Karo Parisyan was today formally suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) after testing positive for several major painkillers following his controversial split decision win over Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94: "St. Pierre vs. Penn 2" on Jan. 31.
Under the terms of the ruling, "The Heat" was also fined 40 percent of his purse ($32,000) and his win over the Korean was ruled a "No Contest," meaning that "Stun Gun" is once again undefeated. In addition, Parisyan could be the subject of stricter "out of competition" drug tests in the future.
When news first broke about the positive test, the 26-year-old fighter met with the commission in an effort to tell his side of the story. No progress was made on either side and the NSAC rescheduled a formal hearing for today to allow both parties ample time to put their cases together.
However, it appears that the Armenian Judo player and his legal team could not sway the commission, which voted unanimously to impose the punishment.
That’s more than likely because the finding was a serious one -- Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and Oxymorphone (which is about six to eight times stronger than morphine) all come with relatively high levels of dependency for regular users. They are all prescription-strength painkillers.
Parisyan has recently battled a nervous disorder, as well as injuries, which forced him out of a match against Yoshiyuki Yoshida less than 24 hours before showtime back in September 2008.
Hopefully, he uses the time off to get his career -- and life -- back on track. He is eligible to return in late October 2009.