Karo Parisyan facts for kids

Karo Parisyan (born August 28, 1982) is an Armenian-American former mixed martial artist. He competed in the welterweight division. Parisyan was a professional MMA fighter from 1999 to 2017. He is a former WEC Welterweight Champion. He also fought in major organizations like the UFC and Bellator.

Early Life and Judo Training

Karo Parisyan was born in Yerevan, which was then part of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. His family moved to America when he was six years old. When he was nine, Parisyan began training in judo. His coach was fellow Armenian Gokor Chivichyan. Parisyan later trained with both Chivichyan and Gene LeBell. He said that judo helped him focus his energy. He also wrote that his father introduced him to judo to help him be more active.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

Training Style

For over thirteen years, Parisyan trained in the Hayastan Grappling System. This system was created by Gokor Chivichyan and Gene LeBell. It combines different fighting styles. These include judo, sambo, catch wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, and freestyle wrestling. Parisyan trained at the Hayastan Academy until late 2005. He returned to the academy in early 2012.

Judo Achievements

Parisyan earned six junior national judo titles. He also competed in the Olympic judo trials for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He dreamed of going to the Olympics. He said that mixed martial arts was just a way to pass the time. During the trials, he got a call from the UFC. They invited him to compete. He accepted because he needed money. After a fight, he had to recover from rib injuries. He then decided to stop his Olympic trials.

First UFC Fights

Parisyan made his UFC debut on September 23, 2003. He won against Dave Strasser using a kimura submission. In his next fight, Parisyan faced Georges St-Pierre. He lost by a unanimous decision. Parisyan was the first fighter to go the full distance with St-Pierre.

WEC Champion and UFC Return

After his UFC fights, Parisyan won the WEC welterweight title. He defeated Shonie Carter for the championship. He then returned to the UFC. There, he earned three wins in a row. He beat Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, and Matt Serra by decision.

Parisyan was set to challenge UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes. This fight was planned for UFC 56: Full Force. However, Parisyan had a hamstring injury. He had to withdraw from the fight. Joe Riggs took his place.

He later fought Nick Thompson at UFC 59. Parisyan won this fight by submission due to strikes in the first round.

Memorable Fights

Parisyan then fought Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 6. He lost this fight by unanimous decision. This match was chosen as the 2006 Fight of the Year. It was recognized by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

After losing to Sanchez, Parisyan won three fights in a row. He defeated Drew Fickett, Josh Burkman, and Ryo Chonan. All these wins were by unanimous decision.

Parisyan lost to Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 13. Alves won by TKO in the second round. Alves defended well against Parisyan's grappling. He finished the fight with a knee and punches.

Parisyan was supposed to fight Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 88: Breakthrough. But a back injury forced him to pull out. This happened right before the weigh-ins.

Later UFC Appearances

After recovering, Parisyan returned at UFC 94. He fought Dong Hyun Kim on January 31, 2009. Parisyan won by a split decision. The result of this fight was later changed to a "no contest."

Parisyan was scheduled to fight Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106. However, he pulled out of the fight. UFC President Dana White said Parisyan would not fight in the UFC again.

Post-UFC Career

After leaving the UFC, Parisyan talked with Strikeforce. He wanted to continue his MMA career in the USA. But these talks were not successful.

Parisyan's next fight was on July 10, 2010, for Impact FC 1. He was supposed to fight Luis Dutra Jr. But Dutra had an injury. Parisyan then fought Ben Mortimer. Parisyan won by rear-naked choke in the second round.

Return to the UFC (Briefly)

On September 2, 2010, it was announced that Karo would return to the UFC. He faced Dennis Hallman at UFC 123 in November. Hallman defeated Parisyan by TKO with punches in the first round. After this fight, UFC President Dana White said he believed Parisyan was done fighting in the UFC.

Independent Fights

Karo fought Ryan Ford on May 19, 2011. This was at the MMA Live 1 show in London, Canada. Parisyan used takedowns to control Ford. The first two rounds seemed to go his way. But in the third round, Ford landed a knee to the head. This caused a cut over Karo's left eye. The doctor stopped the fight, giving Ford the TKO win.

Parisyan fought Jordan Smith on September 14, 2011. This fight was in Brazil at Amazon Forest Combat 1. It was a tough fight that went the distance. Parisyan lost by split decision.

He was expected to fight Dave Menne on March 31, 2012. But Menne was injured. Parisyan instead fought Thomas Denny. He won this fight by unanimous decision.

Parisyan was scheduled to fight Shamar Bailey for a welterweight title. This was at ShoFIGHT 20 on June 16, 2012. Bailey was injured and replaced by John Gunderson. Parisyan was hit by a knee from Gunderson. This broke his cheekbone. He then lost the fight by submission to a guillotine choke. Parisyan said he tapped because of the pressure on his cheekbone.

Parisyan was expected to fight David Bielkheden in Sweden. But he pulled out for personal reasons. Marcus Davis took his place. Parisyan explained that he needed to focus on himself. He said he needed to listen to his doctor and focus on his life. He hoped to fight again someday.

Parisyan defeated Tiger Bonds by armbar in the first round. This happened on September 29, 2012, at a Gladiator Challenge event.

Parisyan then fought Edward Darby on October 28, 2012. He won by armbar in the first round.

Bellator MMA Career

Parisyan's first Bellator fight was against fellow judo expert Rick Hawn. They had faced each other twice before in judo. Hawn won both those matches. In their Bellator fight at Bellator 95, Parisyan lost by TKO in the second round.

Parisyan was expected to fight Fight Master competitor Cristiano Souza. This was planned for Bellator 106. But Parisyan pulled out due to an injury.

Parisyan faced Ron Keslar on April 11, 2014, at Bellator 116. He won the fight by knockout in the second round. This was his first knockout victory in MMA.

Parisyan then fought Phil Baroni on July 25, 2014, at Bellator 122. Baroni was a new fighter to Bellator and a former sparring partner. Parisyan won by TKO in the first round.

Parisyan was expected to fight Marius Žaromskis at Bellator 127. But Žaromskis was moved to another fight date. Fernando Gonzalez stepped in as a replacement. Parisyan lost the fight by TKO in the first round.

Championships and Awards

Mixed Martial Arts Honors

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC.com Awards
    • 2006: Fight of the Year vs. Diego Sanchez

• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • WEC Welterweight Championship (One time)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 2006 Fight of the Year vs. Diego Sanchez on August 17

Mixed Martial Arts Record

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists