UFC Fight Night 30 Stand Out Norman Parke
Decisions were few and far between at UFC Fight Night 30, as fighters across all weight classes were determined to go out on their shields. Sharp submissions, more than a few KOs and a strong effort across the board made this a great free show. There were a few gems on this card and a lingering distraction tonight, so take a look at where my mind was at for this event.
Alessio Sakara vs. Nico Musoke: I wasn’t familiar with Musoke going into this, and overall wasn’t wholly impressed with either guy, yet I had to watch this fight again right away. Why? Because these guys were so out of sync with each other, it was actually amazing. There are those classic striking battles where both guys have moments of sure genius with combination work, crushing each other with perfectly timed counters or evading their opponent’s best shots and making it look like child’s play. Then there’s the classic Griffin vs. Bonnar or Garcia vs. Jung kind of fight where guys are just throwing with no thought of defense. This was neither of those things, but something gloriously in-between. It’s not that either guy made mistakes really, as defensively the hands were in the right places and the head was moving as much as you’d expect, yet both men just happened to loop a hand and club the other every single time. You couldn’t have choreographed that if you tried.
Norman Parke: Parke impressed the hell out of me here, and not just because he made a stellar fighter in Jon Tuck look like a novice sparring partner. Parke has some of the best reaction speed I’ve seen in a long time, and was using a traditional martial arts skill you almost never see in MMA: Parrying. Rather than positioning arms to block a blow like the standard boxing and muay thai methods, Parke was using a reactive defense to misdirect his opponent’s punches to set up his own counters. It takes a high degree of skill to pull this off, particularly in the speedy lightweight division, and shows Parke has amazing potential in the striking department.
Luke Barnatt: I covered this a bit in my fight report for the event, but Barnatt drives me absolutely crazy with his arsenal. Having a multitude of tools in the toolbox is always nice, but when you neglect your best tools to acquire more, it becomes a detriment. The four techniques that won him this fight were the jab, the right straight, the right uppercut, and the RNC. The ones that did him no favors were the spin kick, the Japanese whizzer, the inverted mounted triangle to Americana, and all the other low percentage things he went for. Yes, the walk-off KOs that didn’t happen didn’t help the cause any, but going to your B and C list attacks to finish a wounded foe was even more of a blunder.
About the Author (Author Profile)
I'm a 20+ year veteran of martial arts and a fan of MMA since UFC 1, when my world was thrown on its head by the budding sport. I'm obsessive in the pursuit of martial abilities and have competed across the country in everything from Vale Tudo to archery to Scottish broadsword. Once my body broke down, I picked up a pen and went in the direction of writing. I specialize in betting advice, predictions, and I'm a walking encyclopedia of MMA trivia. I own a cafe in Exeter, NH called Hammersmith Sandwich Company and write out of my office between customers.Subscribe
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