Coach Edmond Tarverdyan is in some hot water in his home state.
The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) revoked his corner license last week for allegedly falsifying his application with regards to a past arrest, MMA Fighting has learned.
Tarverdyan's case will be brought to the commission for a hearing Feb. 2 in Los Angeles, according to a document sent from CSAC executive director Andy Foster to Association of Boxing Commissions president Mike Mazzulli on Jan 12. The document was obtained by MMA Fighting via an open records request.
Sherdog's Greg Savage was the first to report the license revocation.
Foster is not asking the other state commissions to reciprocate a revocation or suspension until Tarverdyan gets proper due process, the document stated. Tarverdyan, who most famously coaches former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, was in the corner of Travis Browne for his fight against Matt Mitrione at UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz on Sunday in Boston. Massachusetts State Athletic Commission (MSAC) counsel Deirdre Ann Hosler told MMA Fighting that Tarverdyan was permitted to do so.
"MSAC licensed Tarverdyan in accordance with its usual practice of checking other commissions' suspension lists and found none," Hosler said in an e-mail. "MSAC staff also reached out to California's commission [last week] and was told that the suspension is actually pending an upcoming hearing, and that the commission has no issue with MA having licensed Tarverdyan for this event."
Both Tarverdyan and Foster declined comment on the matter. Tarverdyan's lawyer Steve Bash wasn't immediately available for comment.
The CSAC document said that Tarverdyan "indicated 'No' to the questions regarding his past criminal offenses" on an April 2, 2015 license application.
"Furthermore, he signed this application under penalty of perjury that the information provided is true and correct," the document read.
Had Tarverdyan indicated "Yes," he would still have been licensed to corner. Having a prior arrest is not grounds to withhold a corner license in California.
Falsifying an application is against the California Code of Regulations and CSAC rules. The CSAC penalty for falsifying a license application is the license being "revoked unless otherwise ordered by the commission."
Tarverdyan, 34, was arrested in December 2010 on two counts of felony identity theft and one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest, according to public records. The identity theft counts were bumped down to misdemeanors and Tarverdyan ended up pleading no contest to the three charges.
In 2011, the coach was sentenced to one day in jail (with a credit of one day), three years of probation and 30 days of community service, according to court documents. He was also fined $610.
Tarverdyan, a former MMA fighter and Muay Thai champion, coaches at the Glendale Fighting Club gym in Los Angeles County.