By Kelsey Mowatt, photo courtesy TKO Photography
On paper, Ryan Ford’s recent May 19th stoppage win over former UFC contender Karo Parisyan was likely his biggest to date, but the rising welterweight is the first to concede that his performance that night was far from his best. Utilizing his renowned judo skills, Parisyan threw Ford to the mat on several occasions and controlled more of the action to win the first two rounds. Undaunted, Ford came out aggressively in the third and blasted Parisyan in the head with a well timed knee, opening a massive cut on the American’s forehead that ended the fight.
“I would probably grade my performance a C compared to the knee at the end which I would give an A,” Ford recently told FCF. “For the first two rounds I didn’t really follow the game plan I had going in. The second round I pretty much didn’t do nothing except sit there and let him do what he wanted to do.”
“My game plan was to go in there and strike,” Ford added. “That’s not his forte; his forte is more to be in the clinch so he can get off his judo. Every time I threw a punch we would clinch and I would stay there, I wouldn’t break off, I tried to out grapple him.”
Although the first round was fairly competitive, Parisyan dominated the action in the second, and there was little doubt in Ford’s mind that he needed to stop his opponent if he was to pull out a win.
“When I fight I don’t look for it to go to the decision, I look for the finish,” said Ford, who took on Parisyan at MMA Live 1 in London, Ontario. “After the second round I asked my corner man Jesse Clarke if I was winning the fight and he said no. He said “you need to finish this fight” so my plan for the third round was to leave it all in the cage.”
The fight ending strike brought the bout to an end at 1:26 of the third round, handing Ford his third consecutive win.
“When I hit him with that knee I knew I had rocked him good because he took a few steps back,” said Ford, who now holds a pro record of 15-3. “I saw in his eyes that he was hurt.”
Parisyan’s personal struggles over the last couple of years have been well documented, and although ultimately he failed to get back on the winning track against Ford, his performance that night was certainly impressive.
“A lot of people always counted Karo out and I know he trained for that fight,” said Ford. “He looked better in this fight than his last few fights. It’s unfortunate that not too many people were able to see it but I know they’re going to be putting up the video so that people can see how Karo performed.”
Up next, Ford will take on fellow Canadian Nick Hinchliffe at Aggression MMA’s upcoming June 10th event in Edmonton, Alberta.
“I think he’s a good fighter,” Ford said about Hinchliffe (18-7), who has fought several notable Canadian competitors including Kalib Starnes, Travis Galbraith and Rory MacDonald. “I think he’s good in everything but he’s not the best at anything. He’s a guy that likes to stand there and bang, brawl, he’s a tough guy. He’s always game and loves to throw bombs, so he’s a dangerous guy for anyone to fight.”
With a win over Parisyan now added to his resume, it will be interesting to see what may come Ford’s way, provided he can defeat Hinchliffe on June 10th.
“Obviously the goal for any fighter is to get in the UFC,” said Ford, who informed FCF he plans on training at the renowned Kings MMA facility in Huntington Beach, California in the nearby future. “Right now I’m just doing what I got to do to take care of my family. I love fighting, I love the challenge of getting in there and fighting guys...God has a path for me and wherever it leads me I’m going to follow.”
