Karo Speaks; My Reaction To Karo’s Recent Interview
Karo Speaks-photo from www.combatlifestyle.com by Tracy Lee
I was furious when Karo pulled out of his bout with Dustin Hazelett. He was one of those fighters I really admired, and he tumbled really far after the suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. He finally took an interview with Josh Gross on his podcast Gross Point Blank ( http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/podcasts/josh_gross/ ) to explain himself. I encourage you to not only listen to this podcast, but all of his. They are top shelf.
Karo seemed to have a sense of entitlement to me. As though the MMA world is suppose to hand him another opportunity to prove himself. Part of me wanted to jump on here to blog, and rail Karo for being such an asshole. Guys spend years to get one of the few positions (when you think about it) the UFC has in any weight division. Here Karo was floundering in one those positions, and repeatedly disrespecting the sport in general.
Karo did eventually say something I hope he sticks to. He said “im going to shut up until my next fight.” His plan is to get healthy and fight as soon as possible.
I hope Karo does get healthy. His uchimattas will be missed in the octagon. However, I do not hope Karo comes back anytime soon. He has REAL issues that require REAL medical attention and care. I hope he figures out away to focus on him for a long while, gets healthy, and gets back in the gym. I think if Karo rushes this it will be a huge career ending mistake. Karo needs a little “Me” time.
Some of Karo’s friends say its an issue with pain pills (Randy Couture for one.) Karo says its an anxiety issue. None of these problems can be treated over night. There is no quick fix to either of those. I hope he has learned he can not handle this one by himself. It is larger than him right now. Karo needs to find away to get into some sort of program for either of these issues, and I was encouraged to here he would be seeking treatment soon. I really hope he does, and I really hope he takes it seriously. Karo has the heart of a lion, and I hope it comes out to deal with his problems. I just feel it could be a disaster if he comes back to soon. I think Karo should focus on his school, and developing other fighters while he sorts himself out. I am also pretty sure he can depend on the MMA community which always seems to rally behind people who are in Karo’s position.
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