Three wins for local MMA fighters

EL MONTE — On a night of fights filled with local highlights, as Glendale-trained fighters Sevak Magakian, Ando Dermenjyan and Sako Chivitchyan were all impressive in victory, it was the main event that left area mixed martial arts fans stunned — and frightened.

Making his mixed martial arts return after a near 10-month hiatus, Glendale’s Roman “The Emperor” Mitichyan was on the receiving end of a brutal knockout loss against Jason Meaders in the finale of a California Xtreme Fighting card at the El Monte Expo Center late Thurday night.

Meaders (5-7) landed consecutive right hooks coming out of the clinch that led to the stunning upset and led to Mitichyan (9-3) falling backwards unconscious onto the mat 2 minutes and 41 seconds into the third and final round. Mitichyan, who protested being fitted with a neck brace, was stretchered out of the ring and taken by ambulance to USC Medical Center late Thursday night. He was released early Friday morning.

“He’s fine,” said George Bastrmajyan, Mitichyan’s manager and cutman. “It was just precautionary stuff.”

Prior to the main event, Dermenjyan, Chivitchyan and Magakian all looked impressive. All three finished their fights, with Chivitchyan securing a technical knockout and Magakian and Dermenjyan winning via submission in front of a boisterous throng of Armenian fans that took up at least half of the audience.

“I’m very happy with the crowd,” Dermenjyan said. “I really appreciate them coming out to support us.”

Dermenjyan was the first of the four fighters to compete on Thursday. All of them train at both the Glendale Fighting Club and the Main Event Gym in Glendale, among other gyms.

Dermenjyan made his pro debut and promptly choked out Miles Howard (0-2) in 1:45 of the first round of their lightweight (155 pounds) bout.

After circling each other for a while, Dermenjyan shot in and eventually secured a takedown with a leg trip.

Howard showcased a solid guard, but Dermenjyan eventually moved into position to lock in a guillotine choke from the top and secured the tapout.

“I’m very happy with the way things went,” Dermenjyan, 24, said. “I had [the choke in] tight. The guy just didn’t even budge.”

The crowd erupted with the win and Dermenjyan dropped to his knees and buried his face in his palms, rejoicing in the moment.