Sevak Magakian upset in first round by Eric Brown in “Badbeat 9”

COMMERCE — When Sevak “Silverback” Magakian enters the cage, odds are the fight isn’t going past the first round.

Entering his 19th professional mixed martial arts bout on Friday night at the Commerce Casino for BAMMA USA’s “Badbeat 9,” Magakian had claimed 10 of his 13 victories in the first round and two of his four losses had also come in the initial stanza.

That trend continued on Friday evening, but unfortunately for Magakian, it came in the form of a stunning upset, as the Glendale fighter was submitted via heel hook by Eric Brown 57 seconds into the opening round of their lightweight (155 pounds) bout.

“I knew it would be a tough fight, he’s good at everything,” said Brown, who improved to 6-8 and snapped a three-fight losing streak with the victory, in a postfight interview in the cage. “He’s a good leg lock guy, but I come from a good leg lock camp, too.”

Magakian, who trains at Glendale’s Main Event Gym and Team Hayastan in Hollywood, fell to 13-5-1 and is now 1-2-1 in his last four fights with his two losses coming via first-round submission.

It was also the second time under the BAMMA banner for Magakian, who is now 0-1-1 in the promotion.

Meanwhile, Brown was able to bring home easily the biggest victory of his career.

“Hopefully, it moves me up the ladder,” Brown said.

Magakian, who was cornered by Team Hayastan’s Gokor Chivichyan, Main Event’s Roma Kalentaryan and Karen Darabedyan, started tentatively, tossing out leg kicks as the fighters circled each other.

The fight turned with a Brown high kick and it looked like it turned into a gift for Magakian, who caught Brown’s foot and flipped him onto his back. Magakian, who owns nine submission victories in a career highlighted by a performance on “The Ultimate Fighter,” didn’t hesitate in dropping down for a leg lock.

But as Magakian went for what appeared to be an ankle lock, Brown immediately went to work on a leg lock of his own.

“I had good resistance to it, so it gave me time to get mine up,” said Brown, who earned his first submission win in a career that’s seen him submitted three times. “He rolled the dice and it went my way.”