THEY’LL BOTH BE competing this weekend at UFC Fight Night 76, but the relationship between Joe Duffy and Norman Parke goes back five years.
Parke will face Reza Madadi this Saturday night at Dublin’s 3Arena, while Duffy features in the main event against Dustin Poirier.
Before either of them registered on the radar of the UFC, Duffy and Parke collided in March 2010 in Newport, Wales.
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Duffy, who hails from Donegal, emerged victorious via first-round rear-naked choke against Parke, but the pair have remained friendly ever since.
Ahead of this weekend’s event, we asked Parke if a rematch with Duffy is something he’s aiming for at some point in the future. The Antrim native insists that big fights are always on his agenda, but avenging previous losses is not an incentive.
“That fight was my first cut down to lightweight — I think it was the same for Joe — so that was new for me at the time, and going into the fight my warm-up was terrible. I felt like shit and I was actually going to pull out of the fight on the day,” Parke said.
“For the first time in my life — even though I had won 10-in-a-row at that stage — I went into a fight thinking I was going to lose.
“For me, I’d never like to rematch someone for the sake of revenge or anything like that. I’d only like to rematch someone if it happens to be that the person is someone I need to beat in order to move forward.
UFC lightweight Norman Parke. AP Photo / Gregory Payan
AP Photo / Gregory Payan / Gregory Payan
“I did say to him back then that I’d love to fight you one more time, and he goes: ‘We’ll both be in the UFC one day and we’ll fight there’, and I laughed. But I never look that far ahead. The only thing I’m focused on at the minute is getting the job done against Reza Madadi.”
Parke is also backing Duffy to overcome Dustin Poirier in Saturday’s headliner: “It’s a tough fight to call but I’m going for Duffy. Probably by decision, but then again I know Poirier is a bit weak around the chin and Duffy has good striking. Duffy is very, very good on the ground too, and he’s always relaxed, so I feel Duffy has the edge.”
What are Norman Parke's views on a potential rematch with Joe Duffy?
THEY’LL BOTH BE competing this weekend at UFC Fight Night 76, but the relationship between Joe Duffy and Norman Parke goes back five years.
Parke will face Reza Madadi this Saturday night at Dublin’s 3Arena, while Duffy features in the main event against Dustin Poirier.
Before either of them registered on the radar of the UFC, Duffy and Parke collided in March 2010 in Newport, Wales.
Duffy, who hails from Donegal, emerged victorious via first-round rear-naked choke against Parke, but the pair have remained friendly ever since.
Ahead of this weekend’s event, we asked Parke if a rematch with Duffy is something he’s aiming for at some point in the future. The Antrim native insists that big fights are always on his agenda, but avenging previous losses is not an incentive.
“That fight was my first cut down to lightweight — I think it was the same for Joe — so that was new for me at the time, and going into the fight my warm-up was terrible. I felt like shit and I was actually going to pull out of the fight on the day,” Parke said.
“For the first time in my life — even though I had won 10-in-a-row at that stage — I went into a fight thinking I was going to lose.
“For me, I’d never like to rematch someone for the sake of revenge or anything like that. I’d only like to rematch someone if it happens to be that the person is someone I need to beat in order to move forward.
“I did say to him back then that I’d love to fight you one more time, and he goes: ‘We’ll both be in the UFC one day and we’ll fight there’, and I laughed. But I never look that far ahead. The only thing I’m focused on at the minute is getting the job done against Reza Madadi.”
Parke is also backing Duffy to overcome Dustin Poirier in Saturday’s headliner: “It’s a tough fight to call but I’m going for Duffy. Probably by decision, but then again I know Poirier is a bit weak around the chin and Duffy has good striking. Duffy is very, very good on the ground too, and he’s always relaxed, so I feel Duffy has the edge.”
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Former Foes Joe Duffy mixed martial arts MMA Norman Parke UFC UFC Dublin UFC Fight Night 76 Ultimate Fighting Championship