[Mr. Omoplata]

Justin (Nokaut.com): You’re facing Josh Burkman at UFC 71; what are your thoughts on him and what are you doing to prepare?

Karo Parisyan: He’s a tough guy, well-rounded. He’s one of those guys that isn’t great at anything. He’s a good athlete, but that’s about it. That is all he’s got- I think he’s just got a puncher’s chance, that’s all he’s got. As far as what I’m doing for training, I’m doing anything from bag work and sprints to very hard rounds with a bunch of good fighters, just getting ready for my fight like everybody else.


Justin (Nokaut): 2007 has been the year of upsets so far, basically anybody that is a big underdog has been coming out on top. In your division of course Matt Serra just beat Georges St. Pierre- and [Josh] Koscheck just beat Diego [Sanchez]; where do you see the division right now?

Karo: The division is all mixed up now; it’s crazy because of those fights. I think that Koscheck and Diego fight was stupid, it’s like they were playing catch for the whole fifteen minutes; they didn’t even break a sweat. And the Matt Serra and St. Pierre fight- technically I am the world champion because the last guy Matt Serra lost to was me [laughs]. That was a huge upset man. I thought that Serra had some kind of a chance if he got him on the ground through submission, but not in that fashion where he knocks him out and finishes the fight by pounding him. It was a big upset, but that just shows how versatile the MMA world is, you do not underestimate anybody and everybody has a chance at beating the best guy on their best day. It is what it is and it is all mixed up now to see who gets what.


Justin (Nokaut): At one point you were supposed to fight [Matt] Hughes, then you got injured; now he’s supposed to get Serra next. Is that a fight you are still interested in, whether he is the champion or not?

Karo: That fight is f****** b***s***, bro. They are giving Matt Hughes a title shot and he’s so happy. “Oh yay” he was so happy Georges got knocked out; it’s because he knows he can’t touch Georges. It’s freakin’ pathetic, bro. I think Koscheck should fight Matt Hughes, St. Pierre should fight Diego, and god willing if I beat Burkman I should get my title shot because I had my title shot once and I never got it back, I have to work my way up. St. Pierre got hurt, lost his title shot, but he came back and they gave him a shot; I don’t think that’s fair. But as far as everything they are just trying to feed Matt Hughes, they are giving him Matt Serra so he can take his title back and be champion of the world, it’s f******stupid bro. I can’t believe that b***s***, it is what it is, ya know?


Justin (Nokaut): But don’t you feel he might deserve it considering how long he had been the champion?

Karo: I understand, but then again you’re still a human. Yeah he’s been a champ for a long time, nobody has been able to hold that belt for that long and he’s the most dominant champion in the UFC, in history. But the truth is, still, we’re all fighters ourselves and we try to work our way up. He lost, he fought once and he won, and he gets his title shot again? Come on, bro. I couldn’t even fight, came back and fought Nick Thompson- I mauled him in the first round, they didn’t give me a title shot. They gave me Diego, and I wasn’t even coming off a loss, I was just coming off a big injury. You see, how does that work, because he’s friends with people? Yeah, you were the champion, but still Matt… you gotta give equal to everybody, and I think that was pretty jacked up- but I’m not saying anything bad to the UFC or to Dana, I just think it is pretty f***** up how the system works.


Justin (Nokaut): I agree, like I was very let down when you didn’t get your shot- and the Diego was probably one of the fights I hate the most… it was a close fight, I could understand how a judge would give it either way but…

Karo: By paper I won two rounds to one. I don’t care what anyone says; I won two rounds to one. End of the third round, which is when I lost the whole last minute of the round, and the judges obviously give the whole last minute of the round to Diego- fine give him that f****** round. How about the first and the second? How about when I got poked in my eye, it was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything, no one cared about that. And plus, for the record, that was my veneer, it wasn’t my tooth; it was a veneer, a pull-out tooth. It was my veneer and my mouthpiece wasn’t even in my mouth. It just popped out, that’s what it did, that was the whole thing with that.


Justin (Nokaut): Obviously the Diego fight is still a sore point with you; is that a fight you are looking to try and rematch this year?

Karo: Diego, not right now. I mean, yes I was, but until his loss to Koscheck I was calling Joe [Silva] saying “Please let me fight this dude again, you know I’ll beat him,” but he’s like “Yeah, yeah Karo, but we have to give him somebody so he can work his way up, we can’t just throw him out there if you have a good chance to beat him.” I’m like f*** it, you guys f***** me so why don’t you f*** him too, ya know? But right now I don’t really care, I just saw his true colors and I just want to see how he comes back from his loss. I want to see him fight St. Pierre and I want to see how both of them come back from these losses, because St. Pierre lost in a really crazy, crazy way. I didn’t expect Georges to lose like that, but he did, so let’s see if that is going to f*** with his brain. On the other hand, now Diego is not immortal in his mind anymore. Now he’s not like “I’m not going to lose, I believe in myself.” Now he has a loss on his record and I want to see how strong he comes back; does he came back mentally f***** up because that streak he has he is going downhill, he just lost a fight. So we’ll see how that works, but other than that I don’t really care to fight Diego right now. God forbid if I lose I’ll fight Diego right now, but I want to win and get my title shot again.


Justin (Nokaut): You obviously want a title shot, but do you feel you might get stuck in a position like St. Pierre was where you basically have to beat everybody there just to even get a shot?

Karo: No- god forbid, I hope not. Georges got his title shot once and he lost to an armbar in the first round. That is why they made him fight [Frank] Trigg and [Sean] Sherk and B.J. [Penn]. Then they said fine, we’ll give you a title shot. So I think he worked his way up, he beat a lot of the good dudes, and that was great, that was very good. But I hope they don’t make me do that man, because I did that too when I was given my title shot. I beat Matt Serra, Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, I was coming off a big win over Shonie Carter, I took the WEC belt, Dave Strasser; and finally they gave me my title shot. So I worked my way up too, thank god. I paid my dues, I got my title shot, but I got injured and I never got to finish it. I got hurt and then it’s like you can’t have your title shot, you have to work your way up now. It was f***** up, but whatever, time will tell.


Justin (Nokaut): Changing gears, one of the big topics in MMA right now is the purchase of PRIDE by the Fertitas. Now that it is a real possibility is there anyone you would like to fight there?

Karo: I don’t know, it depends if any of the 160 guys come to fight at 170. I don’t know about the 185’ers, they are big- they barely drop to 185. But I haven’t really thought about that. [Takanori] Gomi wanted to fight me a while back, he challenged me. Then there is another guy, he is really good. He wears really long yellow pants…

Justin (Nokaut): Shinya Aoki.

Karo: Yeah, that guy challenged me too. He specifically said I want to fight Karo. If they bring those guys then let it be, I would love to fight any of those guys. I have a lot of respect for them as fighters and I’d like to change my skills with them.

Justin (Nokaut): Besides them another guy that comes to mind immediately is [Hayato] Sakurai.

Karo: Oh yeah, Sakurai too. I’d love to fight Sakurai.


Justin (Nokaut): Overall do you feel you are being treaty pretty well?

Karo: Yeah, I am. I am very good buddies with Dana White, and Lorenzo, I opened his eyes after the Diego fight. Joe Silva, the matchmaker, and me also have a good relationship. Dana shows a lot of love towards me. He loves me because I give him good fights and he’s excited about that. And he told me you’re going to be with me until the day you die, I said alright, that could be a good thing, that could be a bad thing, but I want to think of it as a good thing. I am being treated fairly well, I don’t want to complain.


Justin (Nokaut): I guess we can wrap things up here, is there anything you would like to say to your fans and the readers?

Karo: To the fans, don’t ever doubt Karo Parisyan. I’m never really cocky when I do my interviews or anything, everything is matter of fact. When it comes down to business I’m very humble and I want everybody to know that I do something in mixed martial arts, thank god that nobody does, and that is throw people and do chain submissions. Don’t ever doubt me, god forbid if I lose I always come back and redeem myself and let people know that I’m still there and I will always be there. That’s about it

Read more at:

http://www.nokaut.com/?id=12&solo_ne...lang=e&cur=eur

[Mr. Omoplata]

ttt

[U.S. Soldier]

Its time for Karo to get his title shot

[MindTravel]

I like Karo a lot. I enjoy his fights and often his perspective as well. I think he has some valid points. Probably the same points I would make if I was him. I mean, I see things more objectively from my computer chair over here, but if I were him I could understand feeling a bit forgotton or overlooked.

[d3s3k]

haha

[Crushinator]

It's so f****** f***** up that he didn't f****** get his f****** title shot, bro. f***

[greatmuta]

Originally Posted by Crushinator

It's so f****** f***** up that he didn't f****** get his f****** title shot, bro. f***

Karo sure has similar personality like his cousin Manny.

[xxDeadpoolxx]

Great interview Karo is a class act and always one of my favorite fighters to watch. I wish it was him and not Riggs that fought Hughes big time. I hope he continues to win and takes his training to the next level.
War Karo

[MindTravel]

Haha, I also like how he remembers Aoki by his yellow pants. Funny shit.

[Halfway]

Give him a damn shot!!!