UFC 46: Supernatural Preview

Welterweight Bout: Karo "The Heat" Parisyan vs. Georges "Rush" St. Pierre

KARO PARISYAN: American submission grappler, Pan American Judo Silver medallist, 6-time Judo Junior National Champion, ranked 3rd in the world Judo (178lb class) and Olympic hopeful, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu National Champion, Hollywood stuntman, KOTC U.S. Welterweight Champion, Kage Kombat veteran (4-0), Reality Submission Fighting veteran, trains striking with Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, trains grappling with "Judo" Gene LeBell and "The Armenian Assassin" Gokor Chivichyan in the Hayastan Wrestling Dojo, with a MMA record of 18-2 making his 2nd appearance in the UFC (1-0)

Abbreviated Fight History: Karo moved from Yerevan, Armenia to Hollywood, California when he was 6 years old. He was brought to Gokor Chivichyan's school by his father at 9 years old. He began competing in MMA in Mexico at 14 and has competed in 19 bouts over the last 5 years. These include open-hand "Pancrase-style" bouts and open rules MMA. Parisyan has fought on a lot of smaller cards, most of which took place in his local area of California. An outstanding Judo player and jiu-jitsu practitioner, Karo worked on his striking to prepare himself for the rules of MMA. Below are some of Parisyan's more significant contests

Parisyan/Sean Sherk: Karo fought Sean Sherk twice at the Reality Submission Fighting events in '00 and '01. Combined the two fought for more than half and hour with Parisyan losing both bouts. Parisyan was able to employ judo throws and bring Sherk to the mat but in turn Sean worked his wrestling and took Karo down on a regular basis. The first bout was by decision after an overtime round and rumor has it the bout could've gone either way but Sherk got the nod. Sean had a lot of takedowns but many feel the majority of damage was done by Karo on the mat. In the second bout, Parisyan was seriously ill with 103 degree fever but rather than disappoint his fans, Karo fought anyway and lost on a TKO stoppage.

Parisyan/Antonio McKee: Parisyan defeated KOTC and IFC veteran Antonio McKee out of the Lewis/Pederneiras camp. From the bell Parisyan was quicker than McKee and foiled his shoot while working for submissions. Karo won a decision and it led to his own King of the Cage debut.

Parisyan/Fernando Vasconcelos: Parisyan looked better standing and Vasconcelos had the edge on the ground. They exchanged heavy strikes and both had near submission attempts. Parisyan seemed to have the better wind at the end and initiated most of the submission techniques which helped him seal the decision victory.

Parisyan/Strasser: From the bell Karo pushed the striking to secure a clinch. They stayed in the side of the cage, working for takedowns while countering their opponent's efforts. Parisyan struck first as a knee to the face and several strikes led him to his first judo throw. They land with Karo in Dave's half guard and working to pass but Strasser is able to secure full guard. Karo showed good striking ability, landing to Strasser's face while standing in his guard and them went for a leg lock. The unflappable Strasser sat up to avoid it and eventually stood up to exchange. Again Parisyan showed good striking with knees and strikes to the body. Dave comes back with some offense of his own but Karo maneuvers him into an armlock and throw to the mat. They roll back and forth and even back up to the feet but Karo never lets go and keeps working for the right opportunity. He sets up the submission with another roll to the mat and a Kimura armlock that forces Strasser to tap late in the 1st round.

Strengths And Weaknesses: With the judo and jiu-jitsu background, it's obvious he's more comfortable on the mat. He's the kind of guy that can pull off the stunning submission ala Rumina Sato, Caol Uno or Frank Mir. He's well rounded and has a solid stand-up game but he prefers to take them out via submission. A weakness might be relatively little big event experience. It will be interesting to see him against someone with really solid hands (I mean better than St. Pierre's) and who can avoid the takedown.

How He Can Beat St. Pierre: Ground him and submit him. Since some of the weapons St. Pierre is used to employing are illegal in the UFC (particularly his use of knees and elbows on the ground), he may find it difficult to adjust to a more limited arsenal. To my knowledge, this will also be St. Pierre's first bout in a cage and that is not an easy adjustment for some fighters either. Parisyan relies heavily on his judo technique and it is possible he will be too technical for the less experienced St. Pierre.

GEORGES ST. PIERRE: Canadian jiu-jitsu fighter, wrestler, striker, also known as "Jungle", TKO Canadian Welterweight Champion, trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Renzo Gracie purple belt Angelo Exarhakos, boxing coach Howard Grant, Muay Thai coaches Conrad Plad and Victor Vargotzky, and fighters David Loiseau, Ivan Menjivar, Steve Vigneault and other fighters on the TKO Management team, with a 6-0 record in MMA making his 1st appearance in the UFC

Abbreviated Fight History: St. Pierre likes to blend his muay Thai, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when fighting. His first exposure to martial arts was as a young boy in elementary school. After a confrontation with a larger classmate went poorly, Georges realized the importance of being able to defend himself. All of the 23 year olds MMA experience has taken place in Canada at the Universal Combat Challenge which now operates as TKO. He's 6-0 with 2 KOs and will fight outside of his homeland for the first time. His main instructor is Angelo Exarhakos who trains BJJ under Renzo Gracie and St. Pierre will sometimes make the trip to New York to train with other Gracie black belts. Team Exarhakos, now referred to as simply "TKO Management" consists of UFC veteran David "The Crow" Loiseau, Steve "Lion Heart" Vigneault and current UFC 46 card mate Ivan "The Pride of El Salvador" Menjivar. Below are some of St. Pierre's more significant contests:

St. Pierre/Ivan Menjivar: In his debut at UCC 7 he punished tough Ivan Menjivar (now a teammate) and stopped the World Super Lightweight Title contender in the first round with strikes. The bout was later ruled a No Contest by the UCC Commission.

St. Pierre/ Justin Bruckmann: St. Pierre returned to UCC 10 to claim the Canadian Welterweight Championship from Justin Bruckmann via armbar. Bruckmann was ready to stand and exchange but St. Pierre shot in and brought him right to the ground. St. Pierre was able to pass Bruckmann's guard but Justin got back to his feet. Bruckmann shot in for a takedown but St. Pierre was able to avoid it and mount him. Georges began striking Justin with punches and elbows and finished with the armbar submission for the win.

St. Pierre/ Travis Galbraith: At UCC 11, Georges defended his title by stopping Travis Galbraith with strikes early in their bout. St. Pierre quickly shot in for a double leg takedown and went to work, striking Galbraith with fists and elbows. He actually picked up Galbraith's head and dropped it on the mat several times rendering Travis virtually unconscious before the referee stepped in. Upon the stand up Galbraith attempted to continue to battle, even pushing the referee out of the way, but he was out on his feet and the fighters were separated.

St. Pierre/Thomas Denny: St. Pierre controlled the pace of the bout with his superior takedowns and ground skills. Denny ate numerous elbows, knees and head drops (ala Galbraith). The punishment from legal knees to the head was too much for Denny and the bout was stopped in the second round.

St. Pierre/Pete Spratt: This is the bout that landed St. Pierre on the UFC 46 card and left Spratt off of it. From the bell St. Pierre had little trouble bringing Spratt down. They grappled from half guard until Georges took Pete's back and Pete stood up. Spratt was able to avoid the choke and put St. Pierre in guard but Pete was still in danger. Georges was able to sink the choke and though Pete stood up again, he couldn't shake him. Spratt fell backwards to the ground tapping ala Frank Trigg/Matt Hughes.

Strengths And Weaknesses: His takedowns are a solid. St. Pierre is a technician when it comes to bringing his opponent to the mat. He's also competent enough to know not to let them up once they're grounded. In the UCC he was able to use knees and elbows to strike a downed opponent on the mat. Unless he makes the jump to Pride: Bushido, he won't be able to use the knees he is used to employing. St. Pierre's major weakness is fighting outside Canada against big competition. He's moving in the right direction, having faced Denny and Pete Spratt, but to make a name he needs to soundly defeat a name in the sport.

How He Can Beat Parisyan: With strikes on the feet. Bringing Karo to the mat could present him with the opportunity to apply one of the various submission techniques he's known for. St. Pierre's chances are better if he can keep Karo standing and test his chin.

MY PICK: Parisyan. Karo has a wealth of experience if he had any major league jitters they likely evaporated after the impressive win over Dave Strasser. He showed some explosive stand-up skills against Dave and his subs are lightning quick. I think St. Pierre may feel like he's in slow motion

DOWN THE ROAD:
Parisyan/Ray Cooper: There's been talk of Cooper getting in the UFC in the past. He went on a terror in the Warriors Quest winning 4 in a row including Jake Shields and Jeremy Williams. The loss to Hallman shouldn't keep him away.

Parisyan/Ronald Jhun: Another Superbrawl veteran whose time in the UFC has been long overdue. He's coming off a win at ROTR 4 and went 4-2 last (losing to Alessio and Tiki).

St. Pierre/Jutaro Nakao: Why has Nakao disappeared from the Octagon? The decision loss to Sherk at UFC 36 is the only loss he's had in 3 years. This is the same guy who KO'd DeSouza, submitted Miletich and went the distance with Menne, Cooper and Sakurai.

St. Pierre/John Alessio: Alessio hasn't been in the UFC in 4 years. In that time he's lost twice (7-2), once by split decision. It's been a long time coming.