Parisyan vs Yoshida Cancelled

by Robert Sargent

Citing a back injury that has apparently left him barely able to walk, Karo "The Heat" Parisyan has now withdrawn from his UFC 88 bout with Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida, leaving Yoshida without an opponent and forcing the fight to be cancelled.

Parisyan, who was a heavy underdog for the bout with Yoshida, allegedly threw his back out sometime between Thursday evening and the scheduled weigh-ins on Friday afternoon.

This is not the first time that an injury has derailed plans for Parisyan to compete in a high-profile match, but the extremely last-minute nature of the injury brings into question why Parisyan would have been training with any intensity on the night before the weigh-ins anyway.

Parisyan had previously stated that this would be the first time that he would not have to endure an extensive weight cut prior to the fight, but it is possible that those plans did not turn out as he had hoped. While the injury is likely legitimate, the situation - especially with few analysts predicting a Parisyan victory at UFC 88 - is certainly an unfortunate one.

The bout with Yoshida has now been cancelled entirely, and Yoshida will not compete on the card. There has been no word yet as to whether the fight will be rescheduled for a later date.

UFC 88 will continue with nine fights, and the battle between undefeated Korean phenom Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim and TUF 7 alum "The Immortal" Matt Brown will now air on the main card telecast.


In related injury news, undefeated Brazilian star Thiago Silva has also been forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight due to a back injury. Silva was scheduled to face another undefeated Brazilian, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida, at UFC 89, but the bout has been cancelled due to Silva's injury.

A replacement opponent for Machida has yet to be named, and the bout with Silva may be rescheduled for December.