Karo Parisyan

D.O.B.: 08/28/1982
Weight: 170lb/77kg
Height: 5'10"
Fighting style: Judo
MMA Record: 17 - 4 - 0
Fighting out of: North Hollywood, California

Karapet "Karo" Parisyan is an Armenian-American mixed martial arts fighter. At age nine, Parisyan commenced judo lessons with fellow Armenian Gokor Chivichyan. "I was a rough kid. I used to beat up on my sisters. My father said 'your sisters don’t have your strength. I’ll take you somewhere where you can take your anger out on other people.’ So that was pretty much how I got into martial arts," says Parisyan.

For more than thirteen years, Parisyan developed under the Hayastan Grappling System, a style blended by Gokor Chivichyan and “Judo” Gene LeBell, which includes adapted elements of Judo, Sambo,catch wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, and Muay Thai. Karo continued to train at the Hayastan Academy under Gokor and Gene until late 2005.

Karo is considered by many to be the first UFC fighter to have successfully adapted his judo style to the Octagon. Karo is a dedicated athlete. His workout schedules do include weights, but he eases off from the lifting prior to competition. Parisyan now boasts a 17-4-0 MMA record, but with six Junior National belts to his credit, Karo’s true love has remained Judo. Karo competed in Olympic trials for 2004.

Parisyan made his UFC debut on September 23, 2003, beating Dave Strasser with a Kimura lock. His current UFC record is 7-2. Since his arrival in the UFC, Parisyan has remained at or near the top of the UFC's welterweight division, with his only losses being close decisions to Georges St. Pierre and Diego Sanchez. Parisyan's latest fight was on May 26, 2007 at UFC 71 on PPV against Josh Burkman, where Parisyan won by a unanimous decision.

Karo is currently an MMA trainer at the WFA Legends gym alongside Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Bas Rutten, and Randy Couture.