Early career Gamburyan began his career in mixed martial arts in 1999 at the age of 17. He won his first four fights, then lost a decision to future
UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk in 2001. Gamburyan's cousin
Karo Parisyan nicknamed him "The Pitbull" for the tenacity he displayed in the fight.
The Ultimate Fighter In 2007, Gamburyan appeared on the reality show
The Ultimate Fighter 5, fighting on
Jens Pulver's team. His nickname was changed to "Anvil" for his UFC career because "Pitbull" was already taken by other UFC fighters such as
Andrei Arlovski and
Thiago Alves. Gamburyan defeated Noah Thomas by
kimura lock in the preliminary round. In his next matchup, Gamburyan defeated
Matt Wiman to advance to the semifinal round. In the semifinal round, Gamburyan beat
Joe Lauzon in a unanimous decision and advanced to the finale with
Nate Diaz. He was considered an underdog in each of his fights, in part due to his short stature. After the Lauzon fight, UFC president
Dana White personally apologized to Gamburyan for doubting him. In the finale, Gamburyan controlled Diaz for the majority of the fight, but was forced to tap out in the second round after dislocating his right shoulder on an unsuccessful takedown attempt. Although this technically counts as a submission due to injury, Gamburyan has never been submitted by an opponent in his MMA career.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Despite losing the show, Gamburyan secured a UFC contract with his performance. He won his next two UFC fights, defeating
Nate Mohr by ankle lock at
UFC 79 and Jeff Cox by guillotine choke at
UFC Fight Night 13. Gamburyan raised some controversy in the Cox fight by delivering a spinning leg kick after feigning the mutual tap of gloves that is often seen at the beginning of the match. The crowd in attendance reacted with heavy booing. He returned to action at
UFC 87 and was knocked out in 12 seconds by
Rob Emerson. At
UFC 94, Gamburyan lost to
Thiago Tavares in a back and forth fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29–28, 29–28).
World Extreme Cagefighting After his loss to Tavares, Gamburyan decided to drop down to the featherweight division and fight in the Zuffa-owned
WEC. Gamburyan's first fight at featherweight was a decision win over
John Franchi at
WEC 41. Gamburyan defeated
Leonard Garcia on November 18, 2009, at
WEC 44 via unanimous decision. Gamburyan fought former WEC Featherweight Champion
Mike Brown at
WEC 48. He won by knockout in the first round as well as getting the
Knockout of the Night bonus of $65,000. Gamburyan lost via second-round KO to
José Aldo in a bout for the
WEC Featherweight Championship on September 30, 2010, at
WEC 51.
UFC return On October 28, 2010,
World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Gamburyan was expected to face
Raphael Assunção on March 19, 2011, at
UFC 128, but was forced out of the bout with a back injury and replaced by
Erik Koch. Gamburyan next faced
Tyson Griffin on June 26, 2011, at
UFC on Versus 4. He lost the fight via majority decision. Gamburyan was expected to face
Diego Nunes on September 24, 2011, at
UFC 135, but was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a shoulder injury. The bout ultimately took place at
UFC 141 and Gamburyan lost via unanimous decision. Gamburyan defeated
Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision on August 4, 2012, at
UFC on FOX 4. Gamburyan was expected to face
Chad Mendes on February 23, 2013, at
UFC 157. However, Gamburyan was forced out of the bout with a thumb injury. Mendes was then pulled from the card as a suitable replacement could not be found on short notice. Gamburyan was expected to face
Hacran Dias on May 18, 2013, at
UFC on FX 8. However, Gamburyan was forced to pull out of the bout citing another injury and was replaced by
Nik Lentz. Gamburyan faced
Cole Miller on August 17, 2013, at
UFC Fight Night 26. Gamburyan won the fight via unanimous decision. Gamburyan faced
Dennis Siver on December 28, 2013, at
UFC 168. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Subsequently, Siver failed a post fight drug screening, testing positive for banned substances. As a result, the decision was changed to a "No Contest". Gamburyan faced
Nik Lentz on May 10, 2014, at
UFC Fight Night 40. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Gamburyan faced
Cody Gibson in a
bantamweight bout on September 27, 2014, at
UFC 178. He won the fight via submission in the second round. Gamburyan was expected to face
Aljamain Sterling on April 18, 2015, at
UFC on Fox 15. However, Gamburyan pulled out of the bout citing injury and was replaced by
Takeya Mizugaki. Gamburyan faced
Scott Jorgensen on July 15, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 71. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Gamburyan next faced
John Dodson on April 16, 2016, at
UFC on Fox 19. Gamburyan lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Gamburyan was expected to face
Alejandro Pérez on September 17, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 94. However, Gamburyan pulled out of the fight in mid-August for undisclosed personal reasons and was replaced by Albert Morales. Gamburyan lost to
Johnny Eduardo on November 19, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 100 by 2nd-round TKO. Gamburyan then announced his retirement. Less than two years into his retirement, Gamburyan appeared on Ariel and the Bad Guy Show and revealed he is returning from retirement and planning to enter competition in mid-2019. ==Personal life==