Lorenzo Parente wants to prove Jay Aspinwall is ‘just not on my level’ when the two meet at PFL Glasgow.
The Lightweight contest was officially confirmed by the PFL yesterday (July 18), with both men set to put their perfect professional records on the line at the OVO Hydro on September 28.
The 23-year-old signed with the promotion, alongside teammates Kunle Lawal and Gemma Auld, earlier this year. Parente expressed his delight in signing with the promotion and is raring to get started. He said:
“Signing with the PFL really is a dream come true, for me.
“It’s been a long journey to get here and there’s been a lot of hard work so to finally be here, and finally have my debut, I really am over the moon but I’m not surprised. I always knew that I would get here, I always believed in the work that I put in would get me here so, I can’t wait to get started and really make a name for myself in the promotion.”
In his promotional debut, the Scotsman will face fellow new signing, Jay Aspinwall. The two have previously met, when they squared off in the amateurs back in 2020.
“It’s an interesting one. It’s interesting for the fans, with it obviously being a rematch with us fighting in the amateurs, it’s interesting. I do believe there are levels to this game and he is just not on my level. I proved that in the first fight and I’ll look to prove it again.”
Although a rematch, several elements of the contest will be different due the pair now competing at a professional level. Two of the biggest factors Parente is welcoming ahead of the showdown are the longer rounds and the smaller gloves.
“With it being with the 4oz gloves, the 5 minute rounds, I feel like it’ll favour me massively. First off, I believe the longer rounds will benefit me because in the first fight, he couldn’t keep up with the pace I was putting on him so I feel like the longer rounds will definitely benefit me more. With the smaller gloves, I’ll be able to do a lot more damage in the dominant positions.”
The Glasgow card will see the 2024 PFL European Championship semi-finals take place and feature some Scottish MMA legends in showcase bouts. In the main event, Stevie Ray will return to the Smart Cage to face Welsh veteran Lewis Long in a Welterweight clash. Robert Whiteford will make up one half of the co-main event when he squares off against Roger Huerta.
