Head Movement! It looks as though Glendale Fighting Club is still up and running. Contrary to recent reports, UFC heavyweight Travis Browne is still a member too. After the UFC 207 frenzy died down, many questions still remained about coach Edmond Tarverdyan. Firstly, the polarizing coach was again the subject of massive debate regarding his
It looks as though Glendale Fighting Club is still up and running. Contrary to recent reports, UFC heavyweight Travis Browne is still a member too. After the UFC 207 frenzy died down, many questions still remained about coach Edmond Tarverdyan. Firstly, the polarizing coach was again the subject of massive debate regarding his credentials. Showing no improvement in her stand up, Ronda Rousey crumbled quickly against Amanda Nunes. Just 48 seconds in to the first round and ‘Rowdy’ had taken all she could handle.
Then came the deadline for a settlement agreement to the tune of $160K. Coach Edmond’s bankruptcy/fraud case had to be sorted by last month or the gym could be sold by the pursuing party. With Dana White recently saying Rousey is pretty much done fighting, reports about ‘Hapa’ joining a different gym circulated. Apparently those reports were inaccurate, and Browne recently came to the defense of his coach. Speaking during a podcast appearance, ‘Hapa’ confirmed coach Edmond will be in his corner against Derrick Lewis in Halifax:
“Don’t Judge Edmond”
Heading in to his February 19 showdown with ‘Black Beast,’ Browne desperately needs a win. Riding a two-fight losing skid, Browne’s fortunes have been on the downswing since joining Glendale. This is not a reflection of Tarverdyan, says Browne, who believes people are singling his coach out:
“I think it’s easy to judge from the outside. Anybody that I’ve ever had in camp, to work with me as a training partner, they are always like, ‘Edmond knows what he’s talking about.’ He has a great fight IQ and he has great coaching. It’s about the athletes going out there and performing. Every coach has lost. Every champion, with the exclusion of Jon Jones, has lost. Why didn’t the community come down on those coaches? Where was everybody then? Why are you singling him out? It isn’t fair.”
Browne Blames Himself
“Speaking for myself, I went to Edmond to work specifically on footwork and my hands. Now it was up to me, during my fights, to work on my kicks, and grappling, and stuff like that. That was just something that I, for whatever reason, wasn’t at the front of my mind. I think now after I’ve had a tough year, after a year like this, I need to sit back. I’ve developed these skills, how do I incorporate them now into like the full scope of what I’m able to do.”
“What was happening is that I go to a certain point that was pretty high in the rankings based solely off of athletic ability. Really I didn’t have any coach that was like, ‘yes, that’s my student.’ I got a lot of my coaching from a lot of my training partners. They are high-level training partners, you had Phil Davis, Brandon Vera, Jon Jones, even Andrei Arlovski, guys who were in the gym. Yes, I had coaches, they were good coaches, I’m not saying they were bad coaches, but I never really learned how to fight technically. So I felt I got to a certain spot in my career based on my athletic ability, and I wanted to learn specifics of the sport.”
“I went to Edmond and started learning specifics of the sport, but then, in my own mind, I look back now, I started to depend too much on my skill level and not use my athletic ability. So now I’m sitting here after the Werdum fight thinking, ‘What the hell is going on?’ I need to go back to being athletic as I’m going to be but also using the skill set that I’ve learned over the years and incorporating it all.”
At Stake
Facing a surging heavyweight prospect in Lewis, Browne will need to be on top form. At stake is possibly his UFC contract. ‘Hapa’ vs. ‘Black Beast’ is the main event of UFC Fight Night 105, and which version of Travis Browne that shows up will prove pivotal to the result.
Following another devastating loss, Ronda Rousey’s future is again uncertain. After coming unstuck against Holly Holm at UFC 193, Rousey’s comeback at UFC 207 was a mix of anticipation and equivocation. Her blackout of the media left fans wondering if she was either unready, or perhaps more focused than ever. Finally stepping in to the
Following another devastating loss, Ronda Rousey’s future is again uncertain. After coming unstuck against Holly Holm at UFC 193, Rousey’s comeback at UFC 207 was a mix of anticipation and equivocation. Her blackout of the media left fans wondering if she was either unready, or perhaps more focused than ever. Finally stepping in to the octagon on December 30, Rousey’s return was unravelled in a blaze of destruction. Amanda Nunes showed no mercy, paying back the UFC in kind for their heavy promotion of ‘Rowdy.’
Although some questions were firmly answered, many remained lingering. Perhaps the most obvious to come out was regarding coach Edmond Tarverdyan, and the credentials he possesses. Looking back on his past, it seems some aspects of Tarverdyan’s qualifications are questionable, at best. Some of his comments about Rousey’s training are now also being put under the spotlight also. Speaking with Sky Sports, Rousey’s former sparring partner slams Edmond and his claims.
Sparring Claims Exposed
One line that coach Edmond has mentioned a few times is regarding ‘Rowdy’ dropping sparring partners with body shots. Former WBC champion Diana Prazak knows a thing or two about the squared circle. She was the first ever Australian fighter to reach the pound-for-pound number one spot, and Prazak has inside knowledge about Rousey’s training camps. Having sparred Rousey for two years, Prazak says Edmond’s claims about KOing pro boxers are false:
“He was talking about me,” Prazak said. “My trainer rang him to say ‘why would you make that up?’ It’s an untruth. I hope she comes back with a totally different team around her who look after her safety.”
“She was stiff, she’s not a striker, and you don’t punch a puncher. She’s not a boxer, that’s not something you pick up in a couple of months. I started working with Ronda over two years ago but, but when she was going to fight Holly Holm, they stopped me being her sparring partner.”
Common Feeling
Among many critics of coach Edmond are Prazak, and also UFC veteran and analyst Kenny Florian. ‘Ken Flo’ recently stated Tarverdyan simply doesn’t have the experience to teach high level MMA. After hearing Prazak’s comments, is it just a matter of time before Rousey sees the light, or are we just going on a media witch hunt?
This was far from well received by Rousey’s team, and most notably her partner [UFC Heavyweight] Travis Browne. Browne, who is also trained by Edmond Tarverdyan, took to Twitter to make his feelings known to Page. The tweet below was later deleted:
Now, in what appears to be further goading, Page uploaded another video to Instagram titled “When you get coached by your FRIENDS”.
Rousey’s loss to Nunes has raised questions regarding her abilities to compete in the UFC. Following a career in which she systematically dominated her opponents prior to her loss to Holly Holm in Melbourne, Australia at UFC 193. The internet has been awash with memes and videos poking fun at the ex-135lb champions whimpering display against “The Lioness”.
While “MVP” was not the only one to roast Rousey following her defeat, he looks undeterred in keeping the game going. Will a full-blown social media war develop between Browne and Page, or will the former decide to let things go in a hope that the story of the week in MMA will eventually cool off?
Bellator star Page has mocked the nature of Ronda Rousey’s loss to Amanda Nunes.
A video posted by Michael Page (@michaelvenompage) on
This was far from well received by Rousey’s team, and most notably her partner [UFC Heavyweight] Travis Browne. Browne, who is also trained by Edmond Tarverdyan, took to Twitter to make his feelings known to Page. The tweet below was later deleted:
Now, in what appears to be further goading, Page uploaded another video to Instagram titled “When you get coached by your FRIENDS”.
A video posted by Michael Page (@michaelvenompage) on
Rousey’s loss to Nunes has raised questions regarding her abilities to compete in the UFC. Following a career in which she systematically dominated her opponents prior to her loss to Holly Holm in Melbourne, Australia at UFC 193. The internet has been awash with memes and videos poking fun at the ex-135lb champions whimpering display against “The Lioness”.
While “MVP” was not the only one to roast Rousey following her defeat, he looks undeterred in keeping the game going. Will a full-blown social media war develop between Browne and Page, or will the former decide to let things go in a hope that the story of the week in MMA will eventually cool off?
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey’s big comeback is still being hotly debated. Less than one week after Rousey’s crushing loss, the internet has proved again to be a harsh and unforgiving place. Fans have been flooding social media feeds with memes and gifs of ‘Rowdy’s’ 48-second loss to Amanda Nunes. After her loss
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey’s big comeback is still being hotly debated. Less than one week after Rousey’s crushing loss, the internet has proved again to be a harsh and unforgiving place. Fans have been flooding social media feeds with memes and gifs of ‘Rowdy’s’ 48-second loss to Amanda Nunes. After her loss to Holly Holm, Rousey faced a similar backlash, but there have been a few key differences this time. Firstly, the reactions have been notably more divided this time around. Coming to Rousey’s defense, many followers have been blowing up over the harsh content being shared.
Another key difference is the reaction from fellow fighters, a few in particular. Immediately after defeating Rousey on December 30, the champion Nunes shared a meme she’d reportedly been holding on to for two weeks. It wasn’t only ‘The Lioness’ who was firing shots, as Michael Page trolled ‘Rowdy’ with his homemade video. Showing ‘Venom’ mocking Rousey’s footwork, the short clip went viral within hours.
Not Done Yet
Responding with a Tweed and delete ‘f*ck you’ to Page, Travis Browne was one of many angry reactions to the Bellator star’s video. Apparently he’s not done spitting venom just yet, though. Check out Page’s latest troll of Ronda Rousey’s striking game:
Since UFC 207, Edmond Tarverdyan has found himself on the media’s chopping block. Page is clearly joining in on the running joke, but is he taking these antics a little too far. After crushing Cyborg’s skull, Page rolled out a pokeball in his celebration. Many felt given the nature of Santos’ injury, the joking around was perhaps in bad taste. Considering ‘Rowdy’s’ admission of depression after her first loss, is Page touching a raw nerve? Obviously nobody is above humour, but as a fellow fighter should ‘Venom’ retract his fangs on this subject?
Following the main event finish at UFC 207, many questions have again been raised about Ronda Rousey. Primarily, the big question is regarding her future in the sport. As that remains to be seen, another very pertinent point has been debated. Similar to the aftermath of UFC 193, Edmond Tarverdyan has been a hot topic
Following the main event finish at UFC 207, many questions have again been raised about Ronda Rousey. Primarily, the big question is regarding her future in the sport. As that remains to be seen, another very pertinent point has been debated. Similar to the aftermath of UFC 193, Edmond Tarverdyan has been a hot topic on the forums.
Just exactly who is Coach Edmond? As inflammatory as the title questions sounds, we’ll simply attempt to look in to exactly who the infamous coach is. Is he really a shyster, or are we all mistaken, thus the reason people keep paying him to coach them?
Edmond’s Striking Coaching
Firstly, let’s take a look at when Ronda Rousey made her transition to pro MMA. Cast your minds back to April 2011, when Rousey was just one fight in to her illustrious career. Standing in front of a mural showing Muhammad Ali and Edmond Tarverdyan and the slogan ‘Nothing Is Impossible,’ this is the oldest known footage of Tarverdyan training striking with Rousey. Later in the article we’ll discuss the topic of Edmond’s Muay Thai belt, for now check out the footage:
Five Years On
Did Rousey’s striking this past weekend look like the product of five years worth of expert development? Progressing from this question, is Edmond Tarverdyan qualified to be teaching a world-class MMA champion to strike? The mural on the wall in Edmond’s gym shows him standing with the WBC international Muay Thai belt. Tarverdyan (17-2) was supposed to fight an equally experienced Brian Carlos for the belt on September 8th 2007, but something happened. His opponent pulled out, and Edmond instead faced 5-1 Ben Yelle. The replacement was not considered viable or experienced enough to compete for the international title, and so the belt was changed to the USA title.
Still an accomplishment no doubt, and Tarverdyan defeated Yelle for the USA belt. Possibly because of the short notice nature of the fight, Tarverdyan was handed the international belt in victory. Tarverdyan was listed on the official WBC website and in the national rankings as the USA champion. Writing on his own this website Tarverdyan promoted himself as the WBC international champion, claiming a 59-6 record in combat sports.
Boxing Smart?
Here’s where the experience part becomes blurred. On his official websiteEdmond lists himself as the WBC international champion. In the same year his USA title fight took place, Tarverdyan told LS Magazinehe had over 300 fights with a 90% win ratio. Tarveryan’s Armenian wikipedia page (he doesn’t have a US-based page) claims he is “currently the WBC Muay Thai International Welterweight Champion.” The page features no other information about Tarverdyan.
History
During January of 2016, we learned that the California Athletic Commission had revoked Edmond Tarverdyan’s corner license. In applying for his ‘seconds’ license in Boston, Tarverdyan had fraudulently filled in his application, neglecting to disclose his criminal history. What criminal history you ask? Two counts of felony identity theft and resisting arrest in 2010 (see below). Once the MMA commission found he’d cornered Travis Browne under falsified information this past January, they contacted the California commission and thus he was served a $5K fine and his licencse was suspended for three months.
Tarverdyan, 34, was arrested in December 2010 on two counts of felony identity theft and one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest, according to public records. The identity theft counts were bumped down to misdemeanors and Tarverdyan ended up pleading no contest to the three charges.
In 2011, the coach was sentenced to one day in jail (with a credit of one day), three years of probation and 30 days of community service, according to court documents. He was also fined $610.
Then came the bankruptcy claim made by Edmond…
Liquidation
Before Rousey’s pivotal title fight against Holly Holm in November 2015, Edmond Tarverdyan’s claim for bankruptcy was announced. Owing banks and creditors across the country $700K, Tarverdyan claimed he was not the owner of Glendale Fighting Club, and owned just $3K in assets. In the same breathcoach Edmond claimed he had no recent income, although he was coach of the reigning women’s bantamweight champion, and the highest earning female fighter ever. Interestingly, Edmond also claimed, on an official court form in his bankruptcy case that he hadn’t filled in tax returns for all of 2013-14. Adding to this, Tarverdyan didn’t remember when he’d last filed his taxes.
Edmond’s debts were as follows:
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is designed for “debtors in financial difficulty who do not have the ability to pay their existing debts.” Among his debts, Tarverdyan lists $136,925 owed to Bank of America, $117,714 to Barclays Bank Delaware, $194,252 to Citibank, $8,836 to Citibank Nk, $163,693 to Citibank South Dakota, $6,411 to Discover, $8,496 to Discover Bank, $11,953 to Glendale Memorial Hospital, $7,294 to HSBC Bank, $22,000 to HSBC Bank Nevada N.A., and $9,817 to Luis Samkow.
Finally, let’s take a simple look at Rousey’s striking development…
Ronda’s Striking
Varying reports of his actual combat experience aside, how has Edmond Tarverdyan done with Ronda Rousey’s striking? Considering the video at the start of the article was mid-2011, he’s performed abysmally. Rousey is a world-class Judoka, her accomplishments in martial arts and MMA are unparalleled. She put her faith in coach Edmond, and clearly he has failed her in a big way. Was Ronda Rousey’s mom right when she blasted Coach Edmond as a fraud who was riding her daughter’s coat tails to success?
Post-Holm
After her harrowing KO loss to Holm at UFC 193, Rousey had a year away from active fighting. Should Tarverdyan have been able to hone her striking in that time? Perhaps, perhaps not. Does he have the credentials of a Duke Roufus, Bas Rutten, or any other legitimate and confirmed martial arts experts? No is the simple answer. Unfortunately for ‘Rowdy,’ she looked amateur in the striking against Nunes at UFC 207. Nobody expected her to outstrike the champion, but if Tarverdyan really was a legitimate striking expert, she would have at least survived, or displayed the defensive fundamentals. Here’s what Edmond said one month after Rousey’s loss to Holm:
“I know how to speak to Ronda. I know Ronda very well. She doesn’t need to watch that fight. The fight is over. It’s about what we’re doing now. It’s my job to watch the footage and I’m dedicating everything I have to Ronda’s rematch with Holly.”
Maybe it’s Nunes herself who is right. ‘The Lioness’ claimed Tarverdyan had ‘convinced Ronda she is a boxer.’ Concluding this article, there’s too much smoke around Edmond Tarverdyan for there to be no fire. Closing out this chapter, there’s really only one way we’ll know if Edmond is the thorn in Rousey’s side. Supposing she gets a new coach and finds success in another UFC run?
Who is Edmond Tarverdyan? Truthfully, we may never know. Looking at his past, we can tell he has lied many times. As for Tarverdyan’s track record as a top-level MMA coach overall, we’ll leave you with this stat:
Reminder – Records since moving to Edmond Tarverdyan’s gym:
With this kind of advice, it’s no surprise Edmond Tarverdyan is considered a joke… Returning amid at the end of a huge year for the UFC, former women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey had a bad night in the octagon. Reigning champion Amanda Nunes made it ugly early on at UFC 207, and ‘Rowdy’ was gone
With this kind of advice, it’s no surprise Edmond Tarverdyan is considered a joke…
Returning amid at the end of a huge year for the UFC, former women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey had a bad night in the octagon. Reigning champion Amanda Nunes made it ugly early on at UFC 207, and ‘Rowdy’ was gone in under a minute. Having been out of the game for over a year, Rousey’s last fight went down at UFC 193. Her striking game came under fire after the Holly Holm fight, and it was her coach who was mainly taking the heat.
Becoming a target for tons of criticism, Edmond Tarverdyan also felt the brunt of Rousey’s first ever loss. After her performance at UFC 207, don’t be surprised if coach Edmond takes some more flack. Reading exactly what he told ‘Rowdy’ during her loss to Nunes, even more questions are raised about Tarverdyan’s methods.
Coach Edmond’s Corner Advice
Transcribed by BloodyElbow.com, Edmond Tarverdyan’s UFC 207 corner advice is intriguing, to say the least. Instead of giving Rousey advice on what techniques to use, Edmond seemed more intent on randomly blurting out the preferred outcome. Read it for yourself and see what you think:
Tarverdyan: Make her miss, miss, miss! Ronda, make her miss!
Second cornerman: Be patient. Pick your moments
Fight starts. Tarverdyan: Head movement! Head movement! Head movement! Head movement! Head movement! Head movement! Head movement!
Tarverdyan: Yes, move!
Rousey is already taking a few punches at this point, unable to properly defend. She continues to take damage as the following takes place.
Tarverdyan: Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Catch her! Clinch! Second cornerman: Get to the head!
Rousey is unable to get the clinch, starts taking worse damage as Nunes lands some power shots.
Tarverdyan: Head movement! Good job! Jab!
Rousey is unable to establish the jab or fight back. She takes a defensive position with a high guard on her left side as she continues to take more punishment.
Tarverdyan: Move, move! Come on, please!
Rousey starts to move to her left as more shots keep coming.
Nunes makes her way to Tarverdyan and says a few things before popping her head out of the cage to say a few more bon mots. Edmond remains quiet during this part.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Analysys
Within the space of just 48 seconds, Edmond Tarverdyan again makes a terrible impression. Similar to when he told Ronda she was winning against Holm, Edmond telling her ‘good job’ while she was being destroyed is just bemusing. Instead of telling her ‘move’ or ‘head movement,’ Tarverdyan needed to give Rousey technical advice. In this scenario, ‘time her strikes and counter with a shot to single or settle for the clinch’ would have been more succinct. Obviously this is a hindsight piece of advice, and means little coming from anyone but Rousey’s trainer.
The sad truth is that if Ronda Rousey hadn’t trained better striking, she wouldn’t have displayed it, defensively or offensively. There’s one man responsible for that, and he may well be the biggest fraud in MMA history, and that’s saying something in this sport.
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