Karo Parisyan agreed to fight Matt Hughes at UFC 68 earlier this year, but UFC matchmaker Joe Silva apparently had a change of heart, deciding to put Chris Lytle in the cage with the former champion instead, according to a recent interview at NBCSports.com.
Here's a snip:
"I was supposed to fight Matt Hughes at UFC 68. But the same evening they asked me to fight him, they texted me and said you're not going to fight him, we're going to get him someone else. I think I would have a great chance to beat Matt. I don't think he should even have a title fight right now. The way he was happy that St. Pierre was knocked out? That's not cool. There's nothing about Hughes that I like. I used to like him a while back, but he has nothing to offer anyone.... I still don't think he deserves a title shot at all. The way he was celebrating when GSP got knocked out was kind of pathetic. He should want to fight St. Pierre, because the way he lost to GSP was a joke. He got literally manhandled."
Back in December, we passed along the report that Hughes-Parisyan was a possibility for the show in Columbus, Ohio, which generated tons of discussion and debate from readers here and elsewhere.
That's because it was a great fight that actually would mean something in the division.
It never happened, clearly, and Hughes went on to grind out a unanimous decision win against Lytle in a fight that did little to clear up the clouded welterweight pecking order.
Hughes is now set to challenge current 170-pound champ Matt Serra at the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 season later this year.
And Parisyan — along with all the other top contenders in the division such as Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez and Jon Fitch — are all left in the lurch.
Indeed, the welterweight division is up for grabs and all "The Heat" can do is wage an all-out public relations assault leading up to his UFC 71 bout with Josh Burkman, telling anyone who will listen that he deserves the next title opportunity with a victory.
He has some valid points ... it's just too bad the chance to prove them was taken away.
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