Manvel Gamburyan (Armenian: Մանվել Գամբուրյան; born May 8, 1981) is an Armenian mixed martial artist who has competed in the UFC's lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight divisions. A professional competitor since 1999, he was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 5, and also competed in the WEC and for King of the Cage.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Gamburyan began his career in mixed martial arts 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. Gamburyan's cousin Karo Parisyannicknamed him "The Pitbull" for the tenacity he displayed in the fight.

The Ultimate Fighter

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 defeated Noah Thomas by kimura lock in the preliminary round. In his next matchup, Gamburyan defeated Matt Wiman to advance to the semifinal round.

In the semifinal round, Gamburyan beat Joe Lauzon in a unanimous decision and advanced to the finale with Nate Diaz. He was considered an underdog in each of his fights, in part due to his short stature. After the Lauzon fight, UFC president Dana White personally apologized to Gamburyan for doubting him. In the finale, Gamburyan controlled Diaz for the majority of the fight, but was forced to tap out in the second round after dislocating his right shoulder on an unsuccessful takedown attempt. Although this technically counts as a submission due to injury, Gamburyan has never been submitted by an opponent in his MMA career.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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. Gamburyan raised some controversy in the Cox fight by delivering a spinning leg kick after feigning the mutual tap of gloves that is often seen at the beginning of the match. The crowd in attendance reacted with heavy booing.

He returned to action at UFC 87 and was knocked out in 12 seconds by Rob Emerson.

At UFC 94, Gamburyan lost to Thiago Tavares in a back and forth fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

World Extreme Cagefighting

After his loss to Tavares, Gamburyan decided to drop down to the featherweight division and fight in the Zuffa-owned WEC.

Gamburyan's first fight at featherweight was a decision win over John Franchi at WEC 41.

Gamburyan defeated Leonard Garcia on November 18, 2009 at WEC 44 via unanimous decision.

Gamburyan fought former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown at WEC 48. He won by knockout in the first round as well as getting the Knockout of the Night bonus of $65,000.

Gamburyan lost via second round KO to José Aldo in a bout for the WEC Featherweight Championship on September 30, 2010 at WEC 51.

UFC return

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.

Gamburyan was expected to face Raphael Assunção on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128, but was forced out of the bout with a back injury and replaced by Erik Koch.

Gamburyan next faced Tyson Griffin on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4. He lost the fight via majority decision.

Gamburyan was expected to face Diego Nunes on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135, but was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a shoulder injury. The bout ultimately took place at UFC 141 and Gamburyan lost via unanimous decision.

Gamburyan defeated Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision on August 4, 2012 at UFC on FOX 4.

Gamburyan was expected to face Chad Mendes on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157. However, Gamburyan was forced out of the bout with a thumb injury. Mendes was then pulled from the card as a suitable replacement could not be found on short notice.

Gamburyan was expected to face Hacran Dias on May 18, 2013 at UFC on FX 8.However, Gamburyan was forced to pull out of the bout citing another injury and was replaced by Nik Lentz.

Gamburyan faced Cole Miller on August 17, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26. Gamburyan won the fight via unanimous decision.

Gamburyan faced Dennis Siver on December 28, 2013 at UFC 168. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Subsequently, Siver failed a post fight drug screening, testing positive for banned substances. As a result, the decision was changed to a "No Contest".

Gamburyan faced Nik Lentz on May 10, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 40. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Gamburyan faced Cody Gibson in a bantamweight bout on September 27, 2014 at UFC 178. He won the fight via submission in the second round.

Gamburyan was expected to face Aljamain Sterling on April 18, 2015 at UFC on Fox 15. However, Gamburyan pulled out of the bout citing injury and was replaced by Takeya Mizugaki.

Gamburyan faced Scott Jorgensen on July 15, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 71.He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Gamburyan next faced John Dodson on April 16, 2016 at UFC on Fox 19. Gamburyan lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Gamburyan was expected to face Alejandro Pérez on September 17, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 94. However, Gamburyan pulled out of the fight in mid-August for undisclosed personal reasons and was replaced by Albert Morales.

Gamburyan lost to Johnny Eduardo on November 19, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 100 by 2nd round TKO. Gamburyan then announced his retirement.

Less than two years into his retirement, Gamburyan appeared on Ariel and the Bad Guy Show and revealed he is returning from retirement and planning to enter competition in mid-2019.

Personal life

Gamburyan is also one of Ronda Rousey's main coaches. They met through judo/Hayastan MMA Academy.