Karo Parisyan Remembers First Fight at 14

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Karo Parisyan, on “Rewind,” discussing his first MMA fight:

“I was 14. We had a whole big team. We were starting to get into MMA. We were doing judo and grappling. Me and my dad, Gokor [Chivichyan], and all these parents and all these guys, 16-, 18-, 20-, 25-, 30-year-old guys, we all went down to Mexico for some fights. They matched me up against a guy named Daniel Lopez. I go to the weigh-in. I get on the scale. I’m 142 pounds. They say, ‘Who are you fighting?’ I say, ‘A guy named Daniel Lopez.’ The guys looked at each other. They gave me paperwork to give my father. My father had to sign [papers saying] if I die, they weren’t responsible.

“Gokor and my dad, we sat down -- I’m 14. I almost started crying, saying that I want to fight. Finally, thank God, my dad signed the paper and I ended up fighting the pride and joy of Mexico, Daniel Lopez. He knocked out a world champion wrestler right in front of my eyes. … Here I am, 1996, 14 years old and fighting a 23-year-old pride and joy of Mexico. Chiseled. I mean the guy was a tank. If you go on YouTube and watch, you won’t believe it. And I’m this 14-year-old kid that fought this guy for five rounds, bare knuckle and I threw him all over the place. …

“I think we got like $300 for the best fight or whatever. I lost my virginity, which was the best thing, at age 14 in Mexico. My first MMA fight, my first woman -- it was awesome. I’m being honest. I lost my virginity in MMA, I lost my virginity in bed. I was 14. I remember the taxi driver -- I gave him $1, and he took me to this place, and it was a bunch of beautiful girls at a strip club. One of them loved me, came and sat on my lap, whatever, and we left. I didn’t pay anything to anybody. I only paid $1 for my taxi ride. A 30-year-old woman made a man out of me.”