Judo

Ken Karapetian's judo studio at the Glendale YMCA is not large, but he makes the most out of it. His judo students warm up by playing an impromptu game of soccer on the studio's padded floors; tiny traffic cones serve as goal posts. Later, the students run laps around the studio. Careful not to run into one another, the students hug the perimeter of the space as they run. Karapetian's judo studio is a converted handball court in the basement level of the YMCA's main physical fitness building.

GLENDALE — Roman “The Emperor” Mitichyan and his opponent on Saturday evening, Mike Dolce, are looking for the same thing at Call to Arms’ “Called Out MMA” event. A victory goes without saying, of course, but both are looking for their talents and will to wipe away past pitfalls in the arena of mixed martial arts. Both are former cast members on the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” series, with Mitichyan (9-3)

In the fleeting days leading up to the most monumental night of his life, Karen Darabedyan is nervous, he’s excited and he’s anxious. But he’s always nervous before a fight he contends. “I’m the most nervous guy before a fight,” he admits with a smile. “I think that’s the best thing I have, being nervous before a fight, I’m a very careful fighter. I think being nervous, I use it in a positive way.” Of course this isn’t just any other fight that he’s readying himself for and it’s likely this is another kind of nervous.

Burgeoning mixed-martial-arts female fighter Ronda Rousey will make her Strikeforce debut live on Showtime as part of the "Strikeforce Challengers 18" card on Aug. 12 in Las Vegas. Rousey, who trains among other places at the Glendale Fighting Club and is cornered by Glendale's Edmond Tarverdyan, will take on Sarah D'Alelio (4-1) in a televised bout. With a 2-0 professional record, Rousey has created plenty of buzz early in her career, as she's a former Olympic bronze medalist in judo, went 3-0 in amateur MMA fights and has won her two professional MMA bouts in a combined 74 seconds.

When Ronda Rousey was but a little girl - shy and hushed - her dad bestowed upon her words to live by. Tragically, Ron Rousey was dead when Ronda was just 8 years old. His words, however, lived on. "He's the one that told me I'd win a gold medal and be the best in the world someday," she remembers. "And when you're 8 years old, your dad's right about everything. " And now, Ronda Rousey is 24 years old and she's become an illustration of beauty, brawn and devastating mixed-martial-arts skill that has many believing she is, indeed, destined to be the best in the world.

It was the same story for Ronda Rousey. It was the same unbelievably impressive, undeniably devastating story for the rapid-rising mixed-martial-arts star. In just 49 seconds, Rousey secured a gruesome armbar to coax a submission from Julia Budd on Friday night at Strikeforce Challengers 20 at the Pearl at The Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas. With the victory, the Glendale-trained grappler improved to 4-0 in her professional MMA career with all four victories coming in less than a minute's time and all coming via armbar.

GLENDALE — As the most monumental fight in Manny Gamburyan's career approaches fast, the tenacious mixed-martial-artist is clearly taking on the magnitude of his title opportunity and the task of facing World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo straight on. During a Monday conference call, Gamburyan didn't hesitate in proclaiming that he was confident he could upset Aldo — seen by most as a phenom in the sport as...

With all the buzz and hype that accompanied Ronda Rousey's Strikeforce mixed-martial-arts debut, it was rather tepid in comparison to the whirlwind of talking heads and media meet-and-greets that the Glendale-trained grappler has had to deal with as of late. Ahead of today's Strikeforce Challengers 20 card at The Pearl at the Palms Casino & Resort, Rousey has found herself at media events for UFC 137, UFC on Fox and attended a red carpet event for the aforementioned Fox event. She's made radio appearances and talked to print and Internet media members aplenty.

Resting on a kitchen shelf in Russell Norman's Glendale home is a novelty coffee mug gifted to him two decades ago. "A good teacher teaches, a great teacher inspires," it reads. It is a fitting message for a man who, 55 years after conducting his first accounting class at Glendale Community College, continues to educate and charm students and colleagues alike. Norman, 92, was recently honored by the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees for his five-and-a-half-decade tenure, believed to be the longest in the state.

In the spring of 1999, the sport of mixed martial arts was hardly a blip on the radar and the organization that would flourish presenting it — the Ultimate Fighting Championship — was in its darkest days, scrambling to stay afloat and searching for venues that would sanction it. Years beyond its eye-catching debut and years before it would become the fastest growing sport in the United States, MMA was, for all intents and purposes, underground....

Ken Karapetian's judo studio at the Glendale YMCA is not large, but he makes the most out of it. His judo students warm up by playing an impromptu game of soccer on the studio's padded floors; tiny traffic cones serve as goal posts. Later, the students run laps around the studio. Careful not to run into one another, the students hug the perimeter of the space as they run. Karapetian's judo studio is a converted handball court in the basement level of the YMCA's main physical fitness building.

In the fleeting days leading up to the most monumental night of his life, Karen Darabedyan is nervous, he’s excited and he’s anxious. But he’s always nervous before a fight he contends. “I’m the most nervous guy before a fight,” he admits with a smile. “I think that’s the best thing I have, being nervous before a fight, I’m a very careful fighter. I think being nervous, I use it in a positive way.” Of course this isn’t just any other fight that he’s readying himself for and it’s likely this is another kind of nervous.

GLENDALE — Roman “The Emperor” Mitichyan and his opponent on Saturday evening, Mike Dolce, are looking for the same thing at Call to Arms’ “Called Out MMA” event. A victory goes without saying, of course, but both are looking for their talents and will to wipe away past pitfalls in the arena of mixed martial arts. Both are former cast members on the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” series, with Mitichyan (9-3)