Manny Gamburyan explains post-UFC 178 callout of Bryan Caraway

After a remarkable comeback win this past Saturday at UFC 178, Manny Gamburyan turned his attention to one of the bantamweight division’s frequent targets: Bryan Caraway.

Gamburyan (14-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) opened UFC 178’s prelims at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, survived some early blows from Cody Gibson (12-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC), shook off a painful low blow, and ultimately secured the second-round guillotine choke.

In his post-fight interview, he called for a fight with Caraway, a top-15 fighter who’s become all too familiar with such callouts over the past few years.

In 2013 Gamburyan served as one of Ronda Rousey’s assistant coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 18.” Caraway, meanwhile, assisted his girlfriend, Miesha Tate, with her opposing team on the reality series.

On Saturday Gamburyan said Caraway (19-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who meets fellow contender Raphael Assuncao (22-4 MMA, 6-1 UFC) on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 54, avoided a grappling match during their time on “TUF 18.” Now, he wants an MMA fight with him.

“People don’t know he’s been talking sh-t about a lot of people,” Gamburyan said backstage. “When I was coaching with Ronda Rousey on ‘TUF 18,’ he was just an idiot. I respect him as a fighter. I like Miesha Tate. I like her. I respect her, but it is what it is. Miesha Tate’s got bigger balls then he does. She actually he fought the champ two times. This guy just runs away … Not even an MMA fight, but a grappling challenge. He didn’t even do it.”

And though Caraway, who’s ranked No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings, would take a step back against the unranked Gamburyan, the Armenian said he’s going to push for it.

“He’s not going to escape from here,” Gamburyan said. “I want to fight. Even though he’s got Assuncao next, win or lose, I want that fight.”

For complete coverage of UFC 178, check out the UFC Events section of the site.