Veterans clash as Gamburyan faces Jorgensen on Fox Sports 1

It’s not often that a Wednesday night plays host to an Ultimate Fighting Championship card.

But for Manny Gamburyan, the day, place and even opponent don’t seem to matter all that much.

“It’s actually really great,” Gamburyan said. “I’ve fought on Wednesday before. Tuesday, Sunday, Saturday, I don’t care. For me, it doesn’t matter.”

Gamburyan and his opponent, Scott Jorgensen, have a combined 48 professional mixed martial arts bouts.

Across multiple divisions, Gamburyan and Jorgensen have been mainstays in the UFC and the company’s former sibling company, World Extreme Cagefighting, where both challenged for titles.

In San Diego at the Valley View Casino on a rare Wednesday card, the veterans’ paths will cross as part of UFC Fight Night, headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Frank Mir and Todd Duffee.

The men’s bantamweight (135 pounds) tilt is scheduled to air on the main card, which begins at 7 p.m., as the third bout.

“He’s a veteran and a well-rounded fighter,” Gamburyan, 34, said of Jorgensen.

So too is Gamburyan (14-8, one no-contest, 5-6, one no-contest in UFC), who is coming off a second-round submission of Cody Gibson in his bantamweight debut at UFC 178 in September.

The 32-year-old Jorgensen (15-10, 4-6 in UFC) is coming off a submission loss to Wilson Reis in October. It was Jorgensen’s fourth loss in his last five fights. Wednesday will also mark his return to 135 pounds after dropping down to the 125-pound flyweight division for his past four fights, in which he went 1-3.

Gamburyan had been scheduled to face seventh-ranked Aljamain Sterling in April. However, injuries to Gamburyan, who’s been a mainstay training at Glendale Fighting Club and Team Hayastan in North Hollywood, forced him to pull out. But Gamburyan said all systems are go now.

“Mentally, physically, I feel great. It’s about who has a better day,” Gamburyan said. “I feel healthy. I have a few injuries here and there, but who doesn’t? If you’re 100%, obviously you’re not training hard enough.”

Coming from a judo background, Gamburyan is known in large part for his grappling game and his strong top game. He owns seven submissions in his 14 wins.

Perhaps his biggest victory was an April, 2010 victory over Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 48. It was a first-round knockout that earned him a WEC title shot against Jose Aldo. The result was also the last knockout for Gamburyan and his last finish overall until he choked out Gibson.

“Everyone says I punch like a heavyweight, but I’m not knocking people out,” Gamburyan said. “Why? That’s the question.”

He’ll try to answer that quandary on Wednesday against Jorgensen, who’s also known largely for his ground game, possessing a strong wrestling background and a solid stand-up game. Overall, he has five submission wins.

Thus, it’s likely the bout will at some point reach the canvas, but is also just as likely to go all over the place from standing up, to the clinch against the cage and to the ground.

“I’m preparing myself for any position,” Gamburyan said.

Jorgensen fought Dominick Cruz for the WEC 135-pound strap in December, 2010, losing a unanimous decision. After reaching the highest point of his career so far, Jorgensen has struggled to a 4-6 record with four losses over his last five bouts.

Similarly, following Gamburyan’s second-round technical knockout loss to Aldo, he has gone 3-3 with one no-contest (a loss to Dennis Siver that was overturned due to Siver testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs).

Thus, Gamburyan and Jorgensen are both battle-tested vets looking, perhaps, for one last run to the top.

With his win over Gibson and his subsequent scheduling to face Sterling, Gamburyan seemed destined to be the men’s bantamweight division veteran taking on up-and-comers. Of course, neither Sterling nor Jorgensen was the opponent Gamburyan called out following the Gibson triumph. Gamburyan asked for a fight with Bryan Caraway, the boyfriend of women’s bantamweight Miesha Tate. The Tate-Caraway camp has had a long standing rivalry with the Glendale Fighting Club and women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, a longtime friend and training partner of Gamburyan who has defeated Tate twice.

In the end, Gamburyan has yet to get his wish, but it really doesn’t matter to him.

“I never pick fights,” Gamburyan said. “You can ask [UFC President] Dana White, you can ask [matchmaker] Sean Shelby. I never pick a fight. The only fight that I picked, and I’m not even going to say his name, because I don’t want to talk about him anymore, but I never got that. So f--- it, I’ll fight anybody.”