Karo Parisyan: I Wanted to Make a Statement Against Ron Keslar

---

Karo Parisyan scored his third win in four fights when he stopped Ron Keslar on Friday at Bellator 116.

Coming off the victory, he joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to discuss his performance and more.

On being healthy: “I’ve been healthy for about six months to eight months, very healthy. I keep myself mentally prepared, physically and in every way possible. I’m not going to get into details right now, but that being said, I had to train for the fight. I felt good. I felt like my cojones were there, like always. In shape, out of shape, I always come out to fight wherever the fight goes.”

On flicking blood at Keslar: “I always show my respect, but I remember that when I was bleeding through my nose, I didn’t like this guy that much. He thought he was a big shot. I was like, ‘You asswipe. Do you know who you’re fighting?’ I remember when I was bleeding through the nose, I kind of picked up the blood and I flicked it on him. I did the same with Diego Sanchez. I spit my blood on Diego. That’s, in a way, in my mentality, I was like, ‘I’m going to throw my blood on you and I’m not done. I might be bleeding, but I’m not dead. You’ve got to come after me.’”

On finishing Keslar with strikes: “I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to put that stamp on top … . I was an underdog in this fight, a 2-1 underdog. I was like, ‘All right, great, that makes me feel much better. People don’t expect me to win.’ I was like, ‘Just watch.’ I trained for the fight not to my potential, but I still trained. The most important [part] was I kept healthy. The weight cut is always hard for me, but it was a little bit better than the last fight I had against Rick Hawn. It felt good. My conditioning wasn’t bad at all. I just knew that eventually I’m going to catch this guy either with a submission or a punch. Once he started backpedaling after he tried to take me down, I threw him. He started backpedaling and I was like, ‘That’s it.’ I see people break from 10 miles away. It’s the one thing that I have besides the judo throws. I can tell, and once they start backpedaling and I see it in their eyes, I’m like, ‘That’s it. I’m going to clap and you’re going to dance whichever way I want it.’”

On fans and critics: “A lot of people are behind me. A lot of friends, a lot of family, a lot of people. True fans, I love each and every one of them. They’re great. And there’s a lot of people out there that are haters. I mean really haters, and I don’t know who these people are, but f--k them. I don’t like them. I never did like them. I’ve never been an asshole to anybody. I might be a d--k sometimes, but at least I’m funny about it.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 2:01:14).