UFC 94 Breakdown: The Main Card

Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Karo “The Heat” Parisyan Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 5-foot-10/170 lbs.
Age: 26
Hometown: Yerevan, Armenia
Fighting out of: North Hollywood, Calif.
Record: 18-5

The stakes: The usual stakes in the welterweight division remain the same; there are too many top-tier talents out there to afford a loss. For Parisyan, however, the stakes have been upped thanks to the surprising revelation that the often brash Armenian judoka suffers from panic attacks. In the high-pressure world of professional sports, even the smallest chink in your psyche becomes fodder for opponents. Unless Parisyan can prove to the world that he’s capable of handling all the trappings of his chosen profession, he’ll soon be wondering how it all went so wrong so fast.

The breakdown: A return to form is in order for Parisyan, who, of late, has relied far too heavily on conservative ground-and-pound, instead of the slick submission skills he flashed early in his UFC career. Considering Kim’s own judo background, Parisyan cannot rely on top control alone, as Kim’s flair for clinch takedowns and reversals makes him difficult to control. Unless Parisyan comes out gunning for his trademark rolling kimura, he’ll probably revert to the stale strategy that failed him against Thiago Alves and will likely fail him against Kim.

Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim

Ht/Wt: 6-foot-1/170 lbs.
Age: 27
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Fighting out of: Busan, South Korea
Record: 11-0-1

The stakes: After notching a pair of wins in his first two UFC bouts, Kim makes his main card debut much to the delight of his rabid Korean fan base. And while beating Parisyan isn’t the launching pad it used to be, it would still give Kim a seat at the table with all the other welterweights eagerly anticipating the result of the evening’s main event. Of course, with the notable failure of several Asian imports in both the UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting in recent months, Kim also needs to prove he can excel against elite competition outside the comforts of home.

The breakdown: Kim’s at his best when he can gain the top position and mix up his strong submissions with the soul-sapping ground-and-pound he used to such great effect in his UFC debut against Jason Tan. Of course, tapping out Parisyan is a feat that’s likely beyond Kim’s reach. However, we’ve seen grapplers like Diego Sanchez prove that Parisyan is susceptible to a strong ground-and-pound strategy. If Kim can force Parisyan to work from his guard, half the work will be done.


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The bottom line: If the bookies were always right, they’d all live in gold-plated mansions surrounded by an army of tough guys, with some soft guys mixed in to make the tough guys look tougher. Thank you, “The Simpsons Movie.” This is one of those fights that will keep the bookies out of said mansions, as Kim scores an upset win by winning the clinch battle and leaving the evidence all over Parisyan’s face with ground-and-pound.