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Glendale News-Press (California)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
May 9, 2014 Friday
Manny Gamburyan's only option is winning versus Nik Lentz at UFC Fight Night
Grant Gordon, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
May 09--Manny Gamburyan finds no solace in a no-contest.
When last Gamburyan fought, he was on the wrong end of a unanimous
decision against seventh-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship
bantamweight Denis Siver.
However, the December bout was overturned and ruled no-contest in
April after Siver tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin,
which is commonly used as a weight-loss and testosterone aid.
But Gamburyan still refers to the fight as a loss.
And on Saturday, Gamburyan will return to the octagon to face Nik
Lentz in a three-round bantamweight bout as part of UFC Fight Night
from Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena in a fight he looks at as a
must-win.
"He's a great all-around fighter, he's a good wrestler. He's
definitely a grinder," Gamburyan, 33, said of Lentz. "But I'm not new
to this sport. I don't care what he has. I'm 100% sure of myself.
"The only option I have is to get the 'W.'"
The 29-year-old Lentz, ranked No. 9 in the division, is coming off a
loss to No. 1 Chad Mendes, who will challenge Jose Aldo for the title
on Aug. 2 for the second time. It was Lentz's first loss at 145
pounds, but no matter what happened in his December contest with
Mendes, Lentz is hardly lacking confidence.
"My wrestling is by far better than his and so's my ground game,"
Lentz said. "But as far as where the fight goes, I'm comfortable
wherever it is.
"I'm always 100% confident."
Gamburyan, who trains at the Glendale Fighting Club and Team Hayastan
in North Hollywood, is known for his judo background, his heavy top
game and a powerful right hand, which knocked out Mike Thomas Brown in
a World Extreme Cagefighting bout in 2010 and earned him a title shot
against Aldo.
However, Lentz said there isn't really anything all that dangerous
that Gamburyan brings to the cage.
"Not in particular," Lentz said. "But, he's been around a long time.
He's a veteran of the game, so nothing's going to surprise him."
In his biggest victories, Lentz has used his wrestling to grind down
opponents, an approach often used by Gamburyan.
"My mindset is better than ever," said Lentz, who added that his time
training with American Top Team in Coconut Springs, Fla. has paid huge
dividends. "I'm really looking forward to this fight."
The two of have gone to the judges in 23 of their combined 54 fights
and their last eight in a row combined, further evidence of their
grind-it-out nature.
In the common opponent department, both combatants have previously
fought Robert Emerson, Tyson Griffin, Diego Nunes and Thiago Taveres.
Lentz went 3-0-1 against the foursome, with a draw against Tavares and
decision wins over the others. Gamburyan is 0-4 against the quartet,
with three decision losses and a knockout defeat against Emerson.
For Lentz, it is an opportunity to maintain his standing in the top
10, while Gamburyan has one more chance against an elite opponent.
"Now I'm off a loss to Denis Siver and now I'm fighting another top-10
guy," Gamburyan said. "I'm looking forward to this fight."
For Gamburyan to seize the day, he believes he'll have to be better
than he was against Siver. In the bout, Siver, known for his
kickboxing skill set, took Gamburyan down, which the Armenian admitted
surprised him and also injured him during the course of the fight.
"To be honest, I've never talked about this ... but the worst part was
I wasn't expecting him to take me down. He hit my knee with his head
and it really hurt me and it felt like my knee wasn't there,"
Gamburyan said. "Besides the steroids ... or whatever it is, I still
could've done better. I'm a better fighter than that. I guess it just
wasn't my night."
The Gamburyan-Lentz bout is slated to be the third of a 13-contest
card and will stream live on the UFC Fight Pass portion of the
preliminaries, which begin at 3:30 p.m. PDT. The remainder of the card
will air on Fox Sports 1, headlined by a welterweight tilt between No.
7 Matt Brown and No. 14 Erick Silva.
A week before his bout, Gamburyan completed his latest camp and
proclaimed himself ready, with a successful camp in hand. But that's
all old fare for the veteran, who consistently has good training
camps, but knows he needs to have consistently successful fights.
"I always train hard, I'm always prepared," Gamburyan said. "It's all
about May 10th when I get into that cage. It's go-time, that's when it
matters."
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
May 9, 2014 Friday
Manny Gamburyan's only option is winning versus Nik Lentz at UFC Fight Night
Grant Gordon, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
May 09--Manny Gamburyan finds no solace in a no-contest.
When last Gamburyan fought, he was on the wrong end of a unanimous
decision against seventh-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship
bantamweight Denis Siver.
However, the December bout was overturned and ruled no-contest in
April after Siver tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin,
which is commonly used as a weight-loss and testosterone aid.
But Gamburyan still refers to the fight as a loss.
And on Saturday, Gamburyan will return to the octagon to face Nik
Lentz in a three-round bantamweight bout as part of UFC Fight Night
from Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena in a fight he looks at as a
must-win.
"He's a great all-around fighter, he's a good wrestler. He's
definitely a grinder," Gamburyan, 33, said of Lentz. "But I'm not new
to this sport. I don't care what he has. I'm 100% sure of myself.
"The only option I have is to get the 'W.'"
The 29-year-old Lentz, ranked No. 9 in the division, is coming off a
loss to No. 1 Chad Mendes, who will challenge Jose Aldo for the title
on Aug. 2 for the second time. It was Lentz's first loss at 145
pounds, but no matter what happened in his December contest with
Mendes, Lentz is hardly lacking confidence.
"My wrestling is by far better than his and so's my ground game,"
Lentz said. "But as far as where the fight goes, I'm comfortable
wherever it is.
"I'm always 100% confident."
Gamburyan, who trains at the Glendale Fighting Club and Team Hayastan
in North Hollywood, is known for his judo background, his heavy top
game and a powerful right hand, which knocked out Mike Thomas Brown in
a World Extreme Cagefighting bout in 2010 and earned him a title shot
against Aldo.
However, Lentz said there isn't really anything all that dangerous
that Gamburyan brings to the cage.
"Not in particular," Lentz said. "But, he's been around a long time.
He's a veteran of the game, so nothing's going to surprise him."
In his biggest victories, Lentz has used his wrestling to grind down
opponents, an approach often used by Gamburyan.
"My mindset is better than ever," said Lentz, who added that his time
training with American Top Team in Coconut Springs, Fla. has paid huge
dividends. "I'm really looking forward to this fight."
The two of have gone to the judges in 23 of their combined 54 fights
and their last eight in a row combined, further evidence of their
grind-it-out nature.
In the common opponent department, both combatants have previously
fought Robert Emerson, Tyson Griffin, Diego Nunes and Thiago Taveres.
Lentz went 3-0-1 against the foursome, with a draw against Tavares and
decision wins over the others. Gamburyan is 0-4 against the quartet,
with three decision losses and a knockout defeat against Emerson.
For Lentz, it is an opportunity to maintain his standing in the top
10, while Gamburyan has one more chance against an elite opponent.
"Now I'm off a loss to Denis Siver and now I'm fighting another top-10
guy," Gamburyan said. "I'm looking forward to this fight."
For Gamburyan to seize the day, he believes he'll have to be better
than he was against Siver. In the bout, Siver, known for his
kickboxing skill set, took Gamburyan down, which the Armenian admitted
surprised him and also injured him during the course of the fight.
"To be honest, I've never talked about this ... but the worst part was
I wasn't expecting him to take me down. He hit my knee with his head
and it really hurt me and it felt like my knee wasn't there,"
Gamburyan said. "Besides the steroids ... or whatever it is, I still
could've done better. I'm a better fighter than that. I guess it just
wasn't my night."
The Gamburyan-Lentz bout is slated to be the third of a 13-contest
card and will stream live on the UFC Fight Pass portion of the
preliminaries, which begin at 3:30 p.m. PDT. The remainder of the card
will air on Fox Sports 1, headlined by a welterweight tilt between No.
7 Matt Brown and No. 14 Erick Silva.
A week before his bout, Gamburyan completed his latest camp and
proclaimed himself ready, with a successful camp in hand. But that's
all old fare for the veteran, who consistently has good training
camps, but knows he needs to have consistently successful fights.
"I always train hard, I'm always prepared," Gamburyan said. "It's all
about May 10th when I get into that cage. It's go-time, that's when it
matters."