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Video of 14-Year-Old Karo Parisyan Fighting 23-Year-Old MMA Fighter

At age 14, Karo Parisyan was the epitome of a modern-day warrior.While most kids were hanging out with friends and playing video games, Parisyan was stepping into an MMA ring and fighting grown men.In the video preview of the upcoming Worldwide Mixed M…

At age 14, Karo Parisyan was the epitome of a modern-day warrior.

While most kids were hanging out with friends and playing video games, Parisyan was stepping into an MMA ring and fighting grown men.

In the video preview of the upcoming Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts (WMMA) event, “The Heat” reminisced on his earlier years in the sport.

“I was 14, alright, one-four,” he said. “There was a show in Tijuana, Mexico. I’m 14 years old. How many 14-year-olds do you know that go to Mexico to fight MMA, and I’m fighting a 23-year-old man that’s 10-0 in MMA, pride and joy of Mexico, 170 pounds, chiseled, and I’m fighting this guy, and I’m 14, bare knuckle.”

Most grown men tremble at the mere thought of stepping into a ring or cage, but according to Parisyan‘s trainer Gokor Chivichyan, Karo never backed down from any opponent. He didn’t let fear dictate his actions.

The attending audience had to be pretty confident and worried that their hometown hero would destroy his 14-year-old adversary. The bout had catastrophe written all over it.

How could a child possibly survive against a grown man in a fist fight?

“These guys look at each other like, ‘Oh God, we have to sign some paperwork, like if you literally die, we’re not responsible’,” Parisyan said. “And here, I go in the ring, and I fight this guy for five rounds and I beat the crap out of him. Then it was to the Olympic trials [in Judo] or make a career out of [fighting], and I made a career out of [fighting].”

In the end, Parisyan chose the right path.

His fighting career eventually led him to the bright lights of the UFC, where he ascended the welterweight ranks as one of the top fighters in the world.

This all seems ages ago to present-day fans. Currently on a three-fight skid, Parisyan hopes to salvage his dwindling career at WMMA on Saturday night.

He is slated to face Thomas “The Wildman” Denny in a bout that could make or break any hopes of making it back to the UFC, and the fighter knows its significance.

“This is a big opportunity for me to show people that I’m back,” he said.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

10 MMA Fighters Who Should Have Taken Their Careers More Seriously

Despite working their entire lives to achieve a dream that has denied countless others, fighters oftentimes forget that being a professional athlete is a blessing in itself.It doesn’t matter whether they’ve fought in the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, WEC, D…

Despite working their entire lives to achieve a dream that has denied countless others, fighters oftentimes forget that being a professional athlete is a blessing in itself.

It doesn’t matter whether they’ve fought in the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, WEC, Dream or Bellator. There are very few human beings on this planet blessed with the ability to do the things that these guys can do.

In every gym strewn across the world, there are dreams waiting to be achieved or denied. There is also natural talent that will make it to the big show but will never reach its full potential.

Ralph Marston, author and publisher of The Daily Motivator, once said, “There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.”

In any sport, talent can only take a person so far. They need the drive, hunger and motivation to succeed.

MMA is known for its grueling training regimen and dieting, which sometimes takes a toll on even the most disciplined of athletes. Still, these are things a fighter has to endure if he or she ever hopes to reach their full potential.

Here are 10 fighters who should have taken their careers more seriously.

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Parisyan vs. Menne, Beerbohm vs. Varner Added to March 31 ‘Worldwide MMA’ Event in Texas

(These two bouts alone beat most Strikeforce Challengers events.)

CagePotato.com has learned that a trio of bouts featuring UFC veterans has been added to Worldwide MMA’s debut card in El Paso, Texas.

Karo Parisyan (19-8-4 1 NC) versus Dave Menne (45-16-2), Lyle Beerbohm (16-2) versus Jamie Varner (18-6-1 2 NC) as well as Drew Fickett (41-16) versus Kevin Knabjian (12-6) will all take place at the March 31 event.

(These two bouts alone beat most Strikeforce Challengers events.)

CagePotato.com has learned that a trio of bouts featuring UFC veterans has been added to Worldwide MMA’s debut card in El Paso, Texas.

The inaugural UFC middleweight champion, Menne is 4-1 in his past five bouts. The 37-year-old competed in the Bellator season 7 welterweight grand prix in 2009, but had his tournament hopes dashed by Omar De La Cruz who TKO’ed the veteran in the first round of their semi-final match. He submitted Eric Davila at UWF 1 Huerta vs. War Machine in his last fight in the Lone Star state in November.

Parisyan, who has struggled as of late with three losses in a row in as many bouts had perhaps his most inspired performance in recent years and glimpses of his old self against Canadian prospect Ryan Ford last may at MMA Live 1 in London, Ontario, Canada. After controlling the opening two frames with his judo and wrestling skill, the 29-year-old Armenian got caught with a knee by “The Real Deal” and was deemed unable to continue by the commission doctor when a gash opened up on his brow line as a result. An invitation to train with Georges St-Pierre to help the UFC welterweight champion prepare for his scheduled UFC 143 bout with Nick Diaz was put on hold due to GSP’s knee injury and subsequent surgery, but the former UFC 170-pound contender says he plans on taking a raincheck for his next title defense, presumably against Carlos Condit.

After being dropped by Strikeforce following back-to-back losses to Pat Healy and Shinya Aoki, previously undefeated Beerbohm is looking to right the ship. A win over the former WEC lightweight champion would do just that for “Fancypants.”

Standing in his way of a much-needed win will be Varner, who desperately needs to beat a decent name to rebound from a 2-4 (1 NC) slide in his past seven outings. Although he did pick up a confidence boosting “W” over little known Nate Jolly in his last bout at XFC 14 Resurrection in October following a brief retirement, “The Worm” will be in for a much tougher fight against Beerbohm.

First he’ll have to make it through his match-up with Drew Fickett Friday night at XFC 16 in Tennessee, though.

“Knight Rider” also has a lot to gain by coming out of the fight with Varner unscathed as he’s set to take on an underrated submission specialist in Knabjian, who will be riding a two-fight winning streak into the bout. Fickett, who from April 2010 to June 2011 went undefeated in five fights before losing to Brian Cobb at MFC 30, is hoping to snap a three-fight losing streak with a win over the Chicago native.

We’ll have more news on the remainder of the card and the venue as we receive it.

Ronda Rousey Has Had a Tough Road to the Top

(Before she became MMA’s sweetheart, Ronda battled through some tough personal bouts growing up.)

We’ve all read stories about how Ronda Rousey became a beast on the mats training with the tough Armenians like Karo Parisyan and Manny Gamburyan as a girl at Gokor Chivichyan’s gym, but few actually know the real battles the bubbly Strikeforce number one bantamweight contender has gone through in her life.

In a recent feature by SI’s Loretta Hunt, Rousey revealed that her precarious life path began early in life as she could not speak until she was six due to complications at birth.

Of any fighter, it’s fitting that Rousey knows the value of making her voice be heard — she couldn’t put together coherent sentences until the age of six.

Rousey was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck; her body was blue and she wasn’t breathing. She was revived in the delivery room, but when her communicative skills quickly fell behind the norm, the doctors thought she’d suffered brain damage or that she might be deaf.

When she began to talk, Rousey’s words were jumbled and she was sent to speech therapy classes. Frustration was a daily occurrence, as nobody could understand her.

(Before she became MMA’s sweetheart, Ronda battled through some tough personal bouts growing up.)

In a recent feature by SI’s Loretta Hunt, Rousey revealed that her precarious life path began early in life as she could not speak until she was six due to complications at birth.

Of any fighter, it’s fitting that Rousey knows the value of making her voice be heard — she couldn’t put together coherent sentences until the age of six.

When she began to talk, Rousey’s words were jumbled and she was sent to speech therapy classes. Frustration was a daily occurrence, as nobody could understand her.

Soon after Ronda began speaking and had overcome one of her biggest challenges, one of the most important people in her life was struck with a double-whammy.

She watched her father break his back after crashing into a snow-covered log at the bottom of a hill on a family sledding trip. He was later diagnosed with Bernard-Soulier syndrome, a rare blood disorder that made a full recovery from his back injuries impossible.

What came next would change Rousey’s life forever.

When doctors told him he’d be paralyzed and would die within two years, Rousey’s father committed suicide in 1995 rather than have his family watch him deteriorate. Rousey was only eight years old.

“He said he didn’t want our last memories of him laying in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of him,” Rousey told Hunt. “He was a proud man, a provider. He didn’t want to drain the family anymore.”

As if we needed another reason to root for “Rowdy.” Now we have one.

Do yourself a favor and check out Hunt’s story. It’s worth the read.

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club: Schaub vs. Rothwell Booked for Montreal, Japan’s Worst NYE Fights, Mayhem’s Uncertain Future + More

(And now, two useless MMA commentators miss a fantastic standing heel-hook finish while trying to figure out how to pronounce “Vovchanchyn.” Props: EliteMMA)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

– UFC 145: Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell Booked for March 24 in Montreal (MMA Mania)

– Frank Mir Says Alistair Overeem’s Cardio Will “Suck” Against Brock Lesnar (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

– Top 10 Worst New Year’s Eve MMA Fights in Japan (The Fight Nerd)

– Nate Diaz Denies October Run-In With Donald Cerrone (5th Round)

– The $8.18 UFC 141 Parlay That Will Literally Make You a Millionaire (MiddleEasy)

– As He Reflects on Loss to Michael Bisping, ‘Mayhem’ Miller Focuses on Uncertain Future (MMA Fighting)

– NYE Storylines: Who Retires First After a Loss, Fedor or Lesnar? (Fight Opinion)

– Moving Past ‘Worst Time Ever,’ Karo Parisyan Rediscovering Fire To Compete (FightLine)

– Gabriel Gonzaga: ‘The UFC Is My Home’ (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Countdown to UFC 141 Attracts Just 15,000 Viewers on FUEL (MMA Payout)

– Inside MMA: The 2011 Bazzie Awards (MMA Convert)

– Jon Fitch Says He Should Fight the Winner of Condit-Diaz if Victorious Against Johny Hendricks (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

(And now, two useless MMA commentators miss a fantastic standing heel-hook finish while trying to figure out how to pronounce “Vovchanchyn.” Props: EliteMMA)