Melsik Baghdasaryan (born January 28, 1992) is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

mixed martial artist, kickboxer and boxer, currently competing as a

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, this ...

in the

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

. A professional competitor since 2013, he is the former

Wu Lin Feng Wu Lin Feng (), also known as WLF, is a martial arts competition televised by Henan Television. It is the longest running martial arts program in China. Since 2007 the competition has become more international in nature, bringing in more challen ...

International champion, and one-time K-1 Welterweight title challenger.

Kickboxing career

Early career

Baghdasaryan began training

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

at six years old, before transitioning to kickboxing, and later, muay thai. He has spent most of his professional career at the Glendale Fighting Club. Baghdasaryan was scheduled to fight Jermaine Soto at a GLORY event on September 28, 2013. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Baghdasaryan fought during the WCK vs. Wulinfeng event in 2013, with his opponent being Xie Chuang. Baghdasaryan won the fight by a unanimous decision, while suffering a slight injury to his left thumb. Baghdasaryan was scheduled to fight John Vargas at WCK Muay Thai: Matter of Pride, on February 15, 2014. He won the fight by a third-round TKO. In 2014 he once again under WCK Muay Thai, facing Chen Wei Chao. Melsik won the fight by a unanimous decision. His kickboxing winning streak earned him a chance to fight for the

International title, held at the time by

Qiu Jianliang Qiu Jianliang () is a Chinese kickboxer. He joined the Chinese National Muay Thai Team in September 2012. In October 2013 he joined the Da Dong Xiang fight club to compete in professional kickboxing. As of December 2021, he is ranked as the fif ...

. Baghdasaryan continued his winning streak with a majority decision win over the reigning champion.

Return to kickboxing

In his return to kickboxing, Baghdasaryan participated in the Wu Lin Feng 67 kg tournament, but lost in the quarter final round to Lu Jianbo, by a first-round KO. He bounced back with a decision wins over

Wei Ninghui Wei Ninghui (; born September 15, 1993) is a Chinese Muay Thai Kickboxing, kickboxer. He was ranked as a top ten featherweight by Combat Press between March and December of 2017. Kickboxing career At the age of twelve he went to martial arts ...

. In 2017 Melsik took part in the K-1 Welterweight Grand Prix. He won a unanimous decision over Kazuki Yamagiwa in the quarter final bout, but an injury prevented him from taking further part in the tournament, and he was subsequently replaced by Yamagiwa. His next fight with K-1 was against

Yuta Kubo is retired Japanese lightweight kickboxer. He won the Japanese national tournament of K-1 at Lightweight in 2011. In June 2020, Kubo announced his retirement from kickboxing, and transition into coaching at his own gym: "PURGE TOKYO". He's als ...

, winner of the 2017 Welterweight Grand Prix, for the K-1 Welterweight title. Kubo won the fight by a unanimous decision.

Boxing career

After winning the WLF title, Melsik transitioned to boxing in 2015. He has had three professional fights to date. In his boxing debut he faced Mario Angeles. Angelas was unable to figure out how to fight against a southpaw and lost the fight in the third round, after a right to the body which forced the referee to stop the fight. In his second boxing match, Melsik fought Abraham Calderon Ruiz, winning the fight through a unanimous decision. He then fought Diego Padilla, and won the match by a majority decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After he suffered a submission loss in his MMA debut in 2014, Melsik would wait until 2019 for his second MMA bout. Baghdasaryan amassed a four fight knockout winning streak, with a cumulative fight time of 62 seconds. In the last of those four fights, against Art Hernandez, he made his lightweight debut. Baghdasaryan was given a chance to fight for a

contract at Dana White's Contender Series 31, when he faced Dennis Buzukja. He won the fight by a unanimous decision, but was not given a contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In March 2021, Baghdasaryan signed with the UFC. Baghdasaryan made his promotional debut against Collin Anglin at

UFC on ESPN 28 ''UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 28'' and ''UFC Vegas 33'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 31, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, N ...

on July 31, 2021. He won the fight via knockout in round two. This fight earned him the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

award. Baghdasaryan was scheduled to face T.J. Laramie November 6, 2021 at

UFC 268 ''UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Welterwe ...

. However, Laramie was forced to pull out due to diagnosed with

MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

. He was replaced by LFA Featherweight Champion Bruno Souza in his promotional debut. At the weigh-ins, Souza weighed in at 148.4 pounds, 2.4 pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to Baghdasaryan. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Baghdasaryan was scheduled to face T.J. Laramie on April 16, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 206 ''UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 206'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 64'' or ''UFC Vegas 55'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 21, 2022, at the UFC Apex f ...

. However, Melsik pulled out due to unknown reasons. Baghdasaryan was expected to face Joanderson Brito on October 15, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 212 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Baghdasaryan pulled out in late September due to a broken hand. Baghdasaryan faced

Joshua Culibao Joshua Alvin Culibao (born May 24, 1994) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background The youngest of 4 siblings in a Filipino family, with his mother from Bor ...

on February 12, 2023, at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promoti ...

. He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

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

(One time)

Kickboxing

**WLF 67 kg International Championship

Mixed martial arts record

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Kickboxing record

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Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

Melsik Baghdasaryan K-1 profile.

UFC.COM - https://www.ufc.com/athlete/melsik-baghdasaryan

Instagram - https://instagram.com/melsik_baghdasaryan?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Telegram - https://t.me/melsik_thegun

Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/melsik_the_gun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baghdasaryan, Melsik Living people Armenian male kickboxers 1992 births Featherweight kickboxers Armenian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Armenian Muay Thai practitioners Armenian male boxers Sportspeople from Yerevan Sportspeople from Glendale, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Kickboxing career

Early career

Return to kickboxing

Boxing career

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Kickboxing

Mixed martial arts record

Kickboxing record

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links