Norman Parke eyes UFC rankings spot ahead of Masvidal test

Ever since Stormin’ Norman Parke won his place in the UFC’s books after beating Colin Fletcher at the finale of TUF: The Smashes in December 2012 he’s had one goal – to establish himself in the promotion’s top 15 rankings.

After claiming his first finish under the UFC banner in the second round of his Dublin bout with Naoyuki Kotani, the Antrim man made it clear who he wanted face next as he called out a former championship contender in his post-fight interview.

When his wish was granted in the shape of a bout with Diego Sanchez at UFC 180, Parke knew a win would at least put him in the conversation for a spot in the rankings. Although Sanchez was well passed his best, his name still garnered a lot of respect.

However, when the Next Generation Northern Ireland lightweight had to withdraw from the contest, he was slightly unsure whether he would get matched with an opponent that could propel him into the rankings. Now matched with number 13 ranked Jorge Masvidal for UFC’s Boston return on January 18, Parke couldn’t be happier.

“There was that initial thought that maybe the injury could lose me some momentum,” said Parke. “Then I thought to myself, I got injured so how could that be used as an excuse to give me someone lower in the rankings that Diego Sanchez?

“I kind of thought about it then and focused on the fact that I’m still undefeated in UFC, I knew then that they’d give me someone that would test me. Joe Silva emailed me a few names on and said pick the top three. There was only one I wanted and that was Jorge Masvidal. He was the highest ranked out of all of them. That matchup would give me the chance to get amongst the UFC rankings.”

Masvidal style has proven a tough puzzle for a lot of top ranked lightweights to figure out. The grinding grappling style of Healy came up short. Avoiding a scare after being dropped in the first round of his bout with Daron Cruickshank, Masvidal’s slick striking came up trumps as he won a unanimous decision against ‘The Detroit Superstar’ back in July.

Although many have struggled with ‘Gamebred’ who has only suffered defeat once in his seven UFC outings, Parke is confident that his dynamic mixture of grappling and striking will overwhelm his Boston counterpart.

Parke said: “I think to way to beat him is to keep him guessing at all times. I watched his other fights. His opponents were getting tagged right, left and centre. Not once did they step back and think about changing it up. They just stayed the same and got their asses whooped.

“It’ll be a different story when he faces someone like me. I know how to switch up my game plan if things aren’t working out. I believe I’ve got the style to beat this guy no problem. I know he finds it awkward against southpaws – he’s just standing there waiting to get hit a lot of the time. I know his striking is really good – he’s an unbelievable fighter but I believe I can beat him no problem.”

Boasting a five fight unbeaten streak with the promotion (4-0-1), Parke is confident that a win over Masvidal will elevate him into UFC’s 155lbs hierarchy.

“Without a doubt I’ll be in the top 15 if I win this fight. I believe when I beat him, it’s only right that I jump up into the mix. It happened with some other guys – Bobby Green when he beat Josh Thompson. He just jumped right in there. Masvidal is ranked 13, so if I beat him I think I should be number 13,” he said.

Finally, Parke promised that he has new weapons in his arsenal that he will look to showcase when he meets Masvidal on the Td Garden:

“I’m gonna come out and try some new stuff. I want to beat this guy everywhere, I don’t want this guy to touch me at all. That’s my game plan, to not let this guy touch me. I don’t want him to put any damage on me and I want to put him away. If the finish is there I will take it.

“I want to be step ahead at all times, I want to keep him guessing and let my natural ability shine through. If the going gets tough, I’ll throw down, I know I have that inside me so if we go there, I’m ready.”

@PetesyCarroll