Parisyan Sidelined, Yoshida Bout Off

A welterweight tilt between judo stylists Karo Parisyan (Pictures) (18-5) and Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Pictures) (10-2) has been scrapped from Saturday’s UFC 88 “Breakthrough” at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.

Parisyan, an 11-time Octagon veteran, has been pulled from the bout with a last-minute back injury, according to UFC.com.

Parisyan could not be immediately reached for comment. Randy Couture (Pictures), one of Parisyan’s primary training partners, said the fighter “put his back out” some time between Thursday evening and Friday morning and was having difficulty walking.

At a pre-fight press conference held Thursday in Atlanta, a focused Parisyan said he’d completed a productive training camp and would be entering the bout without a substantial weight cut anticipated for the first time in his career.

Parisyan, a former top-five ranked judo competitor in the U.S. and a member of the Xtreme Couture team, reeled off three straight victories in the UFC before succumbing to a second-round knee from Thiago Alves (Pictures) at UFC Fight Night 13 in April. His only losses in the Octagon have come to Alves, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (Pictures), and “The Ultimate Fighter” season one winner Diego Sanchez (Pictures).

The Armenian-born fighter has been in and out of the fast lane to challenge for the UFC welterweight title for the last two years, though injuries and sporadic losses have hindered his movement up the ranks.