Evans squeaked by his TUF counterpart, Houston Alexander got a nasty surprise, and Karo cruised in their respective UFC 78 performances. Quick results below:
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Evans And Bisping Turn In Three Round War At 78
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Irish Whip Exclusive: Blood Feuds Make For Bitter Showdowns
While UFC 51: Bitter Rivals was cast as a classic match up of enemies, it turned out to be a lackluster night of fights between Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Andrei Arlovski, and Tim Sylvia. Had VP of Talent and Matchmaker Joe Silva been afforded the luxury of "fighting families" in the UFC at that time, surely he would have booked them against one another in a true display of bitter rivals. Now, with Nate and Nick Diaz together in MMA (although Nick is currently in EliteXC, not UFC) along with Manny Gamburyan and Karo Parisyan (they're cousins), both in the UFC, he's got just that. And if it wasn't enough that there are two families with fighters whose weights match up perfectly, they hate each other. (Originally published at martialbase.com)
The bad blood started back at UFC 49 when Karo Parisyan beat Nick Diaz by split decision (pictured, credit: fightnews.com). Most said that this was one of the top ten UFC bouts of all time, and even more suggested that the decision could have gone either way. Ask Parisyan about the fight, and he'll say decisively "I won it." Despite this level of hubris from a man who only won a split decision, Nick and Karo maintain that they are on good terms.
This story, however, took another turn during the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter. Karo came into the locker room to see his cousin Manny Gamburyan, but when he saw Nate Diaz (the brother of Nick), he playfully grabbed Diaz's shoulder and started to mess around with him. Many people, including myself and other fighters, felt that Karo was talking down to Nate and bullying him. Of course, Nate jumped up and got in Karo's face, but the altercation was ended before it could escalate.
Yet another twist was added when the two relatives of Karo Parisyan and Nick Diaz ended up facing each other in the finals of the series. Nate Diaz won the bout in unspectacular fashion after Gamburyan dislocated his shoulder and had to stop the fight due to injury. Another fight between the families and another controversial finish. Protecting the honor of family, split decisions, and injuries add up to make this one of the most intriguing and genuine rivalries in all of MMA.
The next time Joe Silva is looking for a card on which to place guys who just don't like each other, he should move past Tito and Ken or Hughes and Serra. His best bet would be to schedule two families in two rematches and as a result, give the fans two wars. The MMA community has seen families before (Rua, Nogueira, Shamrock), but never before has such a feud started between them. It'll be up to Nick, Nate, Manny, and Karo to end it.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Is Parisyan Patient Enough?
UFC 71’s main event caused a bit of an uproar in the eyes of Liddell fans. Honestly, I don’t think it’s anything to gripe about, it was simply history repeating itself, and it’s time for a new champion to reign supreme in the light-heavyweight division.
Though the main event may have stirred the emotions of fans, Parisyan (17-4-0) and Burkman (8-4-0) seemed to steal the show with fifteen minutes of action packed, judo throwing, hard fought rounds. It was an explosive three rounds from beginning to end, to say the least. Parisyan displayed much polished striking ability and a drastic improvement in his cardio. The same cannot be said about Burkman. Burkman’s lack of conditioning was evident to fans watching as he began to take deep breaths during the last minutes of the first round. Though Karo’s jabs and counters further solidified his unanimous win over Burkman, his conditioning sealed the deal.
In an interview, Karo states: "He's a strong guy, but his cardio was shit. Thank god it wasn't that good. I out-conditioned him."
On top of adding a notch on his belt, Parisyan announced his desire for a title shot. Refusing to beg on his knees like Franca and St. Pierre, Parisyan still asked Dana White to give him another chance, as his first was to take place at UFC 56, but was forced to pull out due to an injury.
However, even with Parisyan’s cry for a title shot, it appears that it’s going to be put off till 2008. With TUF6 debuting in September, all eyes are on Hughes and Serra’s match up, which is looking to happen at the TUF6 Finale in December. Parisyan in the meantime, may have to duke it out with Jon Fitch (13-2-0) before he gets a chance to attain the belt. The possibility of the winner of Serra-Hughes taking on the winner of the St. Pierre- Koscheck, scheduled on August at UFC 74, can also pose as a setback for Parisyan’s title shot.
Fitch is set to fight on June 12 in UFC Fight Night 10 against Roan Carneiro.
Whatever ends up happening down the road, Parisyan never fails to put on a good show for fans.
Stay classy fans,
The Lianger
