Issue 100
April 2013
How Northern Ireland’s TUF: The Smashes champion, Norman Parke, became more famous than whiskey
Alias: Stormin’
Age: 26
Pro debut: 2006
Pro record: 17-2
Team: NEXT GENERATION
Division: Lightweight
Height: five-foot-ten
Style: GRAPPLER
For 400 years, Bushmills in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, has been famous for supplying the world with whiskey. In 2013 the town branched out to offer something with even more punch.
By winning the Australia vs UK Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes series in December, 26-year-old Norman Parke received a golden ticket into the UFC. His journey to victory in Australia began during the summer of 2012, but his road to the UFC started back when he was 16.
“When I was about 16 I got bored with football,” says Norman, who played to a high level in school. “I was just hanging around the streets with the wrong crowd. Then the judo club opened and I started training. It didn’t change me straight away but it definitely had a huge influence on the direction of my life.”
In the mid 2000s MMA was still in its infancy in Ireland, but there were a small number of gyms and promotions that catered to martial artists looking to cross over into the sport.
“After I got my judo black belt and won competitions all over Ireland I took a few semi-pro MMA fights. After a year or so I was offered a pro fight (March 2006). I had no idea who I was fighting but it turned out to be Greg Loughran who’d had about 15 or 16 MMA fights by then.
“I did alright early on, but lost. After the fight, Greg’s coach, Davie Patterson, asked if I wanted to train MMA at his gym (Elite Fighting Revolution) and that was the beginning.”
Having debuted at just 19, against a more experienced opponent, Norman realized how much work was required to make the grade in MMA. Not discouraged by the loss, he took time to broaden his skill-set and become a well-rounded mixed martial artist.
“I took a few years out to train and work on my striking. I had around 30 amateur boxing fights and did some wrestling competitions as well. I got offered a rematch with Brian Kerr (May 2008), who’d beaten me and broken my eye socket before in a semi-pro fight. I won that and went on a 10-fight win streak.”
As MMA started to take root in Ireland, so did Norman’s reputation. During his win streak, he beat all comers; moving his role from prospect to champion in the Irish lightweight division. But his first loss since his debut was the catalyst for change.
“Rodney Moore used to come out to Davie’s gym and train. After I lost to Joe Duffy (March 2010), Rod asked me if I wanted to train with him at Next Generation in Ballymena, which was much closer to where I lived.
“Rod knew how I trained and started giving me more one-on-one attention. He started to tell me that I could make a real go of an MMA career if I wanted it.”
Clearly, he did. Since that last loss to Joe Duffy, he’s won the Cage Contender lightweight title and compiled an impressive 17-2 record to go with his TUF series win.
His route to the six-figure UFC contract was by no means straightforward, though. Prior to his application for the show, his management, KO Dynasty, had arranged a fight in Las Vegas only for it to be canceled. But Norman stayed on in Sin City and picked up training at Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu when he received an email about the TUF auditions. After touching down in Belfast en route home, he was immediately booked on a flight to London by his fiancée, Amanda, for a detour to the TUF auditions the very next day.
The weeks went by with no word as to whether he’d made the cut, when, out of the blue, he received a call on a Friday to say he’d be flying to Australia the following Wednesday. Despite no real preparation in the bank, he knew he couldn’t pass up the chance to enter the TUF house.
Once in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast, he battled nerves and flu-like symptoms to beat Ritchie Vas, before beating Brendan Loughnane to return to civilization with a slot in the TUF final. Though he had built a strong friendship with fellow finalist Colin Fletcher, he left that all behind once he reached the Octagon.
“I looked over at Colin and he was giving me his mean grin and I just thought, ‘Right, f**k everything. I’m doing this.’ We touched gloves and that was it; I was in there to fight and win.”
With his hand raised and a six-figure contract secured Parke is happy to fight in London or Las Vegas, at either lightweight or welterweight. Like always, he’s just waiting for the call.
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