TAP OR SLEEP'S 16 YR. OLD

Written by The Shiznit Robert Visnick

Sixteen year old Harout was born in Hollywood, Ca. and started training Judo atthe young age of six. Since then he has been on the climb to the top. Hisresume is second to none. He has reached the level of first degree black beltin Judo. He is a 4 time Junior National Judo Champion, 2 time Junior OlympicJudo Champion, 7 time California State Judo Champion, 08' On The Mat and U.S.Open Champion, 08' California State Pankration Silver Medalist, 08' NationalPankration Team Member, and took 4th place at the World Junior Grappling event.He is currently ranked #1 in the under 17 division at 155 and 170 inPankration. Harout had his first amateur MMA fight at the age 15 and has sincethen put together a 16-2 fight record. He is quickly becoming known for being afinisher as most of his wins have come by the way of submission or technicalknock out.

Harout trains out of the Main Event Gym and Kenam's Fight Club in Glendale, CA,where he also is a grappling instructor. Occasionally Harout makes his way tothe nationally known Legends Gym for training. Harout knows his strong pointsare his Judo and grappling skills, but he does not shy away from the stand upwhile training or in the ring/cage. Even with a resume as good as his, he isvery humble in knowing that there is always room for improvment in every aspectof his game.

Harout fights at 145 and 155.  Even with his young age he has been able toland a decent sponsor after being noticed by Tap or Sleep's owner JerodPhillips. Since then larger organizations have been taking notice and justwaiting for Harout to become of age. Harout will be fighting in King of theCage in February.


Harout like most 16 year olds has a part time job on the weekends. He is beinghome schooled so he has the ability to train a few hours a day. Harout staysmotivated with the simple ethics of just wanting to be a better person and thebest fighter he can be. The younger fighter has the backing and support of hisfamily which is important for every young fighter. He truly feels he is a topten fighter and that after exploding on to the pro fight scene he will befighting for a belt in major MMA organization and I believe he can. Keep youreye on Harout “The Pain" Karapetyan because you could very likely belooking at a future champion in Mixed Martial Arts.

Three Months Ago!

 Tap or Sleep's Harout Karapetyan

— Ted Czech (October 11, 2008 9:50PM)

Here's a write-up the young fighter recieved onhyefighters.com:

 Keep an eye out for this young up and comer to the MMAworld...

Harout was born on April 19, 1992 in Hollywood, California.At the young age of 6, he was introduced to his first love, the martial arts,Judo. Literally translated, judo means, "the Gentle Way", but whenHarout steps on the mat, he is anything but gentle. Known for violentlylaunching his opponents several feet into the air, and onto the mat, he wasnicknamed "The Pain." In late 2007, after nearly a decade of activecompetition, hundreds of matches, and winning countless medals, he traded inhis Judo gi for MMA gloves.

With only one year of MMA training under his belt, Harouthas already amassed an impressive MMA record of 12-2-0. Never one to back downfrom a difficult challenge, Harout, at merely 15 years old, made his debutagainst a former CIF State Wrestling Champion who was five years his senior. Infact, if you take a closer look at his record, more than half of his opponentswere well into their twenties. In his own words: "In order to be the best,you must beat the best. I've always believed that fortune favors the brave. Ifyou half-ass it, you're going to get half-assed results."

On September 6th, Harout made his professional debut inTijuana, Mexico, scoring a devastating TKO over his opponent 38 seconds intothe first round. And, just a month before that, he captured first-place goldmedals at both On the Mat's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships and the US Openof Submission Grappling. It wasn't long before Jerod Phillips, owner of Tap orSleep fightwear, took notice of Harout's talent. Jerod's new sponsorship dealhas really helped Harout gain some much needed exposure, and opened the door toother sponsorships, and talent scouts. Most recently, he was approached by arepresentative of the organization, WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), about himsigning a fight contract in the near future.

Coaches, past and present: Gokor Chivichyan, Aram Ghukasyan,Skye Santos, Steve Arce.