November 2009 Schedule (7 Wins - 4 Losses - 1 Draw)

BOXING - DRAW

November 6, 2009

Vartan Gasparyan

vs. Pavel Miranda at
Majority Decision Draw

MMA - WIN

November 7, 2009

Gegard Mousasi
TKO's Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
at 3:43 of Round 2

MUAY THAI - LOSS

November 7, 2009

Vardan Mnatsakanyan
loses to Salah Marroqui
via decision

MUAY THAI - LOSS

November 7, 2009

Armen Petrosyan
Loses to Sayok
via close decision

MMA - WIN

November 18, 2009

Manny Gamburyan
beats  Leonard Garcia
via Unanimous Decision
30-27, 29-28, 29-28

MMA - WIN

November 18, 2009

Karen Darabedyan
beats. Razor Rob McCullough
via Split Decision
30-27, 27-30, 29-28

BOXING - WIN

November 19, 2009

Vardan Mnatsakanyan
wins via Forfeit

MMA - LOSS

November 20, 2009

Sevak Magakian
looses to Bobby Green
via TKO

MUAY THAI - LOSS

November 20, 2009

Gago Drago
Looses to Marcus Omberg
via UD

MUAY THAI - WIN

November 20, 2009

Armen Petrosyan
beats Goran Borovic
on points

BOXING - WIN

November 27, 2009

Hamlet Petrosyan
beats Semjons Moroseks
on points

BOXING - WIN

November 28, 2009

Gevork Khatchikian
beats Amir Hcimuradov
on points

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News

Charity Poker Tournament Raises $3,500 for the HyeFighter of the Year Award

Last weekend's charity poker tournament raised $3,500 for the HyeFighter of the Year award.  This year's award will be presented on December 22, at the Armenian Athletes Awards Banquet in Glendale (more info to follow soon).  We would like to thank everyone who participated in raising this money and want to remind everyone that there is time to contribute to this award if you like.  Simply click on the DONATE button below and make a donation of any amount.  Thank you.

Upcoming Fight

HyeFighter Vanes Martirosyan
Set to Fight For Title

DECEMBER 19TH LIVE ON PAY PER VIEW undefeated Top-10 super welterweight contender HyeFighter VANES MARTIROSYAN (25-0, 16 KOs), of Glendale, Calif., will challenge NABF super welterweight champion WILLIE LEE (17-5, 10 KOs), of New Orleans, in a 12-round bout for the NABF NABO TITTLE, followed by the main event, Pavlik vs. Espino.

Exclusive Interview

Manny Gamburyan - Exclusive Interview
with HyeFighters.com

Fight Results

HyeFighters Sevak Magakian
Looses via TKO

By Grant Gordon - Glendale News Pess

In the world of mixed martial arts, anything can happen.

It’s a reality that HyeFighter Sevak Magakian is well aware of and it’s why he was in positive spirits less than 24 hours after he suffered a defeat in the main event at Respect in the Cage II at Fox Theater in Pomona.

The Glendale fighter lost at the 2:42 mark of the first round against Bobby Green after Green busted open Magakian’s head with a knee that elicited the stoppage and the technical knockout win for the Fontana fighter late Friday night.

“It was a good fight,” Magakian said. “I knew I could beat him, I just got caught.”

Magakian said he pulled off three judo throws, three takedowns and attempted a kimura, but simply got caught by a knee from the seasoned Green (11-2), who is likely the top fighter Magakian’s faced in his young career.

“It’s all good, I’ll learn from my mistakes,” Magakian said. “It’s just a fight, everybody has losses. Next time I’m gonna come back stronger and more aggressive.

“I just got a few stitches and it’s back to training for my next fight.”

Magakian, who had a six-fight winning steak snapped, had been training for a Nov. 14 CalledOut MMA card that was canceled. Hence, he was looking for a fight, so he took one against Green on just five days’ notice.

Green has now won three straight fights, his last loss coming on an Affliction pay-per-view card.

Fight Results

HyeFighters Manny Gamburyan
& Karen Darabedyan Both WIN at WEC 44

Aldo's first title challenger may have been determined in the night's co-feature.

picture courtesy of:Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

From the moment "The Ultimate Fighter 5" runner-up HyeFighter Manny Gamburyan made his move from the UFC to WEC, fellow octagon vet Leonard Garcia appeared an obvious opponent.

And as both fighters continued moving up the featherweight ladder and into title contention, WEC officials decided to make the bout official while all but assuring the winner a shot at the belt.

The heated, three-round back-and-forth scrap went as expected, and even after 15 hard-fought minutes, a winner wasn't obvious. Only after the judges' scores were read (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) could Gamburyan finally celebrate his victory.

With takedowns at key times (which were often secured with little more than brute strength and determination) and the ability not to get suckered into his opponent's wild and frantic exchanges, Gamburyan implemented a solid game plan to grind out the decision win. It wasn't easy, though, as Garcia audibly dared the Armenian fighter to engage while dropping his hands and waving him in.

Gamburyan, though, knew a key to victory was avoiding Garcia's big punches.

"I knew he was a tough guy," he said. "Guys, he really does hit hard. ... Hopefully we can do it again sometime."

Gamburyan moves to 10-4 overall and 2-0 in the WEC with the win. Garcia, meanwhile, drops to 13-5 (3-2 WEC).

picture courtesy of:Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Armenian transplant HyeFighter Karen Darabedyan thought he did enough to nab a decision against former lightweight champion Rob McCullough in his WEC debut, but he had to sweat it out some as the scorecards were read.

Two of the three ringside observers saw it in Darabedyan’s favor, 30-27 and 29-28, but world-renowned boxing referee Tony Weeks scored it 30-27 for McCullough.

Darabedyan gave McCullough trouble early in the fight with powerful left jabs, and when he engaged the former titleholder in flurries, he got the best of him virtually every time. McCullough’s Team Punishment cornermen begged him to throw more leg kicks, but he could not seem to crack Darabedyan’s style and looked reluctant to unleash. Darabedyan controlled the pace of the first two rounds and seemed as if he was going to coast unless the wheels came off in the fight’s final round.

McCullough turned the tide in round three, as he figured out his foe’s gameplan and unloaded with a vicious array of leg kicks. When McCullough goaded Darabedyan into spurts of flurries, his right hand and short left hook landed more frequently than not. Darabedyan eventually relented and backed away, sensing perhaps it was in his best interest to steer clear. McCullough’s rally fell short as a result.

Check back soon for more pictures

MANNY GAMBURYAN - FIGHT VIDEO

KAREN DARABEDYAN - FIGHT VIDEO

Weigh Ins

HyeFighters Manny Gamburyan
& Karen Darabedyan Both Make Weight

The WEC 44 card will have 2 HyeFighters on the main card for Wednesday's MMA event at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.  Manny Gamburyan will be taking on Leonard Garcia in the co-main event and his good friend and fellow HyeFighter Karen Darabedyan will be making his WEC debut against the veteran and first WEC champion "Razor" Rob McCullough.  HyeFighters.com would like to wish both of our fighters good luck and we are confident that both of their fights will end with both of the HyeFighters arm's being raised in victory!!!. Below are the pictures from the weigh ins.

click on image below to view album

Video Interview

HyeFighter Manny Gamburyan
Talks about his Upcoming WEC Fight

HyeFighter Interview

HyeFighter Georgi Karakhanyan
Interview with ULTMMA

King Georgi- At age 24 Georgi Karakhanyan is MMA ‘s best unsigned prospect  - as published in ULTMMA

Riverside, CA- HyeFighter Georgi Karakhanyan is on the brink of greatness. For a fighter in his mid-20s he is surprisingly humble about his MMA accomplishments. Twelve wins one loss and one draw don't jump off the stat sheet at first glance.

8 submission victories in under 5 minutes adds some depth to the story of Karakhanyan. The former professional soccer player in Russia and Spain did not have the slightest mixed martial arts aspirations until his late teens. Transitioning from the most popular sport on the planet to perhaps the most controversial, Karakhanyan has proved to be a quick study since entering the cage.

Karakhanyan made is professional MMA debut in October 2006. With a high paced grappling based attack Karakhanyan has earned a reputation as a submission machine and has used his BJJ skills to dominate the local west coast MMA circuit.

Training out of team Millennia MMA, Karakhanyan also makes the trip to Glendale, CA to get work in with Manny Gamburyan at Main Event Sports Club.

The Armenian national is the top rated prospect in the Ultmma50. Youth, athleticism and a top shelf team of fighters as well as coaches give Georgi Karakhanyan the tools to realize his potential.

The Ultmma50 is a pound for pound ranking of the top unsigned local MMA prospects.

ULTMMA (www.ultmma.com) spoke with Karakhanyan before a recent training session and discussed a number of topics including: learning from Javier Vasquez, the failed weight cut down to 135 and his pick for the Brown-Aldo title fight.

Note: This interview was conducted prior to Karakhanyan being informed that Called Out MMA II had been postponed.

ULTMMA.com: You haven't fought since May how has the layoff been for you?

Georgi Karakhanyan: I personally think it was too long because I'm used to fighting ever one to two months. It's been good though, after I fought I only took two off weeks. I would have liked to fight earlier, but it's cool. Some of the fights fell apart, but it's ok.

ULTMMA: What is like trying to secure fights at a local level, where it's not as organized?

Karakhanyan: It's really hard especially when you start to build up your record after seven or eight wins. It's tough you either go find the big shows or you have to fight someone with the same record as you.

ULTMMA: For this training camp have you been working on anything in particular?

Karakhanyan: Well my original opponent Bao Quach he broke his hand. So, we worked on a lot of my stand up because Bao has great stand up. Now my new opponent was Vince Ortiz is actually a training partner of the last guy I fought Albert Rios. He comes from Antonio McKee's camp so I'm pretty sure he's a good wrestler. Now I want to work on my takedown defense so I can keep the fight standing.

ULTMMA: When did you find out Quach broke his hand?

Karakhanyan: I found out about 3 1/2 weeks ago.

ULTMMA: Was it a disappointment not getting a chance to fight a big name guy in your division?

Karakhanyan: Yeah, I was pretty pissed. I was the underdog and I should be. If, I would of beat Bao it would of put me in a good spot because he has a huge name. I heard a lot of talk of people saying he was going to knock me out. I was very motivated to fight him, but everything happens for a reason.

ULTMMA: What do you know about your opponent Vince Ortiz?

Karakhanyan: A big thing with him is he is an ex-marine. So, they call him the sergeant and he has been wrestling for 10-12 years. Actually one of his last fights he fought one of my training partners Chris Cully. I pretty much know what he is going to bring to the table.

ULTMMA: Your first loss came in 2008, what did you take away from that defeat?

Karakhanyan: Before I loss that fight I was doing no wrestling or anything like that. When I lost to Chris David all he did pretty much was take me down and keep me on the ground. After that loss I just started working on my wrestling a lot. Two days after that fight I bought myself some wrestling shows and told myself I'm going to wrestle.

It got me very humbled up as well. When I was 4-0 I thought nobody was going to beat me. I got beat so I dealt with it and started wrestling which made me a better fighter.

ULTMMA: Your only 24 years old, where is your future weight class going to be? 135? Stay at 145? Move up to 155?

Karakhanyan: Actually we were trying to get to 135 for the WEC. Sean Shelby (WEC matchmaker) was saying that the 45 division was so packed and I tried to make it to 35, but I just couldn't. I'm probably going to stay at 45 and hopefully in the future move up to 55.

ULTMMA: What do you learn from some of your training partners like WEC fighters Javier Vasquez and Manny Tapia?

Karakhanyan: The first thing I get from Javi all the time is to be patient. I'm not a patient person at all.I was actually cornering him in his last fight in Texas. Even when he lost, we didn't think he lost, but he just used that as a example of being patient.

Its good to go watch and corner them because you see how they fight at that level. It's a good experience for me. I also train in Glendale, California with Manny Gamburyan and Karen Darabedyan.

ULTMMA: If, you were scouting yourself how would game plan for fight against Georgi Karakhanyan?

Karakhanyan: That's a tough question. I would use more wrestling. That's tough because most wrestlers can't take me down. Maybe just stand with me.

ULTMMA: What do your coaches want you to improve on?

Karakhanyan: Right now I've been concentrating a lot on my foot work. Just trying to get my foot work down and my fakes. Jose Aldo and all those guys have very good foot work and fakes.

ULTMMA: Who do you like in the Mike Brown-Jose Aldo fight at WEC 44?

Karakhanyan: I like Mike Brown. I don't really like Jose Aldo because he beat one of my good friends Cub Swanson. Jose Aldo is really, really tough and a very a good guy. I think if it goes past the first round Mike Brown will win by decision. If, it ends in the first round it's because Jose Aldo knocked him out with one of those flying knees or flying kicks.

ULTMMA: Are there any sponsors who have helped you out in preparation for this fight who you would like to thank?

Karakhanyan: I like to thank all the Millennia guys, all the Millennia fighters. My coaches Romi. Javi, Betiss, Joey. Sponsor wise the same people who have been with me forever Unbreakable mouth pieces, Clinch Gear, Nurti Shop, and Original Grappler.

Fight Results

HyeFighter Team Mousasi
Official Walk out Tee by Tapout

Check out the new Team Mousasi Shirt

This is the same shirt he wore walking out to his fight against Sokoudjou at the Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers match.

Support Gegard and by his shirt....if you look carefully you will notice the Armenian Coat of Arms on the front and back of the shirt.
just click on the picture and buy it directly from Tapout.

Fight Results

HyeFighter Gegard Mousasi
WINS via TKO of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
at 3:43 of Round 2

Watch the Video:

click on image below to view album

HyeFighter Gegard Mousasi was tested by an equally athletic Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou until the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion scored a technical knockout 3:43 into the second round of their three-round, non-title contest.

Mousasi peppered Sokoudjou early with mostly deflected jabs and high kicks, until Sokoudjou cried foul and grabbed his groin from an inside kick. However, referee David Smith did not see fit to halt the action, and the pair continued on.

Sokoudjou connected with an outside kick a couple of times, but the Cameroon fighter could not find any other openings on the calm and smooth Mousasi.

Mousasi turned up the pace shortly after, backing Sokoudjou to the fence. The cornered U.S. judo champion reverted to instinct and nailed a beautiful throw. However, Mousasi swept easily into side control. Sokoudjou wrestled to his feet and then manhandled Mousasi against the fence and down to the canvas. But Mousasi, who knocked out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza with an upkick in Dream’s middleweight grand prix final in 2008, connected again and dropped a stunned Sokoudjou in the final seconds.

Both men pushed and tugged for control in the clinch at the top of the second round. Mousasi settled on the outside, then began to flurry as the dreadlocked fighter ducked for cover. In the following clinch, Sokoudjou fell into the champion’s half guard, but Mousasi latched onto an arm and nearly rolled into the submission before resuming top position. Weathered and waning, Sokoudjou began to fade under Mousasi’s fists until referee Smith stepped in for the stoppage.

Post Fight Interview

Fight Results

HyeFighter Vardan Msatsakanyan
Fights to a Decision Loss

click on image below to view album

HyeFIghter Vardan Mnatsakanyan of Spain fights to a very narrow loss on points.

Fight Results

HyeFighter Armen Petrosyan
Fights to a Decision Loss

HyeFIghter Armen Petrosyan fights to a very narrow loss on points.

Fight Results

HyeFighter Vartan Gasparyan
Fights to a DRAW

Welterweights Pavel Miranda (18-4-1, 10 KOs) and Vardan Gasparyan (11-2-5, 5 KOs) fought to a well-fought six round majority decision draw. Both fighters had their moments in the spirited contest. Scores were 58-56 for Gasparyan, while the other judges had it 57-57.

Fight News

HyeFighter Gegard Mousasi
Pre-fight Strikeforce Interview

from MMA.Fanhouse

CHICAGO — While some MMA fans and pundits have proclaimed that Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou doesn’t have what it takes to upset Gegard Mousasi on Saturday night, the current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion isn’t buying into that notion. Mousasi clearly remembers Sokoudjou’s past triumphs over Antonio Rogerio Noguiera and Ricardo Arona in PRIDE, and is intent on not allowing “The African Assassin” to pull off the same kind of magic on CBS this weekend.

FanHouse spoke to Mousasi on Wednesday about the match-up, his newfound fame in America, and a potential fight against free agent Dan Henderson. The full video interview is below.

Fight News

Fight Path: “Thrilla in Manilla” site
helped launch WEC newcomer
HyeFighter Karen Darabedyan’s career

By Percy by Kyle Nagel

Karen Darabedyan’s engineer father might not have quite imagined the scene when he first enrolled his then-4-year-old son in karate lessons in the family’s Armenian hometown.

About 16 years later, Darabedyan entered Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manilla, Philippines, for his third professional mixed-martial-arts fight.

It was the same venue where Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier in the 1975 Thrilla in Manilla heavyweight boxing bout. And even though Darabedyan didn’t have much MMA experience, he had a lifetime of martial arts training.

He had been a karate and tae kwon do black belt before he was old enough to drive. He had then moved on to boxing and Muay Thai. Then, he noticed the popularity of MMA and asked a coach at his gym to get him a fight.

He had been an immediate hit in his backyard professional debut, and two fights later, he was in the Philippines.

“It was a team thing,” Darabedyan told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I only had two fights, there was seating for about 20,000 people, and I’m walking out there thinking, ‘What did I get myself into?’”

A successful MMA career, it seems. After suffering a unanimous decision loss to Koji Oishi in the Philippines in December 2007, the 22-year-old Darabedyan (8-1) has won six straight fights and will make his WEC debut in a 155-pound bout against “Razor” Rob McCullough (17-5) at WEC 44 on Nov. 18 in Nevada.

The Oishi matchup did more for Darabedyan than inspire him with a loss. It taught him one of the main differences between MMA and many other forms of martial arts: conditioning. Since working up his cage stamina, he has been able to win three of his past five fights in first-round stoppages and continue his transition from traditional martial arts to MMA.

“I would say, from what I’ve done, I’m a true mixed martial artist,” Darabedyan said. “I’ve done just about everything, and now I’m trying to improve in MMA.”

Coming to America

Darabedyan’s martial arts career had already begun by the time he and his family moved to Glendale, Calif., when he was about 5 years old.

They had come from Armenia, where his parents had a comfortable life with friends, but the job outlook was a little more difficult in the country. Hoping for a better life, they moved.

The family had to change to meet the new culture.

“Here, everyone has their own thing going; they don’t really care about their neighbors,” Darabedyan said. “There, neighbors are like family. Everyone is very close. But, as far as a place to work, it’s not the best, there aren’t a lot of jobs, and there’s a lot of poverty.”

Like many parents, Darabedyan’s father enrolled him in classes to keep him out of trouble, and his son flourished. It wasn’t just martial arts. Darabedyan also tried swimming, gymnastics and many other athletic opportunities.

He excelled almost immediately, and martial arts has been one of the biggest thing in his life since.

“I couldn’t live a week without training,” he said.

Things soon changed to help him concentrate more on family and training. About three years ago, Darabedyan’s father died, so he moved back in with his mother and focused on martial arts.

He continued his concentration on judo and boxing until friends and instructors at his gym helped get him into a relatively small-time MMA show in July 2006.

“There were 10 fights scheduled,” Darabedyan said. “But the cops broke it up after the first six. Luckily I got mine in, and I won. It was a different feeling, being in a cage, a different intensity.”

Greater intensity, bigger fights

Desiring more of the feeling that he got in the backyard cage, Darabedyan continued looking for MMA opportunities.

His second fight came more than a year after his first, and he won a decision at an Extreme Fighters World Championships show. Then, his coach put together a team to participate in the Philippines event, and Darabedyan headed into a famous stadium for what would be a career-changing fight.

“He caught me off guard,” said Darabedyan, who, despite his extensive martial arts background, still had little MMA-specific training. “I had no conditioning training, and I wasn’t used to it. What I did, I pretty much did with sheer heart. I stayed in it, even though I was so fatigued I could barely get up when he knocked me down.”

The decision loss didn’t stop Darabedyan from fighting. About 20 months later, more focused on training for MMA, he started what would become a six-fight winning streak with a victory at a Long Beach Fight Night event.

Darabedyan still doesn’t feel he has reached the top of his potential.

“I don’t think I’m even at 50 percent of what I could be,” he said.

About five months ago, Darabedyan met the man who would become his manager, Darin Harvey. Then, a few weeks ago, behind Darabedyan’s performances and with Harvey’s help, the WEC came to him when it faced a short-notice opening for the fight against McCullough.

With the focus on training for the cage and motivation from the death of his father, he is working to capitalize on the opportunity.

“I think now that I’ve got this contract, I know it’s time to put everything I’ve got into it,” Darabedyan said. “I was a pretty good kid in school, but after my dad passed, this is all I’ve got. I let go of all my schooling, so the main thing making some type of foundation in MMA. That’s what I have to do now.”

Fight Info

HyeFighter Vardan Mnatsakanyan
In Muay Thai Action in Spain

Fight News

HyeFighter Karo Parisyan:
"I EAT JIU JITSU GUYS FOR BREAKFAST"

By Percy Crawford from FightHype.com

"I think it's a great style for me. It's a great matchup. I eat Jiu Jitsu guys for breakfast a lot of times. He's tough and he's got really good Jiu Jitsu and good standup. He's a well-rounded fighter, but I have fought 2 and 3-time Jiu Jitsu world champion guys man. And I'm a grappler myself so I really have some surprises for him. I have a tremendous respect for Dustin as an opponent...I should be able to overpower him, beat on him a little bit and catch him in submissions myself. Dustin is not going to do anything that I've never seen before. He's not going to throw anything my way that I've never seen. He's good off of his back and a good Jiu Jitsu guy, but that's all he is," stated stated UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan as he talked about his return to the Octagon after a long layoff to face Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106. Check it out!

PC: Karo, it has been a very long time since we last spoke. How are you doing man?

KP: Good man. I'm just training; 3 weeks until the fight, so 2 more weeks of hard training so I'm ready to go.

PC: Who have you been working with to prepare for Hazelett?

KP: I worked with Randy a little bit in Vegas. I did a couple of weeks out there. They have good wrestlers, good stand up guys, boxers and Jiu Jitsu guys; a lot of tall and lanky guys like Dustin. I've been getting them to kind of mimic what he does and I'm working on a lot of strength and conditioning. I just came back from training and its freaking hell, you know?

PC: I spoke to Dustin earlier and asked if he thought you were a good opponent for him because both of you guys had long layoffs. He felt that it didn't really matter, but thought you were a good fight for him style-wise. Do you think his style is a good one for you as well?

KP: I think it's a great style for me. It's a great matchup. I eat Jiu Jitsu guys for breakfast a lot of times. He's tough and he's got really good Jiu Jitsu and good standup. He's a well-rounded fighter, but I have fought 2 and 3-time Jiu Jitsu world champion guys man. And I'm a grappler myself so I really have some surprises for him. I have a tremendous respect for Dustin as an opponent. I don't know him as a person, but he looks like a nice guy. But like I said, I have been training a lot with tall and lanky guys. I think it is a great matchup due to the fact that I should be able to overpower him, beat on him a little bit and catch him in submissions myself. Dustin is not going to do anything that I've never seen before. He' not going to throw anything my way that I've never seen. He's good off of his back and a good Jiu Jitsu guy, but that's all he is. I'm a grappler myself, a Judo artist. I have good takedowns and my standup has come a long way, so it's a very good matchup man. I can't wait. I can't wait to get in the cage and it's going to be a lot of fun.

PC: You haven't fought since January and you will be coming off of a suspension. How did you deal with that mentally?

KP: It was a long layoff, yeah man. And I got married and a lot of stuff going on. It was a long layoff, but like I said man, I could be off for 4 or 5 years and still perform. I was off for 3 years and came back and fought Jason "Mayhem" Miller and dominated Mayhem. The doctor threw the towel in because he couldn't watch what was going on. I full mounted him and pounded on him, so I've fought before while coming back. As long as I'm training. I'm good. But the commission...I really got screwed man, big time. I thought that they should have made it a little bit easier for me, but they didn't. They gave me a real fist in the butt.

PC: They came down on you pretty hard. Have you taken care of all of the issues with the medication so you won't be in the same situation?

KP: Yeah. I'm feeling good now. I had a pulled hamstring and it always hurt, so I was taking something every now and then because it always hurt. It never healed. I have a chunk of muscle missing out of my leg, but it's all good. Everything is straight and like I said, I'm trying to stay focused and train for the fight. I want to beat Dustin pretty decisively.

PC: You fought another lanky Jiu Jitsu artist in Nick Diaz and that turned out to be a very good fight. Do you see Dustin in that same light or would you put him a peg under Diaz?

KP: No, I see a similar fight. It is a very similar matchup as to when I fought Nick Diaz. The thing is Diaz just keeps coming forward and forward man and that's how he breaks his opponent and beats them, so I'm going to push the pace on Dustin. I'm going to go man and I'm going to try to finish him.

PC: He's coming off of a layoff because of an injury, so at some point, he had to take time off from training. Your layoff is because of a suspension, so you could actually get in the gym still. Is that why it's important that you push the pace in hopes of tiring him out?

KP: Yeah. It should be a real good fight, I hope, and I want to win with conditioning. I want to put him on his back and wherever it goes, I'm going to be comfortable. I want to beat him up decisively and I want to outcondition him. I've been working on my conditioning a lot, my strength, my hands and my grappling. But that's it man. I'm going to push the pace and try to get that year that he's been off to show up. I want to see that ring rust. I will control the cage in every aspect of the fight, take him down, beat him up and get a submission or try to knock him out. Wherever this fight goes is fine. I'm sure he's got a lot of Judo guys to help him prepare for me, but every guy that I've fought, I've thrown. Even when I fight Judo guys, I eventually get my throw in and end up on top. When I fought Dong Yun Kim, he was a National Judo Champion in Korea. I believe he was 12-0; a great Judo guy. He was a National Team member and Korean Judo is freaking sick and I was able to throw him. I was in good shape that night, but I had taken some pain pills for my leg and I was sleepy during the fight.

PC: You have been labeled as a lazy fighter, a guy who doesn't train hard and a cocky fighter. What do you feel is the biggest misconception about Karo Parisyan?

KP: People don't understand man, when I talk, I am a real honest guy. When I am asked a particular question, I give a real honest answer. Sometimes it comes out wrong and people think I'm a douche and stuff. I don't think it comes off as a douche, I just think it's honest man. I think people misunderstand that a lot. They think I'm a douche, I love to talk and that I'm cocky. I'm never cocky man. When it comes down to the fight, I always respect my opponent and I know what could happen in the fight, so I'm not even cocky like that. It is a thin line between cocky and confidence. I like to show confidence and I think it's a misconception a lot of times on the way I come off, the way I talk and the things that I say. People like to say I'm not in shape and stuff, but shape or no shape, I am going to give you hell during the fight. I got a big heart and I've shown it many many times in my fights. I'm going to push this fight man. I'm going to prove people wrong. It's like the rebirth of Karo Parisyan. I gotta take over the division. I have never had an easy fight. I've always had tough guys in front of me. You can look at my record. This is a time to shine again and I'm just praying to God for the old Karo back. I don't want to be a better Karo. I just want to be the old Karo. I just want to keep training, stay focused and bring my big heart, which I have always had and always will have. When I fight, people bring the best out of me. When they push me or try to beat me up, that's when I open up. When they open up, that's when I open up. Every time I have had a boring fight, it is when guys don't really try to do anything to me. Kim didn't try to do much. He was fighting safe, so I had to be safe, but I think Dustin is going to try to open up and he's going to go for stuff and there's going to be times when I'm going to give him hell, from standup to ground.

PC: I like this fight a lot. Glad to have you back my man. Good luck. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

KP: I've been getting a lot of fan mail lately and I appreciate all of the fans. I love each and every one of them because if it wasn't for the fans paying to watch us fight and come to the show or pay for the pay-per-view, then we wouldn't have a sport. Karo would have been Karo and Dustin would have been Dustin, but we wouldn't have a job, so I want to give a big salute and take my hat off to the fans of the sport. And like I said, I can't wait to come back.

Sarkis Cholakyan, D.C.

10510 Victory Boulevard, Suite 101

North Hollywood, California 91606

Tel: (818) 755-9977

Fax: (818) 755-9917

Chiropractor of the HyeFighters