Professional MMA · WEC, Strikeforce, regional cards. Trained at Hayastan MMA Academy under Gokor Chivichyan.
I grew up in this sport. I learned it from one of the best — Gokor Chivichyan at Hayastan MMA Academy — and I learned it next to people who became world champions. When I opened KD MMA, I wanted to bring that level of coaching to my own city, on my own terms.
Today, KD MMA is a network of three academies across Los Angeles. We teach four-year-olds and we coach professional fighters. The standards are the same in both: real technique, real conditioning, real respect.
— Karen Darabedyan, Founder
One of the most decorated submission grapplers and MMA coaches in the world; longtime trainer of UFC and WEC veterans, with direct lineage to Judo Gene LeBell.
What that means for our students at KD MMA: I do not teach techniques I have not personally pressure-tested at the professional level. Every drill on our mats has been used in a real fight — at WEC, at Strikeforce, at the regional cards I came up through, and at the gyms of the partners listed below.
These are not aspirational stories. These are the people I have rolled with, drilled with, and competed alongside. The standards they brought to a training session are the standards I carry into every class at KD MMA.
Step onto the mats. Real classes, real rooms — footage from inside the KD MMA academy.
Career footage — including the WEC 44 win over former champion Rob McCullough. Same fighter who now coaches at Glendale.
Karen’s home gym is the Glendale headquarters at 555 Riverdale Drive. He also coaches selected programs at Montrose and Northridge. Book a trial at the location nearest you.
Mat-side cameras at all locations · live stream on YouTube · waivers handled in-person before class.