The Fighter
Arutyunyan is what happens when a striker falls in love with grappling... and he'll finish you everywhere.
Art's father put him in kickboxing at 10 years old in Yerevan, Armenia. By the time his family won the lottery to come to America and moved to Glendale, he was 17 with a decade of combat sports behind him.
Artur with Coach Karen Darabedyan, August 30, 2025 — UNF 27
He ended up at KD MMA under Karen Darabedyan, a former WEC fighter with black belts in four disciplines who opened the gym in 2018. Karen is building a stable of killers out of the gym, and Art is one of them. He walked in a striker. He came out a complete martial artist.
A decade later, he holds the UpNext Fighting flyweight belt, and not a single fight has gone to a decision. When he won the title, he dedicated the fight to somebody for the first time because it finally felt big enough.
His father.
The man who turned a sport into a life.
Artur with his father after winning the UNF Flyweight Title, March 21, 2026 — UNF 32
Artur's father with the UNF Flyweight Belt, March 21, 2026 — UNF 32
