Training For more than thirteen years, Parisyan developed under the Hayastan Grappling System, developed by
Gokor Chivichyan and
Gene LeBell, which blends elements of
judo,
sambo,
catch wrestling,
Greco-Roman wrestling and
freestyle wrestling. Parisyan continued to train at the Hayastan Academy under Gokor and Gene until late 2005. In early 2012, Karo mentioned in an interview that he has returned to the Hayastan Academy.
Judo Parisyan has six junior national titles to his credit and competed in the
Olympic judo trials ahead of the
2004 games in Athens. He wrote that going to the Olympics was his dream and that mixed martial arts was only an outlet for his boredom. During the trials, he received a call from UFC management and was invited to compete. He accepted because he needed money. But after the fight against
Dave Strasser, his ribs needed recovery and he decided to give up on the trials. He lost his first fight to
Sean Sherk by a controversial decision. In an immediate rematch, Parisyan was unable to come out of his corner, and later explained he had been suffering from a stomach virus.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Parisyan made his
UFC debut on September 23, 2003, beating
Dave Strasser by
kimura. In his next fight, Parisyan fought
Georges St-Pierre and lost via unanimous decision. During the fight, Parisyan attempted two kimuras, however Parisyan failed to secure them as St-Pierre defended both attempts. Parisyan became the first fighter to go the distance with St-Pierre. He then went on to win the
WEC welterweight title, defeating
Shonie Carter. He then returned to the
UFC, where he won consecutive decision victories over
Nick Diaz,
Chris Lytle and
Matt Serra. Parisyan's next fight was to take place at
UFC 56: Full Force, where he would challenge
UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes. However, Parysian suffered a
hamstring injury and was forced to pull out.
Joe Riggs took his place. He next fought
Nick Thompson at
UFC 59 and won via submission (strikes) in the first round. Parisyan then fought
Diego Sanchez at
UFC Fight Night 6. He lost via unanimous decision. The fight was chosen as the 2006 Fight of the Year by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Following the loss to Sanchez, Parisyan won three consecutive victories over
Drew Fickett,
Josh Burkman and
Ryo Chonan, all via unanimous decision. Parisyan lost via TKO to
Thiago Alves at
UFC Fight Night 13 in the second round. Alves showed good resistance against Parisyan's grappling offense and finished Parisyan with a knee from the clinch, followed by strikes. Parisyan was scheduled to fight
Yoshiyuki Yoshida at
UFC 88: Breakthrough, but a back injury forced him to drop out of the fight right before the weigh-ins. After recovering from his back injury, Parisyan returned at
UFC 94 on January 31, 2009 in Las Vegas against
Dong Hyun Kim. Parisyan defeated Kim in a controversial split decision. Following the fight, Parisyan tested positive for banned painkillers
hydrocodone,
hydromorphone and
oxymorphone. Parisyan has stated that he has a prescription for the medications due to a severe back / hamstring injury. Parisyan was suspended pending a full hearing in mid-March. On March 17, 2009, the NSAC suspended Parisyan for nine months and ruled his decision victory a "no contest". Parisyan was scheduled to fight
Dustin Hazelett at
UFC 106, but pulled out of the fight on November 19, the day before weigh-ins. UFC President Dana White responded to the situation on his
Twitter stating that Parisyan will "not be fighting Saturday or ever again in the UFC!!" White also stated that he had "a laundry list of excuses." Later that day,
Neil Melanson, a longtime friend and training partner of Parisyan's, divulged to MMA news site Five Ounces Of Pain that Parisyan has been battling an addiction to painkillers dating back to an injury suffered while training for a fight.
Post-UFC Parisyan entered into talks with
Strikeforce, looking to continue his mixed martial arts career in the USA, but it proved unsuccessful. Parisyan's return fight took place on July 10, 2010 for
Impact FC 1. He was initially scheduled to face
Luis Dutra Jr., but Dutra would end up being forced off the card with a torn bicep. Parisyan's new opponent was Ben Mortimer, who Parisyan would go on to defeat via rear-naked choke at 4:18 of the second round.
Return to the UFC On September 2, 2010, it was announced that Karo would be returning to the UFC. He faced
Dennis Hallman at
UFC 123 in November. Hallman defeated Parisyan via TKO due to punches at 1:47 in the first round. In a discussion with journalist
Ariel Helwani following UFC 123, UFC President
Dana White stated he believes Parisyan is through fighting in the UFC.
Independent promotions Karo fought highly touted Canadian prospect
Ryan Ford on May 19, 2011 in the MMA Live 1 show in London, Ontario, Canada. He was able to neutralize Ford's strength and power by applying his takedowns, as it seemed that the first and second rounds were in favor of Parisyan, but was caught in the third round by a vicious knee to the head which resulted in a cut over Karo's left eye that would end the fight via TKO due to a doctor's stoppage. Parisyan fought
Jordan Smith on September 14 in Brazil, Amazon Forest Combat 1. After a long hard battle going the distance, Parisyan came up short, losing the fight by split decision. He was expected to fight
Dave Menne on March 31, 2012, but Menne was forced out of the bout with an injury. Parisyan instead fought Thomas Denny. He won via unanimous decision. Parisyan was scheduled to fight
Shamar Bailey in the main event of ShoFIGHT 20 in Springfield, Missouri for the vacant welterweight title on June 16, 2012. However, Bailey was forced off the card due to an injury and replaced by fellow UFC veteran
John Gunderson. After being stunned by a knee from Gunderson, which resulted in a broken cheek bone, Parisyan was caught in a guillotine choke and lost the fight by submission. Parisyan said after the fight that he tapped due to the pressure on his cheekbone and he wasn't being choked. Parisyan was expected to fight
David Bielkheden in Malmo, Sweden on October 6, 2012 but pulled out of the fight for personal reasons and was replaced by
Marcus Davis. Parisyan said at the time: "Everyone knows that it has been a rough road for me over the past couple years. I've tried to just refocus myself and get back to throwing people on their heads, but it hasn't been the same. Not to take anything away from my opponent, but my last fight was devastating for me. My manager and I had a long talk, and he set me up with a sports psychologist. At this point, I need to listen to my doctor and refocus on my life -- not fighting. God willing, fighting will be back in my life at some point, but for now I need to only focus on Karo getting back to Karo." Parisyan defeated Tiger Bonds via first round armbar on September 29, 2012 at a Gladiator Challenge event. Parisyan then fought on October 28, 2012 against Edward Darby and won via first round armbar.
Bellator MMA Parisyan's first Bellator fight was against fellow judoka
Rick Hawn at Bellator 95. Parisyan and Hawn had faced off twice in judo competitions previously, with Hawn winning both their matches at the Judo U.S. Open. In their Bellator bout, Parisyan lost via TKO in the second round. Parisyan was expected to face
Fight Master competitor
Cristiano Souza at
Bellator 106, but pulled out due to injury. Parisyan faced
Ron Keslar on April 11, 2014 at
Bellator 116. He won the fight via knockout in the second round, marking the first KO victory of his MMA career. Parisyan faced Bellator newcomer and former sparring partner
Phil Baroni on July 25, 2014 at
Bellator 122. He won the fight by TKO in the first round. Parisyan was expected to face
Marius Žaromskis at
Bellator 127 on October 3, 2014. However, Žaromskis was pulled from the bout to fight at another date.
Fernando Gonzalez stepped in as a replacement. Parisyan lost the fight via TKO in the first round. However, Gonzalez later failed a drug test and was subsequently fined and given a one-month suspension. ==Championships and accomplishments==