Karo Parisyan has had a lot of low points over the years, but he was at rock bottom the Friday before UFC 106. Because of struggles with an anxiety disorder and injuries, the veteran fighter had to drop out of his bout against Dustin Hazelett. Dana White lost his cool, going ballistic on Twitter.
Karo Parisyan has [expletive] over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again!!! He will not be fighting saturday or ever again in the UFC!!
Parisyan has worked way back into the good graces of the promotion and the UFC president. He returns to the Octagon this weekend at UFC 123 against Dennis Hallman.
The Armenian had been fighting for White since 2003, so he never lost hope.
"I never thought the door was closed," Parisyan told The Canadian Press. "I knew that I would fight again, I just knew it. I know Dana White. I know how he thinks, I know how he works. And when somebody says something like that, I know that in the heat of the moment he got pissed and he just said that. I knew I would eventually make my way back to the UFC because I didn't kill nobody."
In addition to bailing from a fight at UFC 88 because of his mental struggles, he was also fined $32,000 and suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after a positive test for pain killers at UFC 94.
"Anxiety led to that going even more crazy," Parisyan said. "It was just whole combination of things, man. I've never been 100 per cent walking in the cage. The best I've been was maybe 70 per cent and I wasn't even 10 per cent for that (UFC 88) fight."
Optimism was about all Parisyan had after what were two difficult years. He was also confident that he could talk White into giving him another shot.
"Dana's got a heart, man. He has a heart. And he does care about his fighters. He does care about people," Parisyan said. "Sure, if you need money, you talk to him, you tell him. Dana never says no that much, unless it's something outrageous. He'll work with you."
Now the pressure is really on for Parisyan. He’s only fought once in 22 months and the NSAC fine buried him in debt. At least this is a start. It’d be nice to see Parisyan reach his potential. This was a guy who was on the verge of a UFC welterweight title shot back in 2005. His career is now a fight-by-fight proposition.
Anna Friel Anna Kournikova Anna Paquin AnnaLynne McCord Anne Marie Kortright
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