On Nov. 19, 2009, an anxiety-ridden Parisyan withdrew from a bout against Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106 in Las Vegas withith only two days left before the event. The promotion was forced to scrap the featured welterweight bout. UFC President Dana White twittered “Karo Parisyan has f----- over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again!!! He will not be fighting Saturday or ever again in the UFC!!”
Luckily, not all things in MMA are final. Parisyan confirmed his return to the Octagon with MMAFighting.com on Thursday. He’ll face Dennis Hallman at UFC 123 on Nov. 20 at the Palace at Auburn Hills outside Detroit, Mich. -- the first bout of a three-fight contact with the promotion.
“Somehow I knew I’d get back in, at least I hoped I would,” said Parisyan. “What Dana said was in the heat of the moment. He felt we were friends and that I’d backstabbed him. Thank God he changed his mind.”
“He (Dana White) told me to get a fight under my belt. He told me to get my life back on track and that’s what I did.”
“My issues had to do with my anxiety problems and panic attacks. Painkillers were thrown out there, but that wasn’t it. People made these accusations because I’d been popped for medication (months before). I’d taken two pain pills the morning of my fight for a torn hamstring and didn’t think much of it.”
“Every fighter I know takes pain medication like it's M&Ms. I was the unlucky one who only took it the day of the fight without even thinking about it.”
“I spoke to a psychologist and he pointed out that I’ve been fighting since I was 14 years old, and that I had this balloon filling in my stomach with all my fight anxiety over the years. That’s what I’ve been addressing and working on.”
“I think the UFC knows I still have something I can accomplish in the cage. They know that I can become a contender again and I will.”
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