“Karo Parisyan has f***** over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again. He will not be fighting Saturday or ever again in the UFC,” wrote White. “Pulled out of the fight the day before weigh-ins again with a laundry list of excuses. Let the press ask Karo why. Let him explain.“

Parisyan (18-5), a longtime contender at 170-pounds, was to return to the UFC after serving a nine-month suspension for testing positive for banned painkillers after a January win over Dong Hyun Kim that has since been changed to a no contest. Prior to suffering a second-round knockout to Thiago Alves last April, “The Heat” had won three-straight and eight of his last nine, with his only career losses coming to notables Sean Sherk (twice), Georges St-Pierre, Diego Sanchez, and Alves.

Hazelett (12-4) is coming off back-to-back submission victories over Josh Burkman and Tamdan McCrory, which improved his UFC record to 5-2, but hasn’t fought in over a year after an injury sidelined him from a scheduled March return.

Due to Parisyan’s last-minute withdrawal, Hazelett will not be in action at Saturday’s event and will instead be scheduled to fight on another upcoming card, though the UFC will still pay him his full salary and win bonus.

“Dustin will be paid his full purse to show and win. It’s not his fault,” wrote White.

For complete UFC 106 coverage stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

The card has undergone many changes due to injuries and illness, including the removal of the original headlining heavyweight title bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, which was replaced by the scheduled co-main event of Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin. That bout too underwent some changes, as Ortiz had originally been slated to face Mark Coleman who had to withdraw because of an injury, only to be replaced by Griffin, prior to the bout being elevated to main event status.

The current co-main event for UFC 106, Koscheck vs. Johnson, was only added to the card just recently, following the other changes to the top of the bill.

The now confirmed fight card for the event is:

MAIN CARD

• Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
• Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson
• Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni
• Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis
• Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann
• Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt
• Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster
• Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes
• George Sotiropoulos vs. Jason Dent

Grove (10-6), the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3, had won two-straight over Evan Tanner and Jason Day before suffering a unanimous decision loss to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101 in August.

Rosholt (6-1) had his undefeated record snapped in his Octagon debut against Dan Miller in February, but rebounded at UFC 102 in August with a third-round submission of Chris Leben.

The UFC also confirmed on Saturday two previously-reported fights, Jon Fitch vs. Ricardo Almeida and Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett, which will be featured on the UFC 106 pay-per-view main card headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin and Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin.

For the latest UFC news and UFC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Pictured: Kendall Grove

MMA Weekly first reported the welterweight matchup on Monday.

Parisyan (18-5) defeated Dong Hyun Kim in January by split decision in January to rebound from an April 2008 loss to Thiago Alves, but the win was changed to a no contest after Parisyan tested positive for 3 banned painkillers and was issued a 9-month suspension. “The Heat” had previously won three-straight over Drew Fickett, Josh Burkman, and Ryo Chonan.

Hazelett (12-4) improved his UFC record to 5-2 by submitting Tamdan McCrory last November in his most-recent fight, his second-straight win following a June 2008 submission of Josh Burkman. “McLovin” had been scheduled to fight Ben Saunders in March at UFC 96 but withdrew from the bout after suffering a knee injury.

UFC 106 is headlined by a heavyweight championship bout between title-holder Brock Lesnar and challenger Shane Carwin, and also features Tito Ortiz’s return to the Octagon against Mark Coleman.

For the latest UFC 106 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.

Karo Parisyan

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday upheld Karo Parisyan’s positive test for banned painkillers, issuing the UFC welterweight a nine-month suspension, fining him $32,000, and changing his January victory over Dong Hyun Kim to a no contest.

Parisyan tested positive for Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, and Oxymorphone following his split-decision win over Kim at UFC 94 on January 31st.

The ruling is the latest setback for the former contender Parisyan, who was forced out of a November matchup with Yoshiyuki Yoshida at the last minute due to a severe back injury. “The Heat” claimed to have informed the commission prior to the drug test that he had used the painkillers, which were prescribed to treat lingering pain from the back injury, but the NSAC disputed his claims, voting unanimously to uphold the test and issue Parisyan a nine-month suspension.

Parisyan nearly failed to be cleared for the contest due to a prescription taken for anxiety and panic attacks, causing the UFC to have a replacement on hand should he be forced out of the fight. However, “The Heat” was ultimately permitted to compete, earning a close decision victory.

Karo Parisyan

The Nevada State Athletic Commission announced Tuesday that UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan will remain temporarily suspended after testing positive for Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, and Hydromorphone following his January victory over Dong Hyun Kim

In the days leading up to the bout rumors surfaced that Parisyan may not be medically cleared for the contest due to a prescription taken for anxiety and panic attacks, causing the UFC to have a replacement on hand should he be forced out of the fight. However, “The Heat” was ultimately permitted to compete, earning a close decision win at UFC 94.

With it appearing to be only a matter of time before a suspension and fine are handed down, Parisyan will next appear in front of the NSAC in mid-March when the commission is expected to make a final ruling on the test.

It is expected that his suspension will make him unavailable for his rumored UFC 98 fight against Josh Koscheck.

Karo Parisyan

Welterweight Karo Parisyan has tested positive for the banned painkillers Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, and Oxymorphone following his victory of Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94 on January 31st in Las Vegas.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer confirmed the positive result to MMAFrenzy.com this afternoon.

The remaining eleven fighters who were tested from the card, including UFC 94 headliners Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn, passed their tests for performance enhancing drugs and drugs of abuse.

BJ Penn

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has issued medical suspensions to five UFC 94 participants, including BJ Penn, for various injuries suffered in their bouts Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The medical suspensions were:

• BJ Penn (defeated by Georges St-Pierre via fourth-round TKO) suspended until March 18th with no contact until March 3rd for precautionary reasons.
• Thiago Silva (defeated by Lyoto Machida via first-round KO) suspended until March 18th with no contact until March 3rd for precautionary reasons.
• Stephan Bonnar (defeated by Jon Jones via unanimous decision) suspended until March 3rd with no contact until February 22nd due to a scalp laceration.
• Akihiro Gono (defeated by Jon Fitch via unanimous decision) suspended until March 3rd with no contact until February 22nd for precautionary reasons.
• Chris Wilson (defeated by John Howard via split decision) must clear broken nose with doctor or no contest until July 31st. No contact until March 3rd.

*****

NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer on Monday confirmed to MMAFrenzy.com that the NSAC tested twelve UFC 94 fighters for performance enhancing drugs and drugs of abuse. The tested fighters were Georges St-Pierre, BJ Penn, Lyoto Machida, Thiago Silva, Clay Guida, Nate Diaz, Stephan Bonnar, Jon Jones, Jake O’Brien, John Howard, Thiago Tavares, and Karo Parisyan.

MMAFrenzy.com will pass along the drug tests results as soon as they’re available.

Georges St-Pierre Punches BJ Penn at UFC 94

On a card dominated by uneventful decisions, UFC 94’s top two bouts delivered as Georges St-Pierre dominated BJ Penn on the ground en route to a fourth-round TKO victory while top light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida used his awkward style to remain undefeated by scoring a first-round knockout of the previously unbeaten Thiago Silva.

A sell out crowd of 14,885 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which generated a live gate of $4.3 million, erupted as St-Pierre and Penn made their entrances to the octagon for their historic main event matchup that is expected to shatter the current pay-per-view buy record held by UFC 66.

The first round saw both fighters exchange on the feet as GSP unsuccessfully worked to take Penn to the ground. Early in the second, however, St-Pierre succeeded in not only getting Penn to the canvas, but passing into side control and pounding away on Penn. After again dominating Penn on the ground in the third-round, St-Pierre poured it on in the fourth, pounding away with elbows and hammer fists that had Penn struggling to survive. Despite escaping the round, Penn’s corner had seen enough and, along with the advice of the doctor, referee Herb Dean called a stop to the contest, awarding the TKO victory to St-Pierre, who retained the UFC welterweight championship with the main event victory.

St-Pierre, who improved to 18-2 with the win, will next fight Thiago Alves, while Penn, who dropped to 13-5-1 with the loss, is likely to fight Kenny Florian next.

In the evening’s co-headliner, Lyoto Machida’s unorthodox style again proved difficult to counter as he dropped Thiago Silva twice early in the first round before putting him on the canvas with a trip takedown late in the frame. Machida pounced with only seconds remaining in the first, connecting with a perfectly-placed punch to the head that knocked Silva unconscious. A second punch sealed the knockout win as Machida delivered the impressive stoppage victory he needed to secure a likely title shot against current 205-pound title-holder Rashad Evans this summer.

Machida’s record now stands at 14-0, including six-straight wins in the UFC, while Silva’s first loss gives him a 13-1 career mark.

The two stoppage victories salvaged what was an otherwise forgettable night as the remaining eight fights all went to decision. On the main card, Jon Jones showed potential with a unanimous decision victory over Stephan Bonnar, Karo Parisyan topped Dong Hyun Kim via split decision, and Clay Guida handed Nate Diaz his first loss in the UFC with split scorecards in an entertaining opener.

Jon Fitch, Thiago Tavares, John Howard, Jake O’Brien, and Dan Cramer picked up decision victories on the UFC 94 preliminary card.

After the event, the UFC announced that Howard’s victory over Chris Wilson and Guida’s win against Diaz were the “Fights of the Night” and each of the four participants earned $65,000 “fight night” bonuses. Though deserving, the evening’s $65,000 “Knockout of the Night” award went to Machida by default, who scored the only knockout on the card with his late first-round stoppage of Silva. Because UFC 94 featured no submission stoppages, a “Submission of the Night” bonus was not awarded.

UFC 94: ST-PIERRE VS. PENN II RESULTS

• Georges St-Pierre (c) def. BJ Penn via TKO (referee’s stoppage) — Round 4, 5:00
  UFC Welterweight Championship
• Lyoto Machida def. Thiago Silva via KO (punch) — Round 1, 4:59
• Jon Jones def. Stephan Bonnar via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Karo Parisyan def. Dong Hyun Kim via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Clay Guida def. Nate Diaz via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jon Fitch def. Akihiro Gono via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Thiago Tavares def. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• John Howard def. Chris Wilson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jake O’Brien def. Christian Wellisch via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dan Cramer def. Matt Arroyo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

St-Pierre (170) and Penn (168) clash for the UFC welterweight title in the main event of UFC 94, which also boasts Lyoto Machida (206) vs. Thiago Silva (206), Karo Parisyan (170) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (171), Nate Diaz (156) vs. Clay Guida (156), and Stephan Bonnar (206) vs. Jon Jones (206) on its main card.

“I’m ready,” said Penn in his brief post-weigh-in interview. “I’ve got nothing else to say. Let’s fight. Let’s go.”

“I’ve never been so excited for a fight,” St-Pierre told interviewer and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “I’ve never wanted to win so bad. Tomorrow, don’t blink. It’s going to be an exciting fight.”

Join MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow evening for complete live coverage of UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn II, including preliminary and main card results and play-by-play.

The official UFC 94 weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD (PPV – 10pm ET)

• 170: Georges St-Pierre (c) (170) vs. BJ Penn (168)
  UFC Welterweight Championship
• 205: Lyoto Machida (206) vs. Thiago Silva (206)
• 170: Karo Parisyan (170) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (171)
• 155: Nate Diaz (156) vs. Clay Guida (156)
• 205: Stephan Bonnar (206) vs. Jon Jones (206)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Unaired)

• 170: Jon Fitch (171)vs. Akihiro Gono (171)
• 155: Manny Gamburyan (155) vs. Thiago Tavares (155)
• 170: Chris Wilson (170) vs. John Howard (171)
• 205: Jake O’Brien (205) vs. Christian Wellisch (206)
• 170: Matt Arroyo (171) vs. Dan Cramer (171)