Judo

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.

Girls and boys, women and men of all ages from near and far descended upon the Glendale Fighting Club on Saturday afternoon to watch Ronda Rousey take center stage. Far removed from the bright lights and big stage of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and exactly two weeks removed from her historic title defense of the UFC women's bantamweight championship , Rousey conducted her first-ever mixed-martial-arts clinic, demonstrating some of the knowledge and technique that's made her an unbeaten phenom.

They won't write citations, lead hikes or carry guns, but Glendale's new volunteer trail watch guards will almost certainly be dealing with difficult people. On Saturday, the roughly 20-person team got a lesson in “verbal judo,” as Glendale Police Officer Larry Ballesteros called it. Ballesteros took on the roles of obnoxious people - like a 24-year-old thrill-seeking mountain biker “with 4 ounces of body fat” - and tested the volunteers. Will Campbell, a freelance editor from Silver Lake, tried to persuade Ballesteros' biker persona to slow down.

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....

GLENDALE — In the world of mixed martial arts, anything can happen. It’s a reality that Sevak Magakian is well aware of and it’s why he was in positive spirits less than 24 hours after he suffered a defeat in the main event at Respect in the Cage II at Fox Theater in Pomona. The Glendale fighter lost at the 2:42 mark of the first round against Bobby Green after Green busted open Magakian’s head with a knee that elicited the stoppage and the technical knockout win for the Fontana fighter late Friday night.

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.

GLENDALE ? Fighting for the second time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Roman Mitichyan?s fortune on Wednesday afternoon was the polar opposite of his debut. Mitichyan succumbed to a ground-and-pound barrage by George Sotiropoulos, losing by referee stoppage at 2:24 of the second round in a welterweight (170 pounds) bout on the ?Ultimate Fight Night? undercard in Broomfield, Colo. Mitichyan (9-2, 1-1 in UFC) won his first fight in the UFC in just 23 seconds against Dorian Price.

Church hosts concert series LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The Church of the Lighted Window is holding an "In Praise of Music" concert Sunday featuring saxophonist Douglas Masek and pianist Rita Borden. The performers will play music by Claude Bolling, Michael Jon Fink, Beverly Grigsby, Dan Higgins, Lawson Lunde, Oliver Nelson and Claudio Santoro. A pre-concert panel discussion begins at 3 p.m., followed by the concert at 4 p.m. A reception will follow the performance.

ONTARIO — In the hours leading into his fight on Sunday night, Sevak Magakian wondered if he should even enter the cage. His cornermen, in fact, advised him against it, given how poorly he felt after a sudden illness overtook him. But Magakian decided to go down swinging. And, though visibly ill hours after his bout late Sunday night, Magakian was smiling ear to ear as he had grinded out an impressive unanimous victory over Jeremy Umphries in the co-main event of CalledOut MMA II at the Ontario Citizens Business Bank Arena.