Famous Armenian Sportspersons

Armenian professional footballer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan ,currently plays for Serie A club Roma and the Armenian national team. He previously played for Pyunik, winning four Armenian Premier League titles with them. Armenia's all-time top goalscorer, he has been named Armenian Footballer of the Year ten times. He is a polyglot and speaks eight languages.

Tigran Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian chess player who achieved the grandmaster title in 1952. Nicknamed Iron Tigran, Petrosian was the World Chess Champion between 1963 and 1969. Regarded as one of the best chess players in Armenia during his generation, Tigran Petrosian is credited with popularizing the game in Armenia. He also won the USSR Chess Championship on four occasions.

Known as the world’s strongest vegan, Iranian-born German-Armenian strongman Patrik Baboumian has won many bodybuilding titles, such as that of the Strongest Man of Germany. He is also known for his appearance in the Netflix documentary The Game Changers, which promotes plant-based diets, and has campaigned for PETA.

Levon Aronian is an Armenian chess player who achieved the grandmaster title in 2000. Aronian, who currently plays for the US Chess Federation, earned the grandmaster title at age 17. Counted among the most decorated players of his generation, Levon Aronian is credited with leading the Armenian national team in several Chess Olympiads, winning gold in 2006, 2008, and 2012.  

Shavarsh Karapetyan is an Armenian former finswimmer. A ten-time world record-breaker, Karapetyan became famous after the 1976 trolleybus incident in Yerevan, where he saved the lives of 20 people. The incident was published in an article titled The Underwater Battle of the Champion in 1982, making Shavarsh Karapetyan a household name in the USSR.

Arthur Abraham is an Armenian-German retired boxer who was active from 2003 to 2018. Between 2005 and 2009, Abraham held multiple world championships, including the IBF middleweight title. Between 2012 and 2016, he held the WBO super-middleweight title on two separate occasions. In 2009, Arthur Abraham was named Berlin Sportsman of the Year. 

Arman Tsarukyan is an Armenian-Russian mixed martial artist. He is best known for his association with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he currently competes in the Lightweight division. Arman Tsarukyan has won a couple of Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night awards at the Ultimate Fighting Championship so far.

Karo Parisyan is an Armenian-American MMA fighter. A former welterweight champion at World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), Parisyan is an expert in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Karo Parisyan has also represented Armenia at International Judo Championships, winning gold medals on four occasions.

Yurik Vardanyan was a Soviet Armenian weightlifter best remembered for winning a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. One of the most decorated weightlifters of his generation, Yurik Vardanyan was a seven-time world champion and five-time European champion. In 1994, he was made an inductee of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.

Vanes Martirosyan is an Armenian-born American former professional boxer who was active from 2005 to 2019. An eight-time national champion, Martirosyan represented the US at the 2004 Olympic Games at the age of 18. Vanes Martirosyan ended his amateur career with only 10 losses and 120 wins. 

Manvel Gamburyan is an Armenian MMA fighter who has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions. A professional competitor since 1999, Manny Gamburyan has also competed in other popular promotions, such as King of the Cage and World Extreme Cagefighting.

Marat Grigorian is an Armenian-born Belgian professional fighter who specializes in kickboxing. A former Glory lightweight champion, Grigorian currently competes in the featherweight division in ONE Championship. Renowned for his knockout power and technical aggressive fighting style, Marat Grigorian is currently ranked amongst the best kickboxers in the world.

Three-time Olympian Greco-Roman wrestler Armen Nazaryan initially represented Armenia, his country of birth, but then switched to Bulgaria. While he won an Olympic gold and 2 European Championships for Armenia, he also bagged an Olympic gold and 4 European Championships for Bulgaria. He has also been a 3-time World Champion, representing Bulgaria.

Also known as the Killer Queen, American-German boxer Susi Kentikian has been a flyweight world champion twice. Born in the Armenian SSR she left the country with her parents at 5, in the midst of a war. At 5’ 1”, she was also initially tagged as Germany’s shortest professional boxer.

A 2-time Olympian, retired long jumper Robert Emmiyan has represented both the USSR and Armenia internationally. The 4th-best long jumper in the history of the sport, he has been a European Championship gold medalist and a World Championship silver medalist. He lost a part of his family in the 1988 Armenian earthquake.

Artur Aleksanyan is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler best known for winning a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics Games. He has also represented Armenia at the 2012 and 2020 Olympics, winning a bronze medal and silver medal respectively. Artur Aleksanyan has also won four gold medals at the World Championships and five gold medals at the European Championships so far.

Karen Darabedyan is an Armenian-American mixed martial artist best known for appearing in the World Extreme Cagefighting's lightweight division. Also known for his entrepreneurship, Karen Darabedyan is credited with founding an institution called KD MMA Training Center in California, USA.

American footballer Taven Bryan is best known as a defensive tackle for the NFL team Cleveland Browns. Starting his youth career as a top-ranked player from Wyoming, he played for the University of Florida and later also represented the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars. He was part of the 2017 Second-Team All-SEC.

Ryan Boatright is an American-born Armenian basketball player. Apart from competing in professional basketball leagues, such as the VTB United League, Boatright also plays for the Armenian national team. Ryan Boatright is currently a part of the Avtodor Saratov team that competes in VTB United League.

Vic Darchinyan is an Armenian retired professional boxer who was active from 2000 to 2017. Darchinyan held various world championships in the flyweight and super-flyweight divisions. From 2004 to 2007, Vic Darchinyan held the IBF flyweight title. Between 2008 and 2010, he held the WBA, IBF, and WBC super-flyweight titles.

Georgi Karakhanyan is a professional mixed martial artist who has competed in popular promotions like Bellator MMA. Karakhanyan, who has been competing since 2006, has also competed for the World Series of Fighting (WSOF), Absolute Championship Berkut, Tachi Palace Fights, DREAM, and King of the Cage. Georgi Karakhanyan is a former WSOF featherweight champion.

Harut Grigorian is an Armenian-born Belgian fighter who specializes in kickboxing. A former Glory Welterweight champion, Grigorian has also competed in other promotions like K-1 and It's Showtime. As of 2022, Harut Grigorian runs a kickboxing school in Deurne.

Vladimir Akopian is an Armenian-American chess player who achieved the prestigious grandmaster title in 1991. His popularity increased in 1996, when he won the Armenian Chess Championship. He won the championship again in 1997, before making his way through to the grand finale of the FIDE World Chess Championship in 1999, where he lost to Alexander Khalifman.

Tigran L. Petrosian is an Armenian chess player who achieved the prestigious grandmaster title in 2004. In addition to being a two-time national champion, Tigran L. Petrosian has also helped his national team win gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Chess Olympiads.

Turkish-born Armenian footballer Aras Özbiliz is best known as a midfielder for Pyunik. Starting his youth career with the Dutch club Hollandia, he later had successful stints with Ajax and Beşiktaş. He has also played for clubs from Turkey, Moldova, Spain, and Russia.

Apoula Edel is a Cameroonian-born Armenian retired professional football player who played as a goalkeeper for the Armenia national team from 2004 to 2005. Apoula Edel has also represented professional clubs around the world, such as Atlético de Kolkata, Chennaiyin FC, Pyunik, Rapid București, Paris Saint-Germain, and Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Anna Chicherova is a Russian high jumper who won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She has also won medals at World Championships, which includes a gold and silver medal. She is the third female high jumper to win medals at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games. She also holds the Russian national record (2.07 meters).

Armen Petrosyan is an Armenian-born Italian professional kickboxer. An aggressive fighter, Petrosyan competes in the middleweight division. A former WMTA world super welterweight champion, Armen Petrosyan has also appeared in a reality television show titled Enfusion.

Simon Martirosyan is an Armenian weightlifter best known for winning a silver medal each at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. He has also won two gold medals at the World Championships and two gold medals at the European Championships so far.

Amar Suloev was a Russian MMA fighter and contract killer. During his MMA career, he competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, UFC, M-1 Global, and Cage Rage. Following his MMA career, Suloev got himself involved in organized crime and was eventually arrested. Amar Suloev died at the age of 40 due to stomach cancer.

Ara Abrahamian is an Armenian-Swedish professional Greco-Roman wrestler. He is best known for winning a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. He also won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. However, he rejected the medal by walking away during the medal ceremony due to a controversial ruling. He was later stripped of his rejected medal by the IOC.

Steven Enoch is an American-born Armenian basketball player who currently plays for Saski Baskonia, which plays in the EuroLeague and in the Liga ACB. A naturalized Armenian citizen, Steven Enoch has represented Armenia in several tournaments, including the FIBA U20 European Championship.

Tatev Abrahamyan is an Armenian-American chess player who achieved the woman grandmaster (WGM) title in 2011. She currently lives in the USA, and has played for the USA in team competitions like the Women's World Team Chess Championship and the Women's Chess Olympiad. Tatev Abrahamyan is the recipient of several awards, including the Goddess Chess Award.

Daniel Sarafian is an Armenian-Brazilian MMA fighter. Over the course of his career, Sarafian has competed for popular promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Absolute Championship Berkut, and Bellator. A versatile fighter, Daniel Sarafian has competed in welterweight, middleweight, and light heavyweight divisions.

Albert Azaryan is a Soviet Armenian former artistic gymnast best known for winning two gold medals at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. In the next Olympic Games in Rome, Azaryan won a gold medal and a silver medal. Albert Azaryan is the first gymnast to win two Olympic gold medals on the still rings.

Gagik Tsarukyan is an Armenian politician, businessman, and former athlete. He is credited with founding a political party called Prosperous Armenia Party. In addition to his political endeavors, Gagik Tsarukyan also owns numerous large-scale businesses and is counted among the richest men in Armenia.

Varuzhan Akobian is an Armenian-born American chess player who achieved the grandmaster title in November 2003. He is best known for representing the U.S. team at the Chess Olympiads in 2006 and 2008, where his team won bronze medals. Varuzhan Akobian is currently associated with the Saint Louis University chess team, where he serves as assistant coach. 

Armenian-born Bahraini super-heavyweight category weightlifter Gor Minasyan is not just an Olympic silver medalist but has also won 2 silver medals at the World Championships and 3 at the European Championships. In 2013, he was banned for 2 years for testing positive for norandrosterone.

Luke Fischer is an American-Armenian professional basketball player. Apart from representing the popular French club Nanterre 92, Fischer also plays for the Armenian national team. Over the years, Luke Fischer has also played for other popular clubs like Herbalife Gran Canaria and Orléans Loiret Basket.

Roman Mitichyan is an Armenian-American actor, stuntman, and professional mixed martial artist. He is best known for appearing on the popular TV show, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, where he represented Team Serra. Roman Mitichyan has also appeared in popular movies like Argo, John Wick, Furious 7, and John Wick 3: Parabellum.

Karo Murat is an Armenian-German boxer. From 2008 to 2009, Murat held the European super-middleweight title. In 2017, he held the European light-heavyweight title. The following year, Karo Murat held the IBO light-heavyweight title.

Noel Gevor is an Armenian-German boxer who competes in the cruiserweight division. The step-son of former European champion Khoren Gevor, Noel held the WBO International cruiserweight and WBO Youth world titles between 2014 and 2016.

Mihran Harutyunyan is an Armenian-Russian mixed martial artist and Greco-Roman wrestler. He is best known for winning a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he represented Armenia. In the previous year, Mihran Harutyunyan had won a silver medal at the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Artur Davtyan is an Armenian gymnast best known for winning a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. He has also won a gold medal each at the 2019 European Games and at the 2021 European Championships. Artur Davtyan has also won two silver medals and a bronze medal at the European Championships so far.