Down but Not Out: An Interview With Norman Parke

This time last year UFC lightweight 'Stormin' Norman' Parke was 4-0-1 within the biggest MMA organization in the world. The Bushmills, Northern Ireland man had also taken out two more competitors on route to being crowned The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes champion in December 2012, but just when he was poised to enter the fray at the top of the 155 lbs, 2015 hit him hard.

A win over Gleison Tibau might have propelled Parke into the top 15 of the division, but the Brazilian stalwart proved a frustrating challenge in Boston back in January. The three round bout ended in a split-decision win for Tibau, and although the contest wasn't the most enthralling Parke proved that he was well able to handle himself against one of the mainstays at the top of the 155 lbs bracket.

A lot of people thought Parke was hard done by after coming up on the wrong side of another split decision against Francisco Trinaldo in May. Again, it was small margins that won the Brazilian the bout in front of his countrymen, but records never reveal how close competitors can come to taking a victory. In one year, Parke has gone from breaking into the rankings to dropping two fights on the bounce—an all too familiar situation given the nature of his sport.

However, the Next Generation Northern Ireland man is not feeling sorry for himself. In fact, he believes that some positives can come out of him no longer having to protect his unbeaten run with UFC.

"Before when I was undefeated in the UFC, I felt like I was protecting my record," explained Parke. "That was the whole plan in my head, to never lose. When I look back on them fights now, the people who know me, the people who train with me, they know that I could have done a lot better back then.

"Don't get me wrong Trinaldo was tough and so was Tibau. The one against Trinaldo, that definitely wasn't the performance I was looking for. I wouldn't have minded if I had put on the performance that I wanted to and then came up short. I know I'm far better than what I showed that night, and so do all the people that are close to me. I've had to accept that it happened but don't get me wrong it sucked. Two split decision defeats back to back are tough to take."

The Trinaldo fight wasn't the first time people felt Parke deserved to win a fight against a Brazilian on their home soil. Back when he met Leonardo Santos in March 2014, Parke was deducted a point by Brazilian referee Wernei Cardoso for grabbing the shorts of Santos despite no prior warning been giving to him.

To add to his frustration, it appeared as though Santos grabbed the cage on two occasions to stop the takedowns of Parke, but his fouls went unpunished by the referee. Some might think the Northern Irish fighter could have grounds to complain about his current situation, but Parke maintained that he has no chip on his shoulder ahead of his UFC Dublin contest with Reza Madadi.

"No way am I going into this fight thinking I was robbed," he claimed. "That's not going to help me prepare and perform any better, you know? Initially after the fight I thought that, but you always think the best of yourself straight afterward. When I watched the Trinaldo back I thought if this was in Dublin I probably would've got the nod, but that's just the way it is.

"I'm not going to lie to you, after one round I felt like I was totally gassed. If you watch the fight back it doesn't look like I'm completely gassed, I might seem a bit sloppy, but I was completely burnt out. I couldn't even throw a punch, my corner were asking me for certain shots and I just couldn't do it. He came out a lot more aggressive in the second, he got off a lot more in that round."

Parke has expressed his belief that his Dublin date with Madadi could be his last with UFC if he fails to get a victory on October 24, but stated that the stipulation has changed nothing about his preparation for the bout. As far as he is concerned, no one can come over and beat him on his home turf and 'Mad Dog' Madadi will not be an exception.

"I don't know if the fact that it could be my last fight gives me an extra motivation. It's easy to say all of those things before the fight, but it's business as usual over here. I'm treating this the exact same way I treated the other fights. The only difference is that there could be a possibility, depending on how things go, that I could get cut after this fight.

"I just keep telling myself that no one is going to come over and beat me on my home turf, I just have that in the back of my mind the whole time. There are a lot of people saying that I'm going to be cut, but to be honest, those people know nothing. These people just watch the sport, they don't train the sport so they don't know anything. They see what they see on the TV, they don't see the training and what it takes.

"I'm completely motivated to take this guy out. I feel like I'll finish him. I've finished everyone when I've been fighting at home so I don't think he will be any different. There's nothing he brings to the table that I have never seen before. It's all about who can do it on the night and who can deal with the pressure on the night, I know I'm well able."