UFC Fight Night 100's Manny Gamburyan not ruling out move down to 125

SAO PAULO – Manny Gamburyan hasn’t stepped in the octagon since April, when a quick knockout loss to John Dodson snapped a two-fight victorious run.

During the hiatus, however, Gamburyan kept busy with a bigger project: his baby daughter, born in July. And as he heads into his 15th octagon appointment on Saturday, the veteran finds in his family the added motivation to come out on top.

“I always loved babies,” Gamburyan told MMAjunkie. “Babies are the best thing in the world. But having one? Your own, waking up in the morning and looking at her face? It’s just on a different level.

“It’s kind of, it was weird. When I woke up, I had to open my luggage, and I saw a little present for me, from her and my wife. It was just like, ‘Damn, this so cool.’ So I’ve got to go out there and whoop his ass. Just for this, I’ve got to do out there and whoop his ass.”

Here it is (via Instagram):

On Saturday, Gamburyan (15-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC) looks to bounce back when he meets Brazilian veteran Johnny Eduardo (27-10 MMA, 2-2 UFC). The bantamweights square off on the FS1-televised preliminary portion of UFC Fight Night 100 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo.

This is Gamburyan’s fourth fight since dropping to the 135-pound division. And the weight cut, while not easy considering his frame, hasn’t been a big issue either. In fact, he said it played no part in his setback to Dodson – a scrap that, result aside, followed “the best camp he’d ever had.”

If anything, the constant weight descent throughout his career tells Gamburyan that he might be able to take it even further.

“I started off with the career, and I never thought I could make 155 (pounds),” Gamburyan said. “And I made it. And then I made 145. And then they asked, ‘Manny, can you make 135?’ And I’m like ‘Hell, no.’ Then I made 135.

“Can I make 125? I don’t know. For the right money? I might kill myself. I might kill myself and make 125. Is it possible? They say, ‘Never say never.’”

Now, heading into the 26th fight of a career that Gamburyan said goes a lot deeper than official records even show, the 35-year-old fighter is not even thinking about calling it quits.

“It’s not about when you want to retire,” Gamburyan said. “It’s about when I feel like I can’t train the way I want to. You don’t have to ask me twice. I’ll hang my gloves.

“I’m 35, I feel good, I feel healthy, and I feel strong as hell. I don’t know how many years I have in me, but I feel good.”

On Saturday, the veteran gets to add another first to his resume as he fights in Brazil for the first time in both his MMA and judo careers. The game plan against Eduardo is the usual – “go out there and fight and win.” The result, he said, will be “fireworks.”

But one thing that we shouldn’t expect is yet another callout of perennial foe Bryan Caraway, a matchup he’s been quite vocally requesting for some time now – more specifically, since they served as assistant coaches on opposite teams at “The Ultimate Fighter 18.”

The mere reaction to Caraway’s name shows that the rivalry is not dead just yet. But, at this point, it seems like Gamburyan has simply run out of ways of asking for Caraway, currently No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings.

“Do I want to fight him?” Gamburyan said. “When I fought the first time at 135 (pounds), against Cody Gibson, they made me bring (former UFC bantamweight champion) Ronda Rousey in the cage and hugging her and calling out Bryan Caraway. I never got it.

“Beating Scott Jorgensen, I didn’t get it. And I’m like, ‘What the hell? What do I have to do to make this fight?’ People message me all over the world, ‘Manny, kick his ass.’ Talk to these people. It’s not my job. I called him out. I went to UFC.com, Ariel Helwani show, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, on his Facebook. What do you want me to do to call him out?

“He told (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby that he doesn’t want to fight me. And I respect that. You don’t want to fight me? I’m a bad fight for anyone. I’m not scared to fight anyone. You call my name out? You don’t have to ask twice. I’m fighting you.”

To hear more from Gamburyan, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 100, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.