HyeFighters, Artyom Hovhannisyan and Gapo Tolmajyan, on the card, but issues with their opponents prevented their fights from taking place.   Kahren Harutyunyan's "Art of Boxing Promotions" put on the sold out event which was entertaining and top notch.

 - clcik on picture below to view album  -

Fight News

Bellator Fighting Championships signs
HyeFighter Georgi ‘Insane’ Karakhanyan to exclusive agreement.

Georgi Speaks with HyeFighters.com:

Bellator Fighting Championships announced today the exclusive signing of top mixed martial artist HyeFighter Georgi “Insane” Karakhanyan, a former professional soccer player and emerging MMA star, to compete in the featherweight (145 lb.) division during Bellator Season 2.

Karakhanyan, 24, has compiled a record of 12-1-1 since making his professional MMA debut in 2006, and was rated by multiple websites as the top unsigned featherweight in the world prior to his signing with Bellator. His only loss came via a 2008 split decision.

“With 12 wins and just one loss under his belt, Georgi is a proven winner” said Bjorn Rebney, founder and CEO of Bellator Fighting Championships. “He brings an explosive style to the cage that makes for great fights. We are excited to welcome Georgi to Bellator.”

Born in Moscow, Russia, to Armenian parents, Karakhanyan was introduced to martial arts at the age of six by his father, a karate black-belt. Soon, though, he fell in love with soccer and went on to play at the amateur and professional levels in Russia, Spain and the U.S.

While playing for the San Diego Sockers of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), Karakhanyan began studying Jiu-Jitsu as part of his conditioning regimen. When the team folded, he decided to take up fighting full-time.

“Maybe it’s because I played soccer all those year, but I like to kick when I’m in the cage and I’m a strong kicker,” Karakhanyan said. “I like to keep the fight standing up, but I’ll find a way to beat my opponent if he takes it to the ground.”

Karakhanyan, who coaches children and adults in martial arts at the Millenia MMA gym in his current hometown of Riverside, Calif., laughed when asked about the derivation of his nickname, “Insane.” It is a loose translation of the Armenian “gizh,” a word his mother jokingly used to describe his sometimes quirky behavior as a child.

Karakhanyan admits he has done his best to live up to the name during his career in MMA.

“I do some strange things in the cage sometime,” he said. “I talk to my corner, I talk to my opponents. I like to surprise people. That’s what I’m all about.”

Karakhanyan is the latest fighter to sign with Bellator since the announcement, in October, of the promotion’s historic new TV distribution alliances with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo. Bellator Season 2 begins April 8, 2010 and will run for 12 weeks. Bellator Season 3 will follow beginning Aug. 12, 2010, and will also run for 12 successive weeks.

Each of Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed live in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m. Each of the three broadcasts will be aired in high definition.

3 HyeFighters Fighting on the Same Card

Check out the KO from Art's Previous Fight

Fight Results

HyeFighter Gegard Mousasi WINS in Japan
and is Named Best European MMA Fighter
At the 2009 World MMA Awards

 

4 HyeFighters Fighting on the Same Card in MMA Action - January 24th, 2009 - Ontario CA

Upcoming Fight

HyeFighter Vardan Mnatsakanyan
Boxing in Spain

Fight News

HyeFighter Of The Year
Artyom Hovhannisyan

HyeFighters.com would like to congratulate Artyom Hovhannisyan for being named the HyeFighter of the year for 2008.  This award was presented to him on December 23, 2009 at the Top Armenian Athlete dinner banquet in North Hollywood.  Fellow HyeFighters were in attendance and were all happy for Artyom and celebrated the evening with him.  Last year's winner, Roman Mitichyan, made the presentation this year.

click on picture below to view album

HyeFighters EXCLUSIVE

HyeFighters.com EXCLUSIVE
Interview with Karo Parisyan

Fight Results

HyeFighter Vic Darchinyan
wins via KO in the 2nd

WBC/WBA super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (33-2-1, 26 KOs) scored a spectacular second round KO over WBC interim super flyweight champion Tomas Rojas (32-11-1, 22 KOs). A good action fight ended when Darchinyan connected with a straight left that put Rojas down for the count at the 2:54 mark.

Watch the video below:

Fight News

HyeFighter Karo Parisyan Debut's
New Shirt Line

Hyefighter, Karo "The Heat" Parisyan has release his new line of Tshirts which are available for sale now.  Get yours now!!!

Exclusive Interview

Manny Gamburyan - Exclusive Interview
with HyeFighters.com

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