Morning Report: Travis Browne puts to bed rumors he left coach Edmund Tarverdyan

For the last few weeks, internet rumors have been circulating that ninth-ranked heavyweight Travis Browne had left Glendale Fighting Club and the tutelage of much maligned coach Edmund Tarverdyan. However, it turns out those rumors aren’t true. Recently, Browne went on ESPN’s 5ive Rounds podcast where he categorically denied the rumors and reaffirmed his relationship with Tarverdyan.

"He's still my coach," Browne said. "He comes out quite a bit. He comes out every week to help. The only difference is it's not in his gym. The man has a family, he has kids. It’s one of those things, to ask another man to come out for two-three months, you just can’t do that. So this camp he’s not as big a part as he has been previously but he is still part of this camp.

“That’s all it was, that the location of my camp is different. When I was doing my whole camp in Los Angeles, Ricky Lundell would come out once a week, but he’s still my coach. So, it's the same thing, we're just doing it out here where I’m getting consistent work with the guys that I need to get done with... It’s just getting consistent work and having consistent bodies out here in Vegas, especially for the guy I’m facing. It’s just one of those things where as a team we felt it better for me to do the camp out here based on the bodies out here. So instead of flying guys in or constantly traveling to different places it’s better to go where the bodies are.”

Browne entered the UFC in 2010 and joined the famed Jackson-Winklejohn camp a year later ahead of his UFC 135 fight with Rob Broughton. After amassing a 5-2 record which saw him on the cusp of title contention, Browne began training with Tarverdyan following his 2014 loss to Fabricio Werdum in a heavyweight title eliminator bout. Since then he has gone 2-3 which, coupled with Ronda Rousey’s (Tarverdyan’s most famous charge) ignominious fall, has caused many fans to decry Tarverdyan as a poor coach.

But Browne says those comments aren’t true. “Hapa” believes Tarverdyan gets so much criticism because he doesn’t concern himself with cultivating a public image because he’s more concerned about taking care of his fighters, something Browne relates to.

"I think it's easy to judge from the outside. Anybody that 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.' He has a great fight IQ. He has good coaching. It’s about the athletes going out there and performing. Every coach has lost. Every champion with the exclusion of Jon Jones, has lost. Why didn’t the community come down on those coaches?

"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. Being a good coach. That’s why he doesn’t have 50 guys in his stable.

“[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 isn’t just criticized for the records of his fighters though, it’s also his work in the corners. Tarverdyan recently was the cause for public ridicule during Rousey’s 48 second obliteration at the hands of women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Audio from the fight reveals Tarverdyan screaming head movement repeatedly as he watches Rousey get run over. But Browne says that stuff is also overblown.

"During a round, unless the crowd is quiet, which a lot of times it isn't in my fights, you're standing there and the coach yells, 'One-two, one-two low kick.' Whatever it is, you don't really hear stuff. When you're in a fight and leather is being traded, I mean, are you really going to hear your coach? If you’re hearing your coach it’s a problem. It means your mind is not in the moment when this guy’s trying to take your head off.

"He's an emotional guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. That's something I can 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."

Browne doesn’t have time to concern himself with speculation over his coaches though; he faces rising heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Halifax on February 19. It’s a bout Lewis asked for and Browne is ready to show the eighth ranked heavyweight why that was a mistake.

“The guy wanted to fight me and now he’s gonna have his chance. The thing about this sport is you will be held accountable for your words come a certain date. So he called me out, and he’s gonna get the opportunity.”

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MEDIA STEW

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LISTEN UP

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2008: Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera submitted Tim Sylvia at UFC 81 to win the interim heavyweight championship. In the co-main event that evening, Brock Lesnar made his UFC debut, losing to Frank Mir by kneebar. Oh, and Tim Boetsch did this to David Heath on the undercard.

2013: Jose Aldo defeated former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar to retain his featherweight title at UFC 156. This event also saw Tyron Woodley make his UFC debut, knocking out Jay Heiron.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I recommend listening to the full Browne interview if you have the chance. Gives you a pretty good insight into how Browne is thinking about things.

Hope everyone has a good one. Take it easy and see y’all tomorrow.

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If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, just hit me up on Twitter @JedKMeshew and let me know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting because we post dope things and you should enjoy them.