Karo Parisyan's Blogs
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UFC 123 Postmortem: Judges, Torn Legacies
By: Jake Rossen
Quinton Jackson file photo: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com
For once, the problem wasn’t with the judges during a mixed martial arts event; it was with the rules they were instructed to follow.
After two rounds, Lyoto Machida performed the most significant attack in a fight against Quinton Jackson Saturday at UFC 123 by taking him down, mounting him, attempting a submission, and landing blows from on top. He had accomplished substantially more in one round than Jackson had in two. But under the rules of the game, you can’t win one stanza out of three and take the fight. Machida lost a split decision.
If Jackson had burned Machida for those first 10 minutes before getting burned himself, there wouldn’t have been much discussion. But because his edge was almost imperceptible -- mostly based on coming forward and grabbing one brief takedown -- the totality of the fight was weighed against him.
Fighting, like most sports, is intended to conclude who the better man (or team) is. When it doesn’t -- either because of ambiguity, bureaucracy, or both -- fans are left to make up their own minds. Was it a win for Jackson? Sure. Does it mean he’s the better fighter? Didn’t look like it. You saw much the same fight judges did. The result they offered isn’t necessarily the one you have to accept. Read more -
Primer: UFC 123
By: Jake Rossen
Quinton Jackson: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
Scheduling Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida as the main event for Saturday’s UFC 123 is almost certainly a nod to Jackson’s ratings winner of a program against Rashad Evans last summer; why else top a show with two fighters coming off losses? It’s more of a I’m-still-here declaration than a lot of forward progress. It also has the potential to be a bit of a bore, with counter-striking (Machida) moving laterally around a self-conscious offensive fighter (Jackson).It might also be good. But it’s all just billing, and the real headliner for many will be a third bout between B.J. Penn and Matt Hughes. Hughes has experienced a late-career resurgence, while Penn is looking for a new path after Frankie Edgar more or less temporarily ran him out of the 155-pound division.
If Hughes wins, it might be time to consider his place as one of the few former champions who keep a steady pace instead of fading out. If Penn wins, he might be motivated to test his chances against bigger men who don’t have the speed to buzz around him like an insect infestation. Either way, it’s a fight with more at stake than anything else on the card. And isn’t that why we watch? Read more -
Sherwood's Memories From The Vault
By: Jeff Sherwood
The event was Neutral Grounds 13, held on a small Indian reservation in Lakeside, Calif.
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What was special about this event? It was the first official mixed martial arts show that Sherdog.com was ever credentialed for. I had been to events before -- such as Kage Kombat in San Pedro, where I watched a couple of young Armenians by the names of Manny Gamburyan and Karo Parisyan -- but this was different.
I was so excited to be covering my first show that I made about six of my buddies buy tickets. It was a very cold night, and the cage was set up in the middle of a baseball field on the Barona Indian Reservation. Promoter Ryan Chenoweth was happy to have me there and treated me like a king.
My buddy, Chris Foster, and I arrived early, so we began to walk around and talk to the fighters. The first fighter we walked up to was Jeremy Horn. At that time, Horn already had 35 wins on his resume and had fought in the UFC five times. I was amazed at how friendly he was as he sat there with his Walkman at his side. -
Parisyan vs. Parisyan
By: Jake Rossen
Karo Parisyan file photo: Jeff Sherwood | Sherdog.com
The boxer Oliver McCall once began sobbing between rounds in a bout with Lennox Lewis. In a hybrid MMA/kickboxing contest, an exhausted Bob Sapp begged his corner not to force him out for more punishment against Jerome Le Banner. Paulo Filho regarded Chael Sonnen as a nuisance neighbor rather than an opponent in a cage.
Fighters have perpetually exhausted adrenal glands, and sometimes it all comes out at once. In these cases, it happened to come out in front of an audience. What’s surprising is not that it happens: It’s that it doesn’t happen more often.
That’s because choosing a career in prizefighting is an emotional drain. Athletes make an appointment months in advance that will jeopardize both their health and their future. It’s like signing up for a medical procedure: The thing itself might not be so bad, but the anticipation is what wears nerves raw. And unlike most operations or phobias, there’s a fairly good chance something is going to go very, very wrong.
Most guys deal with it. Some don’t. On the surface, Karo Parisyan had the posture and attitude of someone who was too callused to be trumped by fear. He probably sticks his chest out when buying a gallon of milk. Seeing him fight, I’d envy his constitution. There’s a guy, I thought, who would never need a Valium before getting his teeth cleaned. Read more -
5 Questions: UFC 106
By: Jake Rossen
D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
Is Tito Ortiz ready for an encore?
Ortiz’s recent performances displayed a fighter far removed from the kind of dominating, aggressive cage-wrestling he used to great success early on; he blamed back issues, corrected by a new and less invasive surgery. But even if Ortiz reverts to old form, he’ll be a 2002 fighter in 2009: up against athletes who can stuff his takedown, shut him down on the ground, and pester him standing. Aggressive wrestlers will always have a chance -- even fresh off the college mat -- but it’s not as good a guarantee as it used to be.
Can Forrest Griffin handle another loss? Read more -
UFC 106 Primer
By: Jake Rossen
S. Albanese/Tailstar.com
When the UFC’s hype engine fails to deliver any real, palpable anticipation for a fight -- as in the case of Saturday’s Tito Ortiz/Forrest Griffin rematch, which is fine but far from the Epic Super Rematch of Mega Titans some clever editing and music are presenting it as -- you can make up your own narrative.
In this instance, UFC 106’s four light heavyweights might potentially be participating in a four-man tournament for a chance at the title without knowing it. In addition to Ortiz/Griffin, a debuting Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will face Luis Arthur Cane; the respective winners would have time to meet before May 1’s Lyoto Machida/Mauricio Rua rematch. It may be all that you need to sit a little closer to the television. Read more
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