It looks like the Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate rivalry has a trickle down effect, as Manny Gamburyan -- Rousey's training partner -- wants to get his hands on Bryan Caraway -- Tate's boyfriend -- in his first fight at 135 pounds.
From lightweight to featherweight, Manny Gamburyan is ready to make yet another change in weight classes, as he eyes a drop down to bantamweight.
And the first opponent he wants to face at 135 pounds is none other than Bryan Caraway, a man he has somewhat of a history with, although not directly.
The two men were smack dab in the middle of the Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate rivalry on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), serving as assistant coaches for "Rowdy" and "Cupcake." And though the two never really had a confrontation, Manny says Caraway owes him a fight, seeing as how he backed out of a grappling challenge on the show.
Gamburyan broke it all down on a recent appearance on The MMA Hour:
"Yeah, I'm dropping down to 135 and I really thought that the fight that makes sense is Bryan Caraway. He's a good fighter, he's got his name out there and I respect his knowledge, he's got an amazing jiu-jitsu game. I would love the debut to be in Japan, that would be awesome because I heard Miesha Tate is in Japan. Or anywhere in Canada. They got a lot of Armenians in Canada and I've never been there. So, I know I'm not the only one that wants to fight him, but it would be an awesome fight, I'm sure."
He continues:
"I was supposed to, on the (Ultimate Fighter) show, Dana White put a grappling match together for me and Caraway. Since Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey were doing their own coaches challenge, he thought I should do a grappling challenge with Caraway. I guess he turned it down, didn't want to do it or didn't like that. So now I'm assuming he's not going to want to fight me, I'm going to be honest. He's not going to want to fight me, but now he has no other choice because I'm coming to him, I'm not calling him to me, I'm going to him. It's kind of a personal fight in a sense. I got nothing against those people, Miesha Tate or Brian Caraway. I just want to fight him and whoop his ass, that's about it."
In addition, Manny said Caraway needs to "man up and do the damn thing" by accepting his challenge, one he previously ignored on Twitter, according to the Armenian.
"Manvil" came up short in his last 145-pound fight, losing to Nike Lentz via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 40 earlier this year. Caraway, meanwhile, has been on a roll, winning two straight in the bantamweight division, which includes an impressive submission victory -- fish hook and all -- over Erik Perez at UFC Fight Night 42.
Given the outcome of their previous bouts, a fight between "Manvil" and "Kid Lightning" is highly unlikely at the moment.
Though I'm sure if fans pressed Dana White -- a man who says he is all about making fights fans want to see -- he can probably convince Joe Silva to make it happen.
Does this potential match up do anything for you?
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