The month of March has brought with it highs and lows for a trio of Armenian UFC fighters.
On March 9, Katlyn Cerminara (Chookagian) returned to combat for the first time since October 22, 2022. Prior to her UFC 299 bout with Maycee Barber in Miami, Cerminara opened up about what she went through following her last fight.
“Actually, for the past two years, I’ve been going through fertility treatments, and it’s been a long year,” an emotional Cerminara said during a press conference. “That’s kind of why I thought I’d be taking off from fighting for a little bit longer. But for the last year, I’ve gone through three, four rounds of IVF and had two miscarriages. It’s been a tough year.”
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After three rounds, the judges scored the fight 27-30, 27-30 and 28-29 all in favor of Barber, handing Cerminara her second loss in a row. She is still the joint record holder for the most wins in the women’s flyweight division (9) tied with Valentina Shevchenko. This fight now puts the “Blonde Fighter” in first for all-time bouts in women’s flyweight (14), and Cerminara herself has said that her fighting career is far from over. Despite the result, Cerminara took to social media to share the trials and tribulations she went through.
“After my second miscarriage I decided to take a break and take a fight in order to take my mind off of the disappointment. Suffering another loss this weekend was def not what I wanted but that’s life right,” Cerminara said on Instagram. “Even though the results were not what I planned for. I am very proud of myself for getting back in shape to be able to compete with the best at the top of this sport.”
Cerminara concluded her post with a message of hope for anyone who has faced similar challenges. “It’s hard to discuss fertility issues. Most people keep it very private but it sucks and is very hard. I hope by talking about it, it may make someone else felt at least understood. So many people are dealing with fertility issues and it’s HARD! I feel for you if you are! Stay strong, stay positive, keep fighting!!!”
An Armenian UFC fighter whose career is still in its early days, Isaac “The Midwest Choppa” Dulgarian squared off against Christian Rodriguez on March 16 at UFC Vegas 88. Dulgarian entered his second UFC fight with a 6-0 professional MMA record, with all of his fights ending via KO/TKO or submission in the first round.
However, Dulgarian’s night in Vegas did not end without controversy.
The Armenian fighter burst out of the gates with high energy and elite wrestling, earning a 10-8 score from all judges. Failing to secure a finish, Dulgarian faced his longest fight yet. In fact, the fight went the distance and was left to the judges to make a decision.
The second round saw Dulgarian secure 4:11 of control time against his opponent, despite clear signs of fatigue as the round dragged on. The third round was all Rodriguez, as Dulgarian seemingly ran out of gas and held on for the final horn.
Rodriguez amassed more total strikes (97) and significant strikes (48) than Dulgarian (56 and 22 respectively), but Dulgarian himself had more than nine minutes of control time and scored seven takedowns. Rodriguez did not score a single takedown.
With two 10-8 rounds scored for each fighter, the contest was ultimately decided by how the judges scored the second round. Despite Dulgarian’s lengthy control in round two, two judges scored that round in Rodriguez’s favor. Two judges scored it 28-27 to Rodriguez, and one judge, 28-27 to Dulgarian.
According to MMADecisions.com, all media members scored the fight in favor of Dulgarian, with two media members scoring a draw.
Dulgarian himself took to social media to voice his frustration towards the judges’ decision, even claiming that his opponent was cheating. “I had to use a lot of strength and energy to keep this guy down. About three minutes into round one, I’m completely dry, and this guy is shining. You know, I’ve grappled thousands of bodies, and I know when people are cheating. This guy was lubed up. He had lotion on.”
Dulgarian’s spirits still remain high. On March 13, Dulgarian told Armenian Sports News that he is expecting his first child in the coming weeks. Following his first-career loss, Dulgarian also remained positive looking ahead in his career. “I am super grateful to be able to go back to my family healthy & I’m just blessed to have such awesome fans supporting me!! This is just the beginning for me guys,” he wrote on Instagram.
Another Armenian UFC fighter did find himself in the win column to wrap up March. Edmen “The Golden Boy” Shahbazyan fought exactly one week after Dulgarian for another round of UFC action in Las Vegas. This time, Shahbazyan was looking to avoid a fifth loss in his last six fights.
Nearly a year after his last UFC fight, which ended as a KO/TKO loss to Anthony Hernandez, Shahbazyan stepped into the octagon with AJ Dobson.
Once both fighters landed hits, the hits only got heavier. Dobson wobbled Shahbazyan within the first two minutes of round one with a vicious punching combo that was countered with a takedown from Shahbazyan. This stint of ground control would soon lead to Shahbazyan’s total control of the fight.
With 39 seconds remaining in round one, Shahbazyan landed a clean left look that sent Dobson careening towards the cage and down to the floor. The Golden Boy pounced on his opponent to earn an early knockout win via ground and pound.
“He hit me with a good shot, I’m not going to lie. He buzzed me for a second,” Shahbazyan said during his post-fight interview. “When I see a finish, I jump on it. I’m a finisher. I’m always kill or be killed in there.” This fight marks Shahbazyan’s 11th first-round finish and 11th win by knockout.
“I’m glad I took this time off from my last fight to make some improvements, get better, and after the fight was done, I’m like, ‘Damn, I could keep going’,” Shahbazyan said during the post-fight press conference.
With the month of March coming to a close, it’s time to look forward to the next Armenian UFC fighter due to compete. Arman Tsarukyan will fight Charles Oliveira on the main card of UFC 300 in arguably the most high-stakes UFC fight involving an Armenian.
During the buildup to UFC 299, Tsarukyan joined a panel of fighters on UFC 300’s card for a press conference. Tsarukyan was bullish on his chances to not only earn a win over Do Bronxs, but also put him to sleep.
“I want to knock him out in the first round. Because Islam (Makhachev) did it in the second round, I want to show everybody I’m in a different level,” Tsarukyan said during a press conference in Miami.
UFC 300 will take place on Saturday, April 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jason Takhtadjian
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