Signs Point to Parisyan’s UFC Release

Following a first-round technical knockout loss to Dennis Hallman at UFC 123 on Saturday in Auburn Hills, Mich., UFC president Dana White told reporters Parisyan would “have to figure out the next chapter of his life” and implied that the judo convert had run out of chances with the promotion.

In an interview with MMAFighting.com, White said in no uncertain terms that he feels Parisyan “can’t perform [in the UFC] anymore” and agreed when asked if Parisyan was “done.”

The news comes as the latest blow to the career of the troubled 28-year-old, who has publicly battled anxiety and addiction in recent years.

In November 2009, Parisyan pulled out of his fight with Dustin Hazelett just two days before UFC 106, prompting the organization to issue his walking papers and White to declare on Twitter that Parisyan would “not be fighting Saturday or ever again in the UFC.” The match was to have been Parisyan’s first after serving a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, handed down when he tested positive for banned painkillers following his UFC 94 bout with Dong Hyun Kim.

After briefly negotiating with UFC rival Strikeforce in early 2010, Parisyan resurfaced at a July Impact Fighting Championships show in Sydney, Australia, where he submitted local fighter Ben Mortimer via rear-naked choke.