LAS VEGAS – Manny Gamburyan had more than one surprise for the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday in his bantamweight debut.
Gamburyan (13-9, 1 no-contest) pulled out a spectacular victory in a bout he was handily losing by submitting Cody Gibson with four seconds left in the second round.
Then, with his Glendale Fighting Club teammate, Ronda Rousey, at his side, Gamburyan called out one of their gym’s nemeses, Bryan Caraway.
“I told Joe Silva win or lose, I want Caraway next,” a fired-up Gamburyan told the crowd, before channeling his inner Nick Diaz. “Bryan Caraway, where you at? Don’t be scared, homie.”
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Gibson got the best of round one, using effective jabs and appearing to be both stronger and faster than his opponent. In round two, Gibson drilled Gamburyan with a low blow kick. Gamburyan needed several minutes to recover, but continued on.
Late in the second, Gamburyan found his opportunity, as he cinched a guillotine choke and pulled for all it was wort. Gibson tapped at 4:56.
Gamburyan and Caraway had a well-documented series of run-ins on The Ultimate Fighter 18, where they served as assistant coaches for Rousey and Miesha Tate, respectively. Caraway is slated to fight Rafael Assuncao next weekend in Halifax, Canada.
“Bryan Caraway has avoided so many fights at this point,” Gamburyan said. “He wouldn’t even follow through on the grappling match we agreed on in The Ultimate Fighter.”