The_Axe_Emperor Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:42 pm
To say that Karo Parisyan's week in Brisbane was nerve-racking would be a blistering understatement.
It was the veteran's first bout in more than 18 months. Scheduled for a November encounter with Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106, Parisyan pulled out two days before the bout, citing anxiety issues. The incident led to his dismissal from the UFC despite being once tabbed as a win-or-lose promotional favorite who seemed guaranteed to fight in the Octagon for his full career. It also brought to the forefront Parisyan's crippling battle with anxiety, which was again prominent during his stay in Australia.
Originally set to face tough Brazilian Luis Dutra Jr., Parisyan's opponent was replaced early in the week after Dutra separated his bicep in preparation. Parisyan was then paired up against Ben Mortimer, a local with less than a year of pro experience. However, the switch to a seemingly less challenging opponent only seemed to agitate "The Heat," who paced the fighter hotel nervously for much of the week. It became commonplace to hear people ask promoter Tom Huggins, "How's Karo?"
"When you have an anxiety problem, everything gets to you," Parisyan told Sherdog.com after his second-round submission over Mortimer. "Why's the door closed? Why are the curtains open? You have to learn to control it. If anyone is ever in my shoes, they'll never judge me over what happened with the UFC."
Parisyan's anxiety came to a head just less than an hour before fight time, when he asked Huggins to move his fight from the seventh to first in the bout order.
"I got my family back home and they were going crazy. It was the first time they couldn't watch me fight live. They were going ballistic," Parisyan said. "I said, 'Dad, the best I can do is tell them to bump my fight up.' I told Tom, 'I don't care about the co-main event crap. Just let me fight first.'"
Parisyan's connection to his family back in California was easily the biggest stresser for him. Not only did he worry about them, he worried about them worrying about him, which only exacerbated his anxiety. However, after the bout was over and Parisyan was able to talk to his family, he did a complete 180. Suddenly, the jittery, edgy character that had roamed the hotel halls all week was in the crowd taking pictures with fans, cornering other fighters and was all too excited to talk.
"This whole week, it's been really bad at certain moments,” Parisyan said. “Sometimes, it's just like you're buried under it. I gotta help my family, I gotta do this, I gotta do that. It's so unbelievably overwhelming. It was kicking my ass, staying away from home. Talking to them with the time difference was crazy."
Poetically, as Parisyan finished telling me this, his phone went off; it was a text from a family member. Back in California, it wasn't even 6 a.m. yet.
Really feel for Karo, hes such a nice guy and i know first hand what its like living with anxiety problems. Its a shame his career with the UFC was packed in because of it and IMO its unfair on him. Living in constant fear is terrible and takes all of your inner strength to battle through, so even that he is still competing and winning is a miracle. Wish him all the best and hope he overcomes his inner demons as i seem to be doing right now, fingers crossed.
Also Josh Barnett's TKO win over Geromino dos Santos was apparently a controversial one and Josh says he understands why. Would love to see a vid if any of you can find them, cheers.
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