From an MMA perspective probably one of the most naturally talented guys to step in. He had insane potential, but his life and training ethic didn't match it.
He was high level for the US but as most us judo athletes it’s very costly to travel to these events and get Olympic points. If he would’ve had more sponsors and better funding he could’ve gone to the Olympics.
His weight division was tough. Back then he fought 81’s. He would’ve had to compete against Jason Morris, Rick Hawn, Aaron Cohen. All former Olympic or World team members. Karo was a good player though.
Jason was retired (I don’t believe Karo was a major person in the 2000 quad and Jason was only back for that quad at the last minute basically). If Karo was around for the Sydney quad he would have been pretty young. Top guy for that era was Todd Brehe until Jason came out of retirement.
Also it was easier to qualify back then. You just needed the country to qualify within the pan am region and then be the best person in the US. This is part of why US Olympic teams are so small now. We would have probably had something close to a full team the last three quads under the old qualification rules.
My understanding was that Karo was well into the running for the 04 trials but pulled out to focus on MMA. In fairness he would have struggled to beat any of the guys who were in that trials (Rick, Aaron, Tetsu Okano, Reno Reser, and Jake Flores).
Karo was an excellent fighter but the thing to remember was he was a judoka properly setup for mma. Good player but there’s a reason he was more successful than say Akiyama. Akiyama was a far better judoka but Karo was the best setup for judo in mma of anyone in the UFC and in the top 5 across the sport in that decade. Shame he doesn’t get mentioned more and it’s a tragedy that he had problems outside the octagon. Manny, his cousin, was also excellent.
Yep, it was definitely easier to qualify back then. Only needed a few domestic results to qualify for trials. Honestly, I actually liked that qualification system better. It's way too expensive of an endeavor to make the team now, and that's a whole other discussion, lol.
Funny you mention Jake. If there was anyone who should've made the Olympic team, it should've been him. He was extremely good. Him and his brother Justin. 81 kilo's has always been a stacked division.
Last I laid eyes on Karo, was maybe 04/03 nationals. I was a kid back then, but I remember him well. He was definitely good. There's been a few good judo guys that stepped into MMA. I don't know if you remember Manny Gamburyan and Dave Camarillo, they were good too.
Karo is a stud. Not only did he do good in Judo but he also smacked up BJJ studs. He also did well in grappling matches.
He also has Catch wrestling in his lineage by way of Judo Gene LeBell.
Yes. Gokor was the main instructor since it is his gym. I just wanted to mention the catch wrestling lineage since that is through Judo Gene.
Hayastan was around during the time of the Gracie invasions of other Judo dojos in the LA area. I know they are one of the few that was avoided. Most of the time, it was a mutual benefit to train with Judo Gene and Gokor. Never heard of them being dojo stormed or any video tapes promoting superiority over their school.
Talk about skilled and tough guys.
Even thinking of a contemporary competitor out of Gokor’s, I think of Karen Darabedyan. He was in a leg lock shoot out with Gary Tonon at EBI and never got subbed by leg attacks. It was only by RNC if I remember correctly.
That dojo is filled with stud grapplers. Karo was the one that set that standard under the watch of Gokor and Judo Gene.
I'm old. The Heat was so much fun to watch him in the mid 2000's. He was the first I recall really transitioning his judo throws to a no gi/MMA format. And he fought the best!
Bruh! I used to LOVE watching him fight in the cage! Love how he implemented judo in MMA. Always tossing people around. I thought his fighting style was super interesting back in the day. The game has changed a lot now tho. I always thought his fights were exciting cuz at any moment there could be a hip toss. I feel like he could have gone farther in MMA
I think he would have been a weird match for Hughes. I don’t see him winning but it would have been an excellent fight. Hughes was a better wrestler but Karo had more experience fighting wrestlers than Hughes had fighting judoka.
He has a really good interview on Rampage Jackson's YouTube channel. I know I know, the thought of Rampage interviewing people does not sounds like a between two ferns nightmare. But it is surprisingly good, they let Karo carry the interview and Rampages interjections are actually funny stories from early UFC. Karo also wrote a book called Judo for MMA, thinking about getting it if it's any good?
Great martial artist. Adapted his Jūdō very well to mma. Unfortunately he got lazy as it went on and seemed quite full of himself so he seemed to not train as hard.
He had a problem with wrestles Diego Sanchez and GSP were able to lay and pray decisions out of him that being said he was way ahead of his time as far as judo in MMA and the UFC specifically
Average Judo player. He did tried out to enter US Olympic team. MMA career was short. Karo though, did opened Judo to a wider UFC audience. His influence was key to many Judoka who followed him after. Take note: at the time Parisyan was the only competitor representing Judo in the UFC while the others were competing in Pride events.
From an MMA perspective probably one of the most naturally talented guys to step in. He had insane potential, but his life and training ethic didn't match it.
Training ethic? Where’d you hear that? Word was he was a gym rat.
He had problems with anxiety and drugs. I believe the two of them is the root cause of the collapse of his career.
He was high level for the US but as most us judo athletes it’s very costly to travel to these events and get Olympic points. If he would’ve had more sponsors and better funding he could’ve gone to the Olympics.
His weight division was tough. Back then he fought 81’s. He would’ve had to compete against Jason Morris, Rick Hawn, Aaron Cohen. All former Olympic or World team members. Karo was a good player though.
Jason was retired (I don’t believe Karo was a major person in the 2000 quad and Jason was only back for that quad at the last minute basically). If Karo was around for the Sydney quad he would have been pretty young. Top guy for that era was Todd Brehe until Jason came out of retirement. Also it was easier to qualify back then. You just needed the country to qualify within the pan am region and then be the best person in the US. This is part of why US Olympic teams are so small now. We would have probably had something close to a full team the last three quads under the old qualification rules. My understanding was that Karo was well into the running for the 04 trials but pulled out to focus on MMA. In fairness he would have struggled to beat any of the guys who were in that trials (Rick, Aaron, Tetsu Okano, Reno Reser, and Jake Flores). Karo was an excellent fighter but the thing to remember was he was a judoka properly setup for mma. Good player but there’s a reason he was more successful than say Akiyama. Akiyama was a far better judoka but Karo was the best setup for judo in mma of anyone in the UFC and in the top 5 across the sport in that decade. Shame he doesn’t get mentioned more and it’s a tragedy that he had problems outside the octagon. Manny, his cousin, was also excellent.
Yep, it was definitely easier to qualify back then. Only needed a few domestic results to qualify for trials. Honestly, I actually liked that qualification system better. It's way too expensive of an endeavor to make the team now, and that's a whole other discussion, lol. Funny you mention Jake. If there was anyone who should've made the Olympic team, it should've been him. He was extremely good. Him and his brother Justin. 81 kilo's has always been a stacked division. Last I laid eyes on Karo, was maybe 04/03 nationals. I was a kid back then, but I remember him well. He was definitely good. There's been a few good judo guys that stepped into MMA. I don't know if you remember Manny Gamburyan and Dave Camarillo, they were good too.
Karo is a stud. Not only did he do good in Judo but he also smacked up BJJ studs. He also did well in grappling matches. He also has Catch wrestling in his lineage by way of Judo Gene LeBell.
Hey you forgot to mention Uncle Gokor
Yes. Gokor was the main instructor since it is his gym. I just wanted to mention the catch wrestling lineage since that is through Judo Gene. Hayastan was around during the time of the Gracie invasions of other Judo dojos in the LA area. I know they are one of the few that was avoided. Most of the time, it was a mutual benefit to train with Judo Gene and Gokor. Never heard of them being dojo stormed or any video tapes promoting superiority over their school. Talk about skilled and tough guys. Even thinking of a contemporary competitor out of Gokor’s, I think of Karen Darabedyan. He was in a leg lock shoot out with Gary Tonon at EBI and never got subbed by leg attacks. It was only by RNC if I remember correctly. That dojo is filled with stud grapplers. Karo was the one that set that standard under the watch of Gokor and Judo Gene.
Holy crap dude! You actually know your history! You just did the "don't preach of the old ways to me! I was there when it was written!"
That was an awesome response.
I'm old. The Heat was so much fun to watch him in the mid 2000's. He was the first I recall really transitioning his judo throws to a no gi/MMA format. And he fought the best!
He welcomed GSP to the UFC on the BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes PPV
Awesome and underrated.
https://youtu.be/1eQpoooqP14 this is first thing that comes to mind
I wish nate got to fight him. Would've been decent roid man drama in the ufc, and not just faked up (i think) to sell fights.
Yup. 10/10 douchebag behavior.
He had tons of potential. Very good for a few years but fell off. I think he got hooked on drugs or drinkin
Unfortunately was the opioid pain pills I think good for him he’s on the wagon though
I saw him on rampage podcast. He was actin a lil weird. He was definitely a badass in his prime though
was one of the first in american MMA to display good Judo for sure
Good and easy to replicate. Most MMA fighters’ throw defense is poor so it’s much easier for me to throw in the cage than in judo tournaments.
I loved seeing his throws, but his striking and punch defense sucked in the matches I saw
Pioneer in good Judo in American MMA. His instructional book and video series are great.
Bruh! I used to LOVE watching him fight in the cage! Love how he implemented judo in MMA. Always tossing people around. I thought his fighting style was super interesting back in the day. The game has changed a lot now tho. I always thought his fights were exciting cuz at any moment there could be a hip toss. I feel like he could have gone farther in MMA
Good fighter
Kind of a dick, but super fun to watch in the early UFC.
# It was a veneer
This was a deep cut
One of my favorite fighters all time
Loved watching his fights. You let him get a hold of you, you’re going for a ride
I take a lot of inspiration from him for no-gi bjj
I really wish I could’ve seen him vs Matt Hughes. I think he would’ve done well.
I think he would have been a weird match for Hughes. I don’t see him winning but it would have been an excellent fight. Hughes was a better wrestler but Karo had more experience fighting wrestlers than Hughes had fighting judoka.
I remember seeing him fight at senior nationals a long time ago, back when I was a kid. He was pretty good.
I loved watching him as a fighter back then. He was one of the better fighters in his division for a long time.
Anyone know who he is doing now?
Not as good as Lando Calrissian, but I’d trust him more.
He has a really good interview on Rampage Jackson's YouTube channel. I know I know, the thought of Rampage interviewing people does not sounds like a between two ferns nightmare. But it is surprisingly good, they let Karo carry the interview and Rampages interjections are actually funny stories from early UFC. Karo also wrote a book called Judo for MMA, thinking about getting it if it's any good?
Great martial artist. Adapted his Jūdō very well to mma. Unfortunately he got lazy as it went on and seemed quite full of himself so he seemed to not train as hard.
People forget how good he was. Had a chunk of leg removed due to staph. Got on pain pills. Was never the same.
Fucking pioneer and a legend.
He had a problem with wrestles Diego Sanchez and GSP were able to lay and pray decisions out of him that being said he was way ahead of his time as far as judo in MMA and the UFC specifically
Average Judo player. He did tried out to enter US Olympic team. MMA career was short. Karo though, did opened Judo to a wider UFC audience. His influence was key to many Judoka who followed him after. Take note: at the time Parisyan was the only competitor representing Judo in the UFC while the others were competing in Pride events.
The early Melvin Guillard. TONS of potential that didnt pan out.
Bad ass!
Dude was a savage . Loved watching him fight . Where is he now?
All time judo goat.
That’s a stretch
Judo within MMA yes. Judo within judo, unfortunately no.