Yoshida disappointed after cancelled UFC 88 bout

After an impressive win in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, Japanese Judoka Yoshiyuki Yoshida was ready to make a big advance in the welterweight division by facing perennial contender Karo Parisyan.

But with just over 24 hours to go until their scheduled fight, Parisyan fell out of the fight with a reported back injury and just like that Yoshida had to watch UFC 88 as a fan instead of as a fighter.

Before the fight, Yoshida spoke to MMAWeekly.com about his anticipation for the showdown with Parisyan at UFC 88.

"I'm aware of the fact that this is the biggest chance for me in my career, so to capitalize on this opportunity I'm going to have to come up with a positive result," Yoshida commented. "So I want to make sure I win this fight."

Following UFC 88, President Dana White addressed the situation surrounding the fight cancellation, including the great number of media members in from Japan to cover Yoshida.

"There were a lot of Japanese media that came out for him," said White. "These things happen in the fight business. Karo got hurt, nothing you can do. It's unfortunate; it sucks.

"Both of them trained this whole time, come out here the whole week of the fight, and the day before the weigh-ins, somebody gets hurt."

While nothing has been officially confirmed by the UFC, it is believed that at least Yoshida received his contractual pay from the fight, but it is unknown about win bonus money or sponsorships potentially lost from the canceled fight.

First indications out of Yoshida's camp are that they have asked for a spot on the Nov. 15 fight card at UFC 91 in Las Vegas, which will give the Japanese fighter plenty of time to go home and basically wind down from this last camp and get ready for another fight instead.

The severity of Parisyan's back injury has not been reported yet, but it sounds as if Yoshida will be requesting a different opponent if he is able to get on a fight card coming up soon.