Norman Parke attempts to advance his position from Paul Redmond's guard. Presseye / Matt Mackey/INPHO Presseye / Matt Mackey/INPHO / Matt Mackey/INPHO

NORMAN PARKE EMERGED victorious from tonight’s meeting of two former UFC fighters at the SSE Arena in Belfast.

After both fighters had been cut by the UFC inside the last 18 months, Antrim’s Parke headlined BAMMA 28 against Dubliner Paul Redmond.

On the Bellator 173 portion of the co-promoted card, James Gallagher defeated Kirill Medvedovsky to keep his unblemished record intact, although his Straight Blast Gym team-mate Sinead Kavanagh suffered the first loss of her professional career at the hands of Iony Razafiarison.

The meeting of Parke and Redmond was due to be for the BAMMA lightweight title, although only Redmond was ultimately eligible to win the vacant belt after Parke missed weight yesterday.

Parke scored takedowns to edge the opening two rounds. Redmond came on strong in the third and final frame but it wasn’t enough to secure the victory, as the Bushmills native was awarded a majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28).

Parke’s team-mate, Andy Young, also picked up a big win. Young stopped highly-touted Englishman Dominique Wooding with a third-round rear-naked choke to win the interim BAMMA flyweight title.

Damien Lapilus got the better of Ronnie Mann over the distance to win the BAMMA featherweight title, but there was disappointment for Ballymena’s Rhys McKee, who lost his undefeated record and the BAMMA Lonsdale lightweight strap after being TKO’d by Tim Barnett.

Later on in the evening, Sinead Kavanagh was comprehensively defeated by Iony Razafiarison, but James Gallagher improved SBG’s fortunes by easing to a submission (rear-naked choke) win over Israeli opponent Kirill Medvedovsky, with his third win in as many fights for Bellator taking his ledger to 6-0.

In the Bellator 173 main event, Liam McGeary defeated Brett McDermott after the fight was stopped by the doctor in the second round due to swelling around McDermott’s eye.

James Gallagher celebrates his win. Matt Mackey / Presseye Matt Mackey / Presseye / Presseye

Bellator 173

• Liam McGeary vs. Brett McDermott via TKO (doctor stoppage) after 1:06 of the second round
• James Gallagher def. Kirill Medvedovsky via submission (rear-naked choke) after 2:53 of the first round
• Iony Razafiarison def. Sinead Kavanagh via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)
• Alex Lohore def. Colin Fletcher via submission (rear-naked choke) after 2:42 of the second round
• Shay Walsh def. James McErlean via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

BAMMA 28

• Norman Parke def. Paul Redmond via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
• Andy Young def. Dominique Wooding via submission (rear-naked choke) after 3:07 of the third round
• Damien Lapilus def. Ronnie Mann via unanimous decision (29-27 29-27 29-28)
• Tim Barnett def. Rhys McKee via TKO (knee) after 4:58 of the first round
• Jonathan Brookins def. Decky Dalton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Daniel Olejniczak def. Jonathan Reid via TKO (punches) after 1:47 of the first round
• Daniel Rutkowski def. Niall Smith via TKO (punches) after 2:16 of the third round
• Paul Hughes def. Adam Gustab via TKO (punches) after 1:32 of the first round
• Will Fleury def. Kyle McClurkin via TKO (punches) after 2:49 of the first round
• Andrew Murphy def. Stephen Kilifin via TKO (punches) after 4:58 of the first round
• Keith McCabe def. Glenn Irvine via submission (heel hook) after 0:39 of the first round

‘I’ve heard it said by a few English players that some of them felt uneasy before kick-off’

O’Donoghue returns to the Kerry attack while Maher and Sheehan make squad for the first time in 2017