Karo Parisyan has been matched up with the UFC newcomer Ryo “Piranha” Chonan after Hector Lombard was scratched off the fight card. Lombard had his visa to the United States denied several times and due to this, he was forced to cancel his bout with Parisyan. Chonan, who wasn’t scheduled to fight at UFC 78, became Lombard’s replacement.
Chonan will be looking to show the American MMA public what he means to this sport. What many don’t know is what the Piranha can offer the UFC. The former PrideFC middleweight veteran has proven to be one of the best in his weight class with important wins over Anderson Silva, Hayato Sakurai and Joey Villasenor. He believes that he will bring in a tighter competition for the UFC middleweight level, where many believe is lacking tremendously.
Parisyan is coming off a 2-fight winning streak and will look to use his Judo skills to add a third consecutive win. He will be looking to face a much tougher opponent than the original Lombard he was training for, but this isn’t going to affect Parisyan’s game plan at all. Defeating an opponent as tough as Chonan will only make Parisyan get closer to the top dogs in his division.
