Sako Chivitchian (born March 11, 1984) is an Armenian-born American

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) fighter who competes in the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division. He emigrated to the United States and is based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. A full-time professional MMA competitor since 2009, Chivitchian mostly competed in his regional circuit of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

before signing with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

to appear on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck''.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Chivitchian began training in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

at the age of six with his uncle Gokor Chivichyan. He has won a total of eleven U.S. national titles including junior titles in 2000 and 2001, and two junior Olympic championships. In 2001–2002, he was named the United States Judo Federation's National Youth Male Athlete of the Year. He was placed first and third in the Junior U.S. Open Judo Championships. He also competed in the 2002 World Junior Championships in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, where he lost his only match. In addition to judo, Chivitchian took up

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, and by age 14 had placed second at the California State Championships and third at the Freestyle State Championships. He next took up

(MMA) and won his inaugural fight (at age 15) in 98 seconds by

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

. Chivitchian's opponent in his first fight was Timothy Morris, who has previously lost to teammate Manny Gamburyan. In the years following, he took up

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

and

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

. Chivitchian was involved in a shooting at age 19, after he and his friends were jumped by a gang. Chivitchian suffered a

gunshot wound A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile (e.g. a bullet) shot from a gun (typically a firearm). Damage may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, and loss of the ability to move part of ...

to his leg which made him temporarily unable to train, prompting his move to college and into real estate. Chivitchian trains in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

at the Hayastan Studio, alongside ''

The Ultimate Fighter 5 ''The Ultimate Fighter 5'' was the fifth season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. As with the show's usual format, sixteen prospective mixed martial arts fighters were secluded in a ...

'' runner-up and

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

contender

Manny Gamburyan Manny Gamburyan (; born May 8, 1981) is an Armenian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC's lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight divisions. A professional competitor since 1999, he was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultim ...

. Despite having first fought professionally in

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

in 1999, Chivitchian did not take up fighting full-time until 2009. He won his return bout in January 2009 by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO) and achieved a

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

victory two months later. In October 2009, Chivitchian won a further fight via submission, before claiming a

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split de ...

victory in December.

The Ultimate Fighter

Chivitchian then signed with the

(UFC) to appear on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck''. He competed on the debut episode against Toby Grear, taking a

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

victory. In the next episode, the team picks were made and

Josh Koscheck Josh Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the reality television show, ''The Ultimate ...

selected Chivitchian as his third pick (fifth overall). Chivitchian faced Dane Sayers in his opening round matchup. His performance was criticised for grabbing the fence to avoid being taken down on multiple occasions, yet he was not penalised with any point deduction. Chivitchian won the fight by unanimous decision as all three judges scored the fight 20–18. In the quarter finals, Chivitchian faced

Jonathan Brookins Jonathan Brookins (born August 13, 1985) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed as a featherweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Brookins has mostly fought in Florida, as well a ...

. Brookins was able to throw Chivitchian to the mat, which forced Chivitchian to try to stand up. Brookins then got hooks in and worked for a rear naked choke, eventually sealing it soon after, eliminating Chivitchian from the competition.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Chivitchian made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale against Kyle Watson and lost by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28). He along with Aaron Wilkinson was released from the promotion.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Dominique Chisem , Submission , Xplode Fight Series - Summer Fight Night 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:10 ,

Twentynine Palms, California Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Desert region. History Native Americans, such as the S ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Tony Lewis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Gladiator Challenge - Battleground , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Preston Scharf , Decision (split) , Lights Out Promotions - Chaos at the Casino , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Kyle Watson , Decision (unanimous) ,

The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck'' is the twelfth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The UFC and Spike TV held open tryouts on April 1, 2010, in Charl ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Marcos Gonzalez , Decision (split) , NFAMMA - Resurrection , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Sergio Salcido , Submission (armbar) , Long Beach Fight Night 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 ,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Frank Baldivia , Submission (rear-naked choke) , California Xtreme Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 ,

El Monte, California El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically known as "The End of the San ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Noe Rodriguez , TKO (punches) , California Xtreme Fighting , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:14 , El Monte, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Timothy Morris , Submission (armbar) , Kage Kombat 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:38 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Lose , align=center, 2-1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Dane Sayers , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Toby Grear , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , -

References

External links

*
Sako Chivitchian's Official SiteHyeFighters - Armenian Combat Sports Athletes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chivitchian, Sako 1984 births Living people Armenian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Armenian male judoka Armenian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Glendale, California