It looks like Karo Parisyan’s drug test failure for prescription painkillers at UFC 94 isn’t as cut and dried as it seemed to be on the surface.
Parisyan claims that he told Nevada State Athletic Commission official Tony Lato about the prescription pills after his UFC 94 win over Dong Hyun Kim. Parisyan had taken a painkiller the night before.
“I told (the commission) ‘listen, by the way, if pain pills come positive, I have a 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.’
For his part, Kizer disputes the story.
“I mean, I wasn’t back there, but that’s nothing we’d say,” said Kizer.
Parisyan will have an official hearing next Tuesday, where he’ll be able to relate his side of the story. Kizer doesn’t think that having a prescription for the painkillers will lessen Parisyan’s punishment, however.
“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.”
This situation certainly can’t help Parisyan’s fragile mental state. I wrote before UFC 94 that Parisyan probably shouldn’t even be fighting, because it’s obvious to those that know him that he’s still suffering from some serious anxiety issues. In the end, though, a forced vacation of six months or so might actually be the best thing for the judo expert — a time when he can forget about fighting and concentrate on healing his mental state.
