Edmen Shahbazyan, the 26-year-old protegee, used to train under Ronda Rousey who was his ex-manager, however, he left her tutelage. He had changed his training camp one year ago, and this is not generally a usual move by a champ. There must have been something pretty major going on due to which he took such a bold decision. The protégé who trained with Rousey and Edmond Tarverdyan as well as Travis Browne since he was 15 changed his training center for good. 

He was hailed as one of the best prospects for UFC and had the potential to become a champion one day. However, this glow was diminished in the last three fights he had under his former team, and the 13-4-0 lost his momentum for once. Switching teams did help the fighter, as he now has two wins in his last three fights. What was the reason behind the big change?

The big shift for Edmen Shahbazyan

The middleweight fighter had lost to Derek Brunson and Nassourdine Imavov and then decided to change his coach once and for all. There was also a change in management and he relocated to Las Vegas to train under Xtreme Couture. This huge shift also meant a split from his UFC Hall of Famer manager Ronda Rousey. ‘The Golden Boy’ also exited, leaving his coach Edmond Tarverdyan, who later on also had a rift with Rousey. During an interview with MMA Fighting in 2022, he disclosed the reasons behind his decision.

“Back when I was training in Glendale, I feel like my last couple of fights, it was a bit of a toxic feeling and stressful with my surroundings. I had to get away from that. He admitted that he feels free with his decision-making and his relationship with the gym was deteriorating so he needed to leave. I guess toward the end, just not seeing eye to eye with coaches. It was stressful, but I’m happy things played out the way they did,” the fighter explained.

He also shared that while training with his previous team, he was often the top dog and he could show dominance. However, this also hindered him from looking up to better fighters as a mentor. But how did it lead up to this point that he had to leave?

Depth of the story about Edmen Shahbazyan leaving

‘The Golden Boy’ had been training in the previous gym from 15 years of age, so he was there for almost a decade! He trained under UFC champ Rowdy. However, even after being an amazing fighter, she was not seen as a good coach. There was a controversy going around when a video of Rousey ‘ragdolling’ Shahbazyan went viral. More than being his manager, she was his mentor, but the video and the 26-year-old’s defeats made fans question the pairing.

However, after leaving in 2022, he won against Dalcha Lungiambula and redeemed himself. Now he fights against Gerald Meerschaert on August 24th during the UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho. Interestingly, he was not the only one leaving the gym and Rousey also had a rift with coach Edmond Tarverdyan. She had spoken to High Performance a few months back and claimed, “Like later with my coach Edmond in MMA, he had like become a father figure and a sibling. And then also a coach and we became like, it just became too much control over my life. And wanted to know where I was and what I was doing at all times.”

What are your thoughts about Edmen Shahbazyan’s exit from Rousey’s team? Let us know in the comments below.