Born and raised in Bushmills, Northern Ireland, Parke began training in Judo at the age of 16. He went on to be a National Champion in Judo as well as Freestyle Wrestling in 2009–2010 and 2011–2012.[2][3][4] Later, after he also began training in boxing, Parke transitioned into mixed martial arts at the age of 20.[5]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Before signing with the UFC, Parke compiled a record of 16–2, with 12 of his victories coming via submission. Parke's losses were against the veteran Greg Loughran and the then-undefeated Joseph Duffy.[6]
Parke was introduced to the masses and given his first televised fight by Cage Contender on 24 July 2010, going on to fight for the promotion more times than anywhere else. In his last fight under the Cage Contender banner, Parke claimed the vacant Cage Contender Lightweight Championship.
After going 14–2, Parke signed to face Anton Kuivanen at Fight Festival 29, in what would have been his first fight outside Ireland and the United Kingdom.[7] However, the fight did not materialise and Kuivanen fought another fighter on the card. After a further victory domestically, Parke signed with Cage Warriors to face Brad Wheeler in February 2012. However, Parke withdrew after a hand injury.[8] Parke returned in May 2012, where he defeated Stephen Coll via TKO, in what turned out to be his final appearance before joining The Ultimate Fighter.[6]
The Ultimate Fighter
In late 2012, Parke signed to be a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes - a regional version of the Ultimate Fighter series, which pitted Australian fighters against British fighters.[9] Parke competed in the lightweight division and his first opponent in the show was Richie Vaculik, who currently competes at flyweight.[10] Parke was able to hit Vaculik on the ground with elbows; one of which cut Vaculik on the top of his head. Parke was able to take Vaculik down again in the second round and controlled the fight from half-guard.[10] Parke defeated Vaculik via unanimous decision to move onto the semi-final round.[10]
In the semi-final round, Parke was matched up against fellow Team UK fighter Brendan Loughnane. Parke won the fight via unanimous decision and moved onto the finals which took place live on UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson.[11]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Parke made his UFC debut on 15 December 2012 at UFC on FX 6 which was also known as "The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Finale". Parke would fight Colin Fletcher to determine the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. Parke controlled the entirety of the fight and won the fight via unanimous decision.[12]
Parke was expected to face Jon Tuck on 20 April 2013 at UFC on Fox 7.[13] However, the bout was scrapped during the week leading up to the event as Tuck was forced out of the bout with an injury.[14]
Parke was expected to face Diego Sanchez on 15 November 2014 at UFC 180.[23] However, Parke pulled out of the bout in early October citing a knee injury and was replaced by Joe Lauzon.[24]
Parke was expected to face Jorge Masvidal on 18 January 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59.[25] However, in early December, Masvidal pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Gleison Tibau.[26] Parke lost the fight via split decision.[27]
Following the loss to Khabilov, Parke was released by the UFC.[35]
Absolute Championship Berkut
Parke faced Andrew Fisher on 1 October 2016 at ACB 47: Braveheart.[36] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[37]
BAMMA
On 24 February 2017, Parke made his debut for the BAMMA organization. He faced Paul Redmond at BAMMA 28 for the vacant BAMMA Lightweight championship. Parke went on to win the fight by majority decision, but was not eligible to claim the championship due to a weight miss.[38]
Parke rematched Mateusz Gamrot at KSW 40: Dublin on 22 October 2017.[41] After the bout was stopped due to eye pokes that left Parke unable to continue, Parke shoved Gamrot's cornerman, Borys Mankowski, which resulted in Marcin Bilman, another professional fighter who was in the champion's corner, responded by landing a punch on Parke. Gamrot was subsequently fined 30% of his purse and Bilman has been handed a two-year ban from KSW events.[42]
After a few bouts in the KSW and Brave CF, it was announced on 14 July 2018 that Parke had signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator.[43] Despite the contract with Bellator, Parke faced former KSW Welterweight Champion Borys Mankowski at KSW 47 on 23 March 2019 and won the bout via unanimous decision.[44] Both fighters were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus award.[45]
After defeating the former KSW Featherweight Champion Artur Sowiński via unanimous decision at KSW 49: Soldić vs. Kaszubowski, Parke was expected to face Marian Ziółkowski for the interim KSW Lightweight Championship at KSW 50 on 14 September 2019.[46] However, Ziółkowski was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by former KSW Featherweight Champion Marcin Wrzosek.[47] Parke won the fight by split decision.[48]
Parke faced Mateusz Gamrot in a trilogy bout at KSW 53 on 11 July 2020. The bout was expected to be the Lightweight Championship unification bout, but Parke was unable to make weight thus the title is not on the line.[49] Parke lost the fight via doctor stoppage in the third round.[50]
Regional circuit
On 28 February, during the Second Press Conference before Fame 9, a boxing fight between Norman Parke and a former amateur boxer, Polish championship medalist Kasjusz "Don Kasjo" Życiński was announced.[51]
On 26 March 2022 Parke faced rapper Popek at Fame 13. He won after Popek broke his hand less than a minute into the bout and was unable to continue.[52]
Parke faced Grzegorz Szulakowski on 9 July 2022 at Prime Show MMA 2, winning the bout via unanimous decision.[53]
Parke was scheduled to fight Adam Okniński at Prime Show MMA 4 on 26 November 2022, but withdrew from the bout after a contract dispute with the organization.[54]
As the sole bout of his contract with Hexagone, Parke faced Alfredo Souza on 11 March 2023 at Hexagone MMA 7, winning the bout via unanimous decision.[55][54]
Coming in as a late replacement, Parke faced Michał Pasternak at Fame 20 on 11 February 2024, winning the bout via unanimous decision.[56]
