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Mixed Martial Arts--- Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez Set for TUF 4 Lead-In Show
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Spike TV and Zuffa have scheduled an Ultimate Fight Night event for Thursday, August 17th with the main event of Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez.

MMAWeekly's Rumors section previously noted that Parisyan and Sanchez were going to be fighting in August, and that fight has now been moved from the UFC 62 pay-per-view (on August 26th) to the Ultimate Fight Night broadcast on August 17th.

The date of the Parisyan vs. Sanchez fight, and the fact that the fight is scheduled to happen in the first place, has also been confirmed by a graphic on Diego Sanchez' official web site.

The August 17th live fight special will air from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM and will serve as the lead-in to the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback.

After the strong ratings that were drawn when a live "Ultimate Fight Night" event served as the lead-in to the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 3 back in April, it only makes sense that Spike TV and Zuffa are doing it again.

All of the UFC's previous live fight specials, as well as the upcoming specials on June 24th and 28th, have taken place in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, as of today, Zuffa has not made a request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to hold an event in the state of Nevada on August 17th. This could mean that Zuffa is planning to venture outside of Nevada for the first time on Spike TV, or it could simply mean that Zuffa has not yet secured a venue for August 17th in the state of Nevada.

Karo Parisyan had been publicly promised a shot at the UFC Welterweight Title after he won three consecutive fights in the UFC, which were against Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, and Matt Serra. Parisyan was scheduled to fight for the title against Matt Hughes last November, but Parisyan injured his quadriceps in training and had to pull out of the fight. Parisyan seemingly lost his status as a top contender due to the fact that he got injured, as his next fight in the Octagon was a victory over Nick Thompson, who was making his UFC debut.

After winning the middleweight competition in dominant fashion on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez moved to the welterweight division, where he won back-to-back fights with impressive performances against Brian Gassaway and Nick Diaz. The latter is one of the most-watched fights in UFC history, as it was the main event on the UFC's most-watched live fight special in history. Last week at UFC 60, Sanchez won a close fight via judges' decision over John Alessio.

While it's rumored that BJ Penn believes he should get the first title shot against the winner of this fall's battle between Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Title, one could certainly make the case that the winner of the Parisyan vs. Sanchez fight should receive that distinction instead.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 7:10 PM

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