UFC 94 competitor Karo Parisyan tests positive for prescription painkillers

[jakkups]

UFC veteran welterweight Karo Parisyan, who last competed on Jan. 31 in a victory over Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94, tested positive for multiple prescription painkillers at the event.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer today emailed news of the failed test to MMAjunkie.com ().

According to Kizer, Parisyan tested positive for the banned substances hydrocodone, hydromorphone and oxymorphone.

Parisyan, who defeated Kim via close split decision, could now be subject to a suspension and fine from the NSAC. The fight could also be overturned from a victory to a no-contest, though Kizer told MMAjunkie.com no decisions have been made on either front.

In addition to Parisyan, other UFC 94 fighters tested for steroids and drugs of abuse included Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, Lyoto Machida, Thiago Silva, Clay Guida, Jon Jones, Jake O'Brien, John Howard, Thiago Tavares, Stephan Bonnar and Nate Diaz.

All competitors except Parisyan tested negative.

UFC 94 took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and aired live on pay per view.

[evilp0ptart]

UFC veteran welterweight Karo Parisyan, who last competed on Jan. 31 in a victory over Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94, tested positive for multiple prescription painkillers at the event.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer today emailed news of the failed test to MMAjunkie.com ().

According to Kizer, Parisyan tested positive for the banned substances hydrocodone, hydromorphone and oxymorphone.

Parisyan, who defeated Kim via close split decision, could now be subject to a suspension and fine from the NSAC. The fight could also be overturned from a victory to a no-contest, though Kizer told MMAjunkie.com no decisions have been made on either front.

In addition to Parisyan, other UFC 94 fighters tested for steroids and drugs of abuse included Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, Lyoto Machida, Thiago Silva, Clay Guida, Jon Jones, Jake O'Brien, John Howard, Thiago Tavares, Stephan Bonnar and Nate Diaz.

All competitors except Parisyan tested negative.

UFC 94 took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and aired live on pay per view.

lmao. I misread this

[JabSandwich]

sad to see Karo hittin the fan

[jakkups]

I'm not really sad to see this. Always thought Karo was overrated both by fans and himself.

[Drunken Cat]

lmao. I misread this

Yeah i did to the first time, lol. I was like damn Penn and GSP? And Machida too? before figuring it out.

[jakkups]

Next Tuesday, UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan will officially respond to charges he took illegal painkillers prior to his fight with Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94.

Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer informed the media on Tuesday that Parisyan’s post-fight drug test came up positive for semi-synthetic opiates Hydrocodone, Oxymorphone, and Hydromorphone.

According to Kizer, Parisyan did not disclose his use of the painkillers in the section of the NSAC’s pre-fight medical questionnaire devoted to using prescription medication within the past 15 days prior to the fight.

He complied with a drug test after the fight – a close split decision win – where he told NSAC inspector Tony Lato he had taken a pain pill the night before.

Parisyan said he took prescription painkillers for a serious hamstring injury that occurred prior to a planned fight with Matt Hughes and a back injury to his sciatic nerve that forced him to withdraw from the Yoshiyuki Yoshida bout at UFC 88.

A distraught Parisyan told MMAWeekly.com, “I told (the commission) ‘listen, by the way, if pain pills come positive, I have prescription, I told you.’ They said, ‘no problem, as long as you have a prescription for it, and it’s like a pain pill, it’s not a big deal.’

Kizer received a copy of the prescription the following week, but disputes Parisyan’s recollection of the post-fight conversation.

“I mean, I wasn’t back there, but that’s nothing we’d say,” said Kizer.

Kizer said Parisyan will have a chance to explain his side of the story during a commission hearing next Tuesday. But added that his prescription was unlikely to lessen the fighter’s punishment.

“It’s up for the commission to decide,” said Kizer. “I don’t think so, but it’s up for the commission to decide. You can’t wait till after the fight, when they’re about to urinate in the cup, and say ‘oh, by the way, I took a prohibited substance yesterday.’ That’s what it sounds like happened here, but we’ll give him his chance to explain to the full commission.”

Clarifying his comments about revealing his use of medication prior to the fight, Parisyan said his struggles with anxiety and pain caused him to omit that information on the questionnaire.

“I did not even think about any of that stuff,” he said. “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. They can’t hold that against me. I didn’t kill anybody. I even told the main guy. He said, ‘Karo, as long as you didn’t take anabolic drugs, or *******, or any of that crazy stuff, you should be fine as long as you’ve got the prescription.’"

Kizer said Parisyan was temporarily suspended pending the hearing, where he would ask for a formal suspension. He declined to say what its term would be.

Parisyan informed MMAWeekly that he had agreed to face Josh Koscheck at UFC 98 on May 23 in Las Vegas if the American Kickboxing Academy fighter was victorious in his upcoming bout against Paulo Thiago at UFC 95.

“They better not do anything to screw that up,” said Parisyan. “I’m gonna go beyond training for this fight. The deal is, I couldn’t travel because of my anxiety. I would go crazy in hotel rooms and et cetera, so all kinds of reasons. But now, thank God, I’m fine. I can travel and I can train. And that’s what I’m shooting for, I want to travel and train with St. Pierre and my original camp, with Greg Jackson, and I’ll be in the best shape of my life. I guarantee that. I’m not (expletive) around no more. Everything that I was (expletive) around with, no more.”

[StillUnknown]

interesting that they want to match him against Koscheck at 98.

Koscheck will hurt that boy if they do fight