Ronda Rousey’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan has become one of the most recognizable coaches in MMA. Tarverdyan has several high-profile fighters training under him at Glendale Fight Club, so it may come as a shock to many to find out that he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy back in July, claiming to being over $700,000 in debt.
Our friends over at BloodyElbow did some digging and received several important documents, which revealed a few things that are odd about Tarverdyan’s case.
For starters, Tarverdyan lists his net income at “$0.00” and along with his wife’s income, Tarverdyan lists his family’s net income at -$110.00 per month. This seems strange given that Tarverdyan is the owner of the renowned Glendale Fighting Club, or is he?
On October 21st a court appointed trustee wrote that Tarverdyan “transferred his interest in G.F.C. Fitness, Inc. (“GFC Fitness”) which owns and operates a fitness facility known as the Glendale Fighting Club in Glendale, California.”
To make things even stranger, Tarverdyan admitted that he didn’t file taxes in 2013 or 2014 because he reported that he had no personal income, and had only $3,300 in assets. It is important to mention that Ronda Rousey, Tarverdyan’s prized pupil, entered the UFC in 2013 as the inaugural women’s bantamweight champion, and defended her title 4 times over the course of the two years that Tarverdyan claims to have made absolutely no money.
The fact that Tarverdyan transferred his interest in Glendale Fighting Club over to an unknown person or persons is highly suspicious. While no one is accusing Tarverdyan of anything, him signing over his interest in Glendale Fighting Club raises several red flags.
We spoke to a qualified source on the matter who spoke under the condition of anonymity, who explained that if Tarverdyan were to sign over his interest in Glendale Fighting Club in order to potentially hide and/or protect it from the court, he could be looking at something much more serious than just bankruptcy.
Fighters generally pay their coaches part of their earnings from fights, and given that Ronda Rousey is reportedly the highest paid fighter on the UFC roster, it seems odd that Tarverdyan has yet to see any of the money Rousey has earned over the course of her 7 title defenses in the UFC. In addition, Glendale Fighting Club has an online store on their website with merchandise.
Tarverdyan is set to appear for a 314 meeting with creditors on November 16th, just two days after Ronda Rousey fights Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193 in Melbourne Australia.
Stay tuned for more details as they become available.