Ivan Salaverry, you remember him right? The Canadian who scored some pretty impressive victories in the UFC against Joe “Diesel” Riggs and Tony Fryklund. The same guy who almost broke Tony Fryklund’s back in a submission at UFC 50.

My question is, what happened to him? Where has he been. Salaverry lost a very close decision to Nathan Marquardt during an Ultimate Fight night in August of 2005. Personally, I think that fight could have gone either way. Where has Ivan been and why hasn’t he fought again in the UFC since then? This is a guy who should be near the top of the contender list in the Middleweight division. Next to Jeremy Horn, Evan Tanner, and Marquardt, Ivan should be number four in that division. Why hasn’t he fought since August? Salaverry is Canadian, so why didn’t he match up against Mike Swick at UFC 58?

Karo Parisyan, you remember him right? Widely considered one of the best Welterweights in MMA today. What happened to him? Karo was supposed to face Matt Hughes for the Welterweight belt at UFC 56 but had to drop out due to injury. He hasn’t fought since then.

Karo is currently scheduled to return to the octagon at UFC 59 against Nick Thompson. Nick Thompson? Karo went from being the number one contender with a title shot to fighting Nick Thompson. Granted B.J. Penn has returned and Georges St. Pierre is plowing through the welterweight division, but Karo still has to be considered in that group. Parisyan has won eight of his last nine fights, with his only loss coming against St. Pierre at UFC 46 way back in January of 2004. Karo needs this victory and I would like to see him take on B.J. Penn next if he does. The UFC needs a strong opponent for Penn’s next fight since he won’t be fighting Hughes.

Both Salaverry and Parisyan are two very good MMA fighters who deserve to be getting decent opportunities in the UFC.