At just 23 years of age, Karen has been fighting professionally for over five years. He just recently got a chance to showcase his talents at WEC 44, against out of all people the former lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough in his debut match. Though being on TV has gotten him some exposure, he is still virtually unknown to the general public and can be categorized as a sleeper. To those insiders working in the business and hardcore fans mostly of Armenian descent, Karen is a very familiar face. Training partner to Manny Gamburyan of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, Karen is well known within the tight-knit Armenian community of Los Angeles, particularly in Glendale where the 53,854 inhabitants are mostly hardworking, small business owners. Karen himself was born in Armenian and, like many residents of Glendale, immigrated to the United States when he was very young. As a young child, he was involved in a multitude of sports ranging from karate, judo, boxing and kick boxing, all of which where introduced to him by his father.
A chilly wind breaks on my shoulder as I approach the gym. As with all hardcore gyms, this one is hidden between small businesses and an empty lot that looks as if it’s used as a chop shop at night. Main Events Gym is home to some notable professional MMA and boxing athletes. Karo Parisyan and Manny Gamburyan call this place home as well as a slew of up and coming potentials. I make my way inside and hear the grunts of hungry fighters hitting the bags, the clanks of the chains holding those bags up accompanied by blaring house music. I stop to look for Karen and he is hitting away at the heavy bags, just one week fresh off of his win over McCullough. As he continues to drill, I think to myself, I might have stumbled onto the WEC’s next big thing!
Looks really are deceiving, standing at just 5’7”, Karen comes off as a very humble person, someone who would blend into a crowd and not get noticed. He then lands a heavy right hook to the bag, that’ll sure get your attention. “I got to stay active. I get really fat quick if I don’t stay in the gym,” he says to me. I chuckle a bit as Karen continues working the heavy bag. His humbleness and motivation are linked to his father who instilled those traits in him. “My father taught me everything I know. He got me involved in everything from judo to boxing.” From age 6 to 17 Karen was always involved in combat sports but never thought in his wildest dreams that he would become a professional fighter. At age 17, and already befriending Manny Gamburyan who trained at the same gym Karen frequented, he decided to put all his training together and fight. “My first fight was in a backyard and I went up against a 23 year old. Luckily I won in the first round but right after the cops came and broke it up.” Karen continued to fight in backyard brawls until he finally became pro at age 18. By this time, his parents were well aware of his “hobby.” As his mother urged him to continue in school and get an education, his father became a beacon of motivation and inspiration. “My father was my number one fan, he would be at the gym more than I was, always at all my training sessions and my judo tournaments,” says Karen. As he legally turned of age, Karen made a career changing trip to fight in the Philippines. He admits that the very idea of traveling to the Philippines and of course money is why he took the fight in an instance, despite the fact that he was going up against a seasoned veteran in his home turf.
“I remember walking into the cage, and seeing and hearing thousands of fans and I was like, oh crap what have I gotten myself into,” as Karen reflects back on that moment in his career. With only two fights to his name, Karen suffered a three round decision lost to Pancrase and UFC veteran Koji Oishi. As with many fighters, a loss can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. “I had no clue how much work you had to put in to be successful in MMA until after this fight. It really opened my eyes. You can’t just go into these fights with half ass training, I learned a lot.” As Karen continued fighting all over Southern California, a dream developed that would be shared with both himself and his father. One in which he would be able to provide a better life for his family, an aspiration universally held by everyone.
Then out of the blue, something that no one is ever prepared for happened. Karen’s father passed away. It seemed as if Karen’s very foundation crumbled, as he dropped out of school and struggled to make sense out of it all. “After my father passed, it was very hard to go back to training, he would push me and I looked for him as motivation.” Karen continued fighting though; fighting now to make a dream come true for a father the he feels looks over him to this very day. “As time goes on your able to learn and take life as it comes.”
Over the next three years Karen scratched and crawled his way through a who’s who list of lower tier promotional circuits. All around Southern California and even Texas, Karen put in the work to develop and hone his craft. He amassed an impressive record of 8-1 over that course of time. All the hard work and dedication was soon to pay off.
On an early Wednesday day in October, Karen got the phone call so many fighters dream of getting. It was an invitation to make a debut with the WEC offering him a four fight contract. It was a rush of emotions as excitement and joy filled his head but nervousness and caution immediately set in as well. “I took my debut fight with 29 days notice. Imagine that, my first fight in the WEC against the former champ.”
If a shortened training camp on the eve of your big time debut were not enough to stress you out a bit, you have to factor in another unseen intangible. “I went into that fight with two cuts on my eye, one on my left and another on my right. The day I found out about the fight is when I got the cut.” Though it was a bit hurried he immediately went into training camp with the daunting task of cutting down to 145lbs in twenty eight days. When asked if he put together a specific plan for his debut fight, Karen answered no. He went in with the intention of seeing how everything went on the fly, though he did emphasize his stand up a bit more. Everything else was normal on his training regime, with each morning starting out with either a five mile run or a swim to get his metabolism going. Karen would follow it up with some downtime and work on either his striking at Main Events Gym or his grappling at legendary judo world champion and Gene LeBell protégé Gokor Chivichyan’s Hayastan Academy in North Hollywood, CA. This would all cycle day in and out while still squeezing in strength and conditioning into his routine.
In the hours before his big debut, Karen was uncharacteristically not nervous. “It was really weird, I’m usually really nervous before a fight. Even if the guy has had a lot of experience or no experience, I get really nervous.” It was so out of character that Manny Gamburyan who had a fight with Leonard Garcia later that night noticed Karen being a bit more relaxed than usual. The warm up area prior to a fight is an interesting site to experience to say that least. At times it’s as if a tornado has hit the back area showering it with empty water bottles, fruit bar wrappers and left over tape. That’s not even mentioning the entourages that some fighters bring with them in the back. Add in the corner people and you have a very hectic backstage area. While you have fighters usually psyching themselves out, punching holes in walls and snarling like rabid animals, Karen was just listening to his iPod before his bout got under way. With a clear mind in hand there is one thing Karen does stop and think about prior to a fight. “Every time before a fight I get chills, and sometimes it even brings a tear to my eye thinking about my dad looking over me.” With really nothing to lose and fighting for a dream held by himself and his father, Karen went out ready to give it all.
It’s amazing when you think about it, how in one month you’re thrust into a situation that has the potential to literally change your life. One month ago, Karen was sitting in his Glendale based gym, living out the daily schedule that many up and coming fighters live through day by day. Wake up, run, work boxing, nap, work jiu-jitsu and condition. If the cameras and roar of a packed Palms Casino wasn’t enough to stir a young up and comer’s blood, Karen kept cool but one thing did have him a little frightened. “I was really scared about those two cuts opening up again. Scared that going in, if any of them were to open, they would stop the fight.” As fate would have it, a “Razor” Rob right hand welcomed Karen into the WEC and it did manage to cut him. He admitted to me he freaked out a bit and got a sense of urgency. It prompted him to immediately go in for a takedown, buying himself time to really see if the cut was bad and to stop any momentum his opponent was trying to build.
For those of us lucky to see the fight it was a coming out party for Karen. It certainly was three years and ten pro fights in the making but for those fifteen minutes, Darabedyan looked like the eight year pro, befuddling the once unstoppable former WEC lightweight champion with fluid foot work and crisp boxing combinations. In the first round Karen answered Rob’s right hand with a combination of his own, a sweet jab hook whose pop was heard loud and clear by those in McCullough’s corner. Karen’s confidence was running high by the end of that round; he knew he had the fight. He would walk thru everything that was thrown at him that night, including the now famous leg kicks that made “Razor” Rob infamous in muay thai circles. When the judges awarded him the unanimous decision victory, Karen couldn’t be happier. “I was just so happy. For me to go in there with these two cuts and facing the former champion in my first match in the WEC, to just get the win is a really big thing for me. I’m just really happy, I can’t complain.”
Winning though is half the battle, for a fighter it’s equally important to reflect back and learn from one’s experience. The self reflection is really the only way to see the un-seeable in the midst of slipping and eating punches. When asked as to what he has learned from his fight he grins and answers me with a quick response. The Armenian fighter tells me he’s been working on checking kicks. In the morning after his fight Karen woke up with a stiff leg and could hardly walk around, his leg swollen and red. That’s definitely going to hamper your post fight winning festivities, especially in a town like Las Vegas. He then pauses. I know the wheels are turning in his head. “I’m going to focus a lot more on my strength and conditioning, and stay on a diet and not allow myself to get fat. I know now that this is pretty much my job and I have to view it as a job. I need to keep working on everything and get better at all aspects of my game.” His first big fight undoubtedly has had a prolific impact on how he now views the fight game, but I feel like I’m missing that last big closing question and it finally clicks in my head. “Is your dad your motivation for fighting?” Karen’s voice quivers, it becomes apparent that even three years after the fact, talking about his father is still an emotional subject. He answers yes, “Even today this was not only my dream but my dad’s dream for me to be in a big promotion. I’m just trying to make the both of us proud as we got in it together. Like I mentioned before he still looks over me and has always been there for me, he’s my number one fan still.”
Life’s most painful moments strip us bare to a point of vulnerability. It is from these situations though that we summon our greatest strengths and find who we really are as men and women. As I finish up my conversation I see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, he wants this so bad. The man believes in himself and that’s the most dangerous weapon anyone can have, an unbreakable sense of worth.
Update: Karen will be returning to the WEC cage on March 6th at the 145lbs division against Bart Palaszewski live from Columbus, Ohio.
