Karo Parisyan

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Karo Parisyan (born August 28, 1982) is an Armenian-American former mixed martial artist who last competed in the welterweight division. He fought from 1999 to 2017 and is best known for his judo-based style.

Parisyan was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR (now Armenia), and moved to the United States with his family when he was six. He started training in judo at age nine under Gokor Chivichyan and later trained with Gene LeBell. He spent many years with the Hayastan Grappling System, a blend of judo and other grappling arts. He competed in Olympic judo trials before turning to MMA.

He made his UFC debut in 2003, defeating Dave Strasser. He became the first fighter to go the distance with Georges St-Pierre and later won the WEC welterweight title by defeating Shonie Carter. Parisyan returned to the UFC and earned wins over Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, and Matt Serra, among others. He was scheduled to fight Matt Hughes but pulled out with an injury. A later bout against Dong Hyun Kim in 2009 ended in a controversial split decision, after which Parisyan tested positive for banned painkillers. He was suspended for nine months, and his relationship with the UFC became strained.

After leaving the UFC, Parisyan fought in other promotions, including Impact FC and Bellator. In Bellator, he scored a KO victory over Ron Keslar and a TKO win over Phil Baroni, but also faced losses, such as a TKO defeat to Marius Žaromskis. He faced personal and health challenges during his career and eventually retired in 2017.

Parisyan is the cousin of fellow MMA fighter Manvel Gamburyan. He trained out of North Hollywood, California, with Team Hayastan, and he holds black belts in Hayastan Grappling and Judo.