After more than a year since the legendary on-camera verbal clash between UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan (18-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and eventual "The Ultimate Fighter 5" champion Nate Diaz, bad blood still remains.
Parisyan discussed the ongoing feud while a guest on The Lights Out Show on the TAGG Radio Network (
www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com).
"The deal is, it started out kind of as a joke," Parisyan said. "I kind of let him know, 'You know what? You're saying shut up in front of everybody.' ... I came up and I starting telling him, 'Listen, dude. We're on national [expletive] TV. Don't be saying [expletive] like that.'"
Parisyan explained that Diaz's reactions are what caused the situation to escalate.
"[Diaz] thinks he can get rowdy with me and walk away," Parisyan said. "He walked away from me, next to my cousin Manny (Gamburyan), and he started acting all 'What's up homies?' And I'm like, 'Dude, are you [expletive] kidding me? Dude I wouldn't even have to punch you. I'll slap you.'"
At that point in the exchange, Parisyan then delivered his now-infamous "do-you-know-who-I-am" speech. The 26-year-old said the words were misinterpreted by much of the MMA community.
"When I said, 'Do you know who I am,' everybody was like, 'Oh, he's so cocky,'" Parisyan said. "I don't mean, ‘Do you know who I am?' Of course you know who I am. I'm Karo, and I fight in the UFC. Big deal.
"What I said to him was, 'Hey mother [expletive]. Do you know who I am on the street? As far as me not being an athlete, do you know what I'm capable of doing on the [expletive] street? Do you know me that way? No, you don't know me. So if you don't know me, don't [expletive] with me.'"
Although Parisyan said he has never had any issues with Diaz's older brother, the oft-debated Nick Diaz, the Armenian judoka said the problems with Nate Diaz have extended beyond the taping of "TUF 5."
"I was very close to taking his [expletive] head off," Parisyan said. "But then again, I had 10 to 15 athletes there holding me back. It is what it is. Recently I almost fought at another competition with them, at fights in the UFC, where guys held me back again."
Parisyan said that Diaz has been a constant thorn in his side and that the differences will eventually need to be settled -- in or out of the octagon.
"Eventually, one day, something is going to happen because I can't handle that kid anymore," he said.
Parisyan also discussed the release of his new book, his relationship with Affliction, and the advantages of judo in MMA. To hear the full interview, download Thursday's edition of The Lights Out Show, available for free in the TAGG Radio Network archives.
