Mihran Harutyunyan: I am ready to compete fairly with the strongest in the Armenian Championship

I miss the mat very much. I do not exclude that one day I will decide and want to try my hand at wrestling again. That thought is in my head and does not give me rest, especially since Los Angeles-2028 is not far away. If I decide to return, then I must surpass the former Mihran with my results. I am ready to compete fairly with the strongest in the Armenian championship or in any tournament.

Recently, he announced his return to mixed martial arts. The MMA fighter has been absent from the octagon for about two years. Harutyunyan represents the American company UpNextFighting (UNF). At this stage, he lives in the United States, where he founded his own wrestling club and personally trains children of different ages.

Mihran, after a long break, you again announced your return to mixed martial arts. What were you doing during this period and what inspired the new fight?

On January 31, I will have my next fight in MMA, which will be a comeback fight. At this stage, I am in very good shape, I am also very motivated mentally and I have a great desire to continue fighting, because a sports lover can never leave sports. I have returned with greater strength, inspiration and new and greater goals.

In the upcoming fight, I will compete in the 66.5 kg weight category. I decided to use this shape and state of mind and enter the octagon again. I am in a very good period, I am very combative and I do not want all this to happen just like the previous two years. I am already 37 years old, but I feel great. I think that this decision of mine is a gift to myself. I am happy for this state of mind.

When I was offered to fight, I was happy. It seemed like everything was in place for me and the time had come for me to return. I have a contract with UpNextFighting and will have two more fights with them.

In any case, what was the reason for the break? Why did Mihran Harutyunyan “go silent” for such a long time?

In fact, I don’t know how it happened that I left sports, maybe not only sports, but everything. I think everyone has such periods when everyday life dominates your life, we turn small everyday problems into big problems and start to suffer from them. It happened to me too. I found a small method to get out of these problems. It’s like a new page in my life. During this time, while I was “silent,” I faced many difficulties and learned to overcome them. Now I have learned to combine what I can do with what I have learned. I think the result will be wonderful.

My goal is to fight for another two years. My attitude in this matter does not allow me to think of any other way out than to hold fights. This means that for another two years I want to devote myself entirely to MMA, and I may also think about other important directions.

I may not earn a lot of money from these fights, but I am more focused on expressing myself as an athlete, proving to myself in the fight that I can have new victories. I am really in very good shape. I do not remember when I was in such good shape, probably only at the Olympics. I really like the current state of mind, which has never been so good before. The coaching activity that I recently started helps me a lot in this regard.

Tell me about the wrestling gym you founded.

This is the first time I am talking about my gym, which I called Maestro Migran. I opened a wrestling gym in Glendale, where I train Greco-Roman wrestling. I already have 35 students of different ages. One of my students is already the number one in the United States in his weight class. A very good team has been formed, we are a family. Representatives of different nations train with me: from Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the United States. I like coaching, working with children. They help me to always be in shape, because I personally work with them.

When I got a call from UpNextFighting and offered a fight, I was in the gym with my students at that moment. I immediately asked the children if they would like to see me in the octagon, they said yes, and I agreed to the fight. That was 5-6 months ago, my personal weight was about 86 kg. From that day on, I started training, working, and as a result, I have a wonderful state of health, state of mind, mood, motivation, and -20 kg. I don’t miss a single training session, I work with children, and then I start my training sessions, every day.

It turns out that thanks to coaching, I have come closer to wrestling again. Is it possible that this motivation will one day bring you back to the mat, to the Armenian national team?

It’s a very interesting question, because I’m also interested in whether all this will bring me back to the mat one day. I wrestle every day, I’m a wrestler first and foremost. Many people would like to see me on the wrestling mat, perhaps I would like to see them too. New goals are born in my head every day, and knowing myself, I don’t rule out that one day I will decide and want to try my hand at wrestling again. If one day I sincerely want to see myself on the mat, I will definitely speak out about it. Deep down in my soul, there is always a desire to wrestle again, to be in competitive situations.