First Lesnar got very sick – and hope remains that it’s not career threatening – and then Parisyan suddenly backed out before the weigh-ins. The latter news I found very shocking. Not even a week ago Parisyan provided me an exclusive interview for FightMagazine.com during which he sounded very confident and motivated to prove skeptics wrong, while also admitting his career had been on a downward spiral.
Suddenly, Dana White blasted Parisyan over Twitter and announced his UFC days were over for good. Then the rumors started, notably one that suggested he had not kicked his pain killer addiction and was afraid he would fail the post fight drug test. Parisyan and I traded text messages earlier today, starting when he said, “I will prove myself in time,” and standing by his story that his ongoing issues with panic attacks – not an addiction to painkillers – is to blame for the about face.
“I’ve talked to my doctors and it’s getting all better soon,” Parisyan said. “All the support I got from everyone, thank you so much.”
The bottom line is that Parisyan has a ton of personal issues to solve once and for all before he thinks about returning to Mixed Martial Arts. He’s also a real down-to-earth person who is keeping the faith. Whether it’s in Japan, with Strikeforce, or if he and White reconcile – not unprecedented if you check White’s history with Ortiz and Randy Couture – he’ll be back and competing sometime in 2010.
Hazelett, incidentally, took the disappointing news very well and was paid the winner’s share of the fight purse. One of his representatives met UFC matchmaker Joe Silva after the fight was canceled. Both agreed it was the bout that was the most intriguing on the bill, and Silva vowed to not just get Hazelett back in the cage – he’s been inactive for a year due to a knee injury – but pair him with the ideal opponent, one which I bet is of similar caliber to Parisyan when the latter’s on his game.
On to UFC 106 as it stands. Ortiz-Griffin II is not a main event match, but still pretty good as a contingency plan. The first fight could have gone either way. The fact that Ortiz held on fighting with a degenerating back figures to give him the edge here now that he's 100 percent healthy. He also hasn't fought in a year-and-a-half. Griffin was embarrassed in his last bout, but that had everything to do with Anderson Silva being the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world. As long as Griffin can avoid Ortiz’s legendary takedowns and ground-and-pound, his heart will take care of the rest. Griffin by unanimous decision.
Koscheck-Johnson
My pick for “Fight of the Night” honors, which pits two of the most exciting strikers in the business. “Rumble” finally steps into the limelight with an 8-2 record. He’s yet to swim with the sharks. Koscheck has. His world-class wrestling makes the difference and gets people thinking about a rematch with Georges St. Pierre if the former gets by Dan Hardy next year. Koscheck TKO 3.
Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah
The “New York Bad Ass” returns to the UFC to face The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 winner. This is an important bout for Sadollah coming off a controversial loss to Johny Hendricks while Baroni is on a 3-7 in his last seven fights, but in my view is being dismissed too quickly as big-name fodder for Sadollah. A tough one to call between veteran and neophyte. I’ll take the fighter with the greater upside. Sadollah by unanimous decision.
Other bouts
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s UFC debut will be a rude awakening when Luiz Cane fells him in Round 2 … Marcus Davis, still steaming over his June loss to Hardy, takes it out on Ben Saunders (submission, Round 2) … Paulo Thiago, owner of a KO win over Koscheck in his UFC debut, spoils that of Jacob Volkmann (TKO 1) … Jake Rosholt looked awesome defeating Chris Leben. He’ll submit Kendall Grove in war ending in Round 3 … And in a bout airing neither on pay-per-view nor Spike, but one that deserved TV time in my view, Brock Larson recovers from his loss to Mike Pierce by choking out up-and-coming Brian Foster in Round 2.
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