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PARISYAN REMAINS UNDER TEMPORARY SUSPENSION
Keith Kizer, executive director for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said the suspension of UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan will hold until a formal complaint against him is heard at the regulatory body’s next meeting in mid-March.
Kizer, on Feb. 10, issued a temporary suspension of the 26-year-old athlete when his post-UFC 94 drug test revealed the presence of painkillers Hydrocodone, Hydromorphoone, and Oxycodone.
During a commission meeting on Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas, NSAC officials concluded its agenda could not accommodate a “full” hearing of the complaint against Parisyan, and that both officials and Parisyan needed more notice before the commission levies a formal decision on the matter.
Parisyan was in attendance, and told officials he would welcome the opportunity to tell his side of the story in person at the March meeting. Any possible punishment against him would be recommended then, according to Kizer.
“It was my problem that I didn’t carefully read the instructions on the paper (provided) by the commission,” Parisyan told the commission.
He has publicly disclosed his use of prescription medication stemming from a turbulent year in and out of the Octagon.
Following the positive test, Parisyan told MMAWeekly.com he took pain medication for injuries sustained in his last three years as a mixed martial artist. Prior to his split decision victory over Hyun, an injury to his sciatic nerve forced him to withdraw from a UFC 88 fight with Yoshiyuki Yoshida less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to take place. In November of 2005, Parisyan severely tore his hamstring in preparation for a fight with Matt Hughes and was forced from the UFC 56 title bout.
Parisyan said he neglected to disclose his drug use in the pre-fight medical paper work for UFC 94, informing NSAC official Tony Lato at the post-fight drug test that he had taken a pain pill the night of the weigh-ins.
“I did not even think about any of that stuff,” said Parisyan. “I was just thinking about my fight, and my anxiety and how I’m going to walk in the cage. I had so many problems in my head. I didn’t even think I should write – I was just doing it fast, fast, fast, just to get out there and weigh in and fight. I completely forgot about all this stuff.
“When he asked me after the fight, my mind was calm, my body was calm, and I was thinking about the urine test. They say I didn’t say it before, and I know that’s my mistake.”
Parisyan told MMAWeekly.com he planned to admit his use of the pain medication at the March hearing. He hoped his mistake would not cost him a planned bout with Josh Koscheck at UFC 98.
“This is the way I make my living,” he said. “I need to fight.”
Kizer, on Feb. 10, issued a temporary suspension of the 26-year-old athlete when his post-UFC 94 drug test revealed the presence of painkillers Hydrocodone, Hydromorphoone, and Oxycodone.
During a commission meeting on Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas, NSAC officials concluded its agenda could not accommodate a “full” hearing of the complaint against Parisyan, and that both officials and Parisyan needed more notice before the commission levies a formal decision on the matter.
Parisyan was in attendance, and told officials he would welcome the opportunity to tell his side of the story in person at the March meeting. Any possible punishment against him would be recommended then, according to Kizer.
“It was my problem that I didn’t carefully read the instructions on the paper (provided) by the commission,” Parisyan told the commission.
He has publicly disclosed his use of prescription medication stemming from a turbulent year in and out of the Octagon.
Following the positive test, Parisyan told MMAWeekly.com he took pain medication for injuries sustained in his last three years as a mixed martial artist. Prior to his split decision victory over Hyun, an injury to his sciatic nerve forced him to withdraw from a UFC 88 fight with Yoshiyuki Yoshida less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to take place. In November of 2005, Parisyan severely tore his hamstring in preparation for a fight with Matt Hughes and was forced from the UFC 56 title bout.
Parisyan said he neglected to disclose his drug use in the pre-fight medical paper work for UFC 94, informing NSAC official Tony Lato at the post-fight drug test that he had taken a pain pill the night of the weigh-ins.
“I did not even think about any of that stuff,” said Parisyan. “I was just thinking about my fight, and my anxiety and how I’m going to walk in the cage. I had so many problems in my head. I didn’t even think I should write – I was just doing it fast, fast, fast, just to get out there and weigh in and fight. I completely forgot about all this stuff.
“When he asked me after the fight, my mind was calm, my body was calm, and I was thinking about the urine test. They say I didn’t say it before, and I know that’s my mistake.”
Parisyan told MMAWeekly.com he planned to admit his use of the pain medication at the March hearing. He hoped his mistake would not cost him a planned bout with Josh Koscheck at UFC 98.
“This is the way I make my living,” he said. “I need to fight.”