Travis Browne defends Edmond Tarverdyan coaching style

While Ronda Rousey’s head coach Edmond Tarverdyan often receives quite a bit of criticism from fight fans for his coaching style, UFC heavyweight Travis Browne is looking to set the record straight.

After Rousey’s UFC 193 loss to Holly Holm over a year ago, Tarverdyan received the brunt of the criticism for what many believed to be giving Rousey a false sense of security in her striking, ultimately resulting in her being knocked out by Holly Holm. When it was announced that Ronda Rousey would be returning to the Octagon to fight Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in 2016, many speculated as to whether or not Rousey’s striking would look underdeveloped once again.

When the pair stepped in the Octagon, it took just 48 seconds for Nunes to TKO Rousey. It didn’t take long for Tarverdyan to once again be criticized by the MMA community after corner cam footage surfaced of his coaching.

UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, who also trains under Tarverdyan, is now looking to set the record straight as he defends the controversial Edmond Tarverdyan coaching style.

He spoke on ESPN’s 5ive Rounds podcast.

“I think it’s easy to judge from the outside. Anybody I’ve ever had in camp to work with me as a training partner is always like, ‘Man, Edmond knows what he’s talking about,’” Browne said. “He has a great fight IQ.”

“He doesn’t care [about his reputation]. That’s the difference. He doesn’t care about looking good to everybody. He cares about being good to the people around him. [The criticisms] are for the the wrong reasons. I understand a guy like that could be easier to dislike because he doesn’t care. I think I get the same rap sometimes. I’m disliked a lot and it’s probably for the wrong reasons.”

“He’s an emotional guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. That’s something I appreciate about him. He loves his athletes and he shows his athletes he loves them. For me, in between rounds, what he has told me has been good and spot on.”

on 2/2/2017.