In a revealing interview on the MMA History Podcast, former UFC star Manny Gamburyan shared some shocking experiences regarding his interactions with the Gracie family and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community during his early career.
One of the most startling revelations came when Gamburyan described a pivotal incident at the 1997 Joe Moreira International Open Jiu-Jitsu tournament. As a blue belt competing in the 62kg division, Gamburyan claims he dominated his first four opponents with what he called “The Armenian choke,” a technique he and his training partners had developed.
The controversy erupted in the semifinals when Gamburyan faced Rockson Gracie, Rickson Gracie’s son who later tragically died under suspicious circumstances. According to Gamburyan, during their match, Rockson repeatedly bit his leg while Gamburyan was attempting to apply his signature choke.
“I’m choking this guy out, he’s biting my leg, he’s biting my thigh,” Gamburyan recounted.
When Gamburyan claims he pushed him away and said “get off me,” approximately 15-20 Brazilians allegedly jumped on him, resulting in a chaotic scene that required intervention from Rigan Machado and Gene Lebell.
When officials questioned the biting allegation, Gamburyan says Dean Lister supported his claim and asked him to show the bite marks. Gamburyan refused to drop his pants in front of the crowd but offered to show the evidence in the locker room. According to Gamburyan, when he eventually revealed the bite marks in private, they were clearly visible, but tournament officials never disqualified Rockson.
The incident so disillusioned Gamburyan that he made a dramatic decision:
“I throw the gear away and since then until today I never wore a gi to compete jiu-jitsu and I never will. I lost respect.”
Gamburyan also claimed the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community was resistant to the leg lock techniques that were central to his team’s grappling style. “We’re doing a lot of heel hooks, leg locks, and the Jiu-Jitsu community at this time they would consider junk Jiu-Jitsu,” he explained. Gamburyan noted how ironic it is that these same techniques are now widely embraced by BJJ practitioners worldwide.
“Now all the Brazilians, all the grapplers, all the Jiu-Jitsu guys do leg locks, knee bars, and heel hooks… We’ve done that years ago. My friend Gokor [Chivichyan] was doing this long time ago. They were never good at it. We were really good at it, and they never liked it.”
This glimpse into the politics and tensions of the 1990s grappling scene offers a fascinating perspective on how martial arts politics and regional rivalries shaped the development of mixed martial arts in its formative years.
