Karo Parisyan vs. Josh Koscheck possible for UFC 98

Provided he gets through UFC newcomer Paulo Thiago at next week's UFC 95, Josh Koscheck may have a more difficult challenge on deck when he faces Karo Parisyan at UFC 98 in May, according to a report from Sam Caplan at Five Ounces of Pain:

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the potential matchup from a source close to Parisyan, who indicated that the UFC mainstay has already begun preparations for the bout.

Koscheck is scheduled to face undefeated Brazilian Paulo Thiago at UFC 95 in a featured bout that will be televised on Spike TV. If Koscheck is victorious then it would clear the way for the proposed fight against Parisyan to be officially added to the card for UFC 98.

Following his tense contract negotations in the wake of teammate Jon Fitch's one-day "firing", Koscheck (12-3, 10-3 UFC) made it clear that he wanted to fight as often as possible, despite his spot near the top of the UFC's welterweight division.  For this reason, Koscheck agreed to the UFC 95 fight with Paulo Thiago, an undefeated UFC newcomer.  Obviously, the UFC is assuming Koscheck will get through Thiago with relative ease if they are already scheduling his next fight, and one against a very Octagon-savvy Parisyan at that.  If the Parisyan fight does happen, it will be Koscheck's 4th fight in 7 months, with his most recent bout being a brutal knockout win over Yoshyuki Yoshida at UFC Fights for The Troops in December.

Parisyan (19-5, 9-3 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94 last month, a fight in which many believed that the W should have gone to the Korean for his active submission attempts and the dominant positions he held on Karo.  It was a sigh of relief for fans that Parisyan actually competed though, given his last-minute pull-out from a September fight with Yoshiyuki Yoshida, and his recent battles with panic attacks and other issues.  With a newfound dedication to mental well-being and a rumored training camp with Georges St. Pierre and Firas Zahabi at the Tristar Gym in Montreal, Parisyan will need to utilize all his resources to prepare for a very game and ultra-competitive Koscheck.