Karo Parisyan will return to the octagon in November at UFC 78 in New Jersey to take on UFC newcomer Hector Lombard, UFC Daily has confirmed with Parisyan’s manager.
Parisyan will be leaving tomorrow for Las Vegas to train with Xtreme Couture and UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture to prepare for the bout.
Regarded as one of the best welterweight fighters in the world, Parisyan has compiled a 25-4 MMA record. Using a modified form of judo, he has racked up wins in the UFC. He was victorious in his UFC debut, defeating Dave Strasser but lost his next fight at the hands of Georges St. Pierre. After defeating Shonie Carter at WEC 10 Parisyan returned to the UFC and appeared better than ever in victories over Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, Matt Serra, and Nick Thompson.
He was handed his second UFC loss in December of 2006 when he was defeated by Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision. He has since bounced back from the loss with unanimous decision victories over Drew Fickett and Josh Burkman. Should the wins continue it is expected that Parisyan will fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship sometime in 2008.
Lombard will enter the octagon with an 11-2-1 MMA record. He has fought with a variety of promotions including PRIDE. In his two PRIDE fights, Bushido events in 2006, Lombard was defeated by Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi. Since then he has strung together 5 straight wins at DEEP, Oceania Fighting Championships, and Warriors Realm events. He fought to a draw against Kyle Noke in his last MMA bout in July.
