Sherdog’s Top 10: Might Have Beens

---

4. Karo Parisyan

Years before Ronda Rousey regaled the world with tales of her mother waking her up with armbars instead of Cheerios, a young Parisyan was introduced to judo by his father in order to combat laziness. It was a battle “The Heat” never really won. According to Neil Melanson, who spent some time with Parisyan at Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts in Las Vegas, the Armenian fighter was often able to get by on sheer talent alone.

“Karo is the most talented person I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Melanson told Sherdog.com in 2012. “What he could do without training at all was amazing. If people saw the kind of life that he lived and then watched his performances, you’d be like, ‘Are you serious?’ Here’s a guy that probably only ate cake the week of the fight, and after weigh-ins he’d have a few cigarettes. That’s the type of guy Karo was.”

For a while, that approach worked. He honed his skills under Gokor Chivichyan and Gene LeBell and eventually become one of the top welterweight prospects in the UFC, losing a unanimous decision to Georges St. Pierre in his second appearance before earning victories against the likes of Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, Matt Serra and Nick Thompson. Overall, Parisyan was 9-2 with the promotion and perhaps a few wins away from a title shot before things took a turn for the worse, as anxiety issues and a reliance on painkillers derailed a once-promising career.

The California resident would pull out of bouts against Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 88 and against Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106. He also tested positive for painkillers following a split verdict over Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94. The second withdrawal, brought about by anxiety attacks, prompted UFC President Dana White to announce that Parisyan would never again fight for his organization.

One fight later, Parisyan was back, if only temporarily, as a first-round technical knockout defeat to Dennis Hallman proved to be his final chance in the Octagon. Still only 30 years old, Parisyan has not given up the dream just yet, though he lost his Bellator MMA debut in decisive fashion to Rick Hawn on April 4.

Number 3 » Here and Gone