From Five Black Belts to MMA | Karen Darabedyan's Story

Karate. Taekwondo. Boxing. Kickboxing. Judo. Jiu-Jitsu. Karen Darabedyan didn't pick one — he mastered them all, then put them together.

"There's nothing like an MMA fight. You feel the most alive when you're locked in that cage. Nobody can help you. It's all on you."

KD MMA founder Karen Darabedyan tells his story: from black belts in karate and taekwondo, to amateur boxing and kickboxing, to grappling black belts in judo and jiu-jitsu under Sensei Gokor Chivichyan — and how it all came together into MMA when he opened KD MMA Academy in October 2018.

He breaks down the part most fighters underestimate: the mental game. "50% is physical, the other 50% is mental. The mind quits a lot sooner than the body — your job is to keep going." This is why meditation and mental conditioning are built into how he trains champions.

And the reason he coaches at all: "I get the most gratitude when I help people and I see them changing. It gives me a happiness nothing can buy."

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