Two TUF champions set to face off in Brazil

Norman Parke set to meet Leonardo Santos at UFC Fight Night 38

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

‘Stormin’ has become one of the most fitting fighter nicknames in the UFC, with Norman Parke (19-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on a nine fight streak.

Reports from Brazilian site MMA Informativo indicate that Parke’s next match-up will take place at UFC Fight Night 38 against fellow TUF winner Leonardo Santos (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC). The main event for this fight card is scheduled to be the second meeting of Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua, a rematch of what is considered to be one of the greatest bouts in MMA history.

Since winning The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes series with a decision victory over self-proclaimed oddball Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher, Parke has added a further two decision wins to his record over Kazuki Tokudome and Jon Tuck. Though he is yet to pick up that important first UFC stoppage, Parke has distinguished himself with his crisp, technical kickboxing skills and super-human cardio. Indeed, in his last outing against knockout artist Jon Tuck, Parke’s cardio advantage was what allowed him to outwork Tuck on the feet enroute to getting the nod from the judges.
Parke’s next challenge comes in the shape of TUF: Brazil 2 winner Leonardo Santos. Santos is easily the most talented grappler to have crossed Parke’s path; of the Brazilian’s 12 wins, a whopping eight have come by submission. Santos became the TUF winner with a highly skilled arm-triangle victory over William Macario on UFC on FUEL 10: Nogueira vs Werdum. This was that card you may remember from last year which broke records for having the most wins coming by submission; eight out of 12 fights ended with the loser tapping, the same as Santos’ submission record – weird…
This fight looks to be the classic grappler versus striker affair. It will be a tall order for Santos’ first UFC fight as the TUF champion to be facing Parke who is already on a roll in the Octagon. However, the notorious home-field advantage of fighting in Brazil is likely to give Santos an edge. Moreover, Santos fought in the TUF Brazil 2 tournament at Welterweight but has since made the drop to his more natural Lightweight – this drop in division may well translate into a strength advantage. This match is certain to be highly competitive.
This clash of TUF champs looks to be an intriguing, well-balanced matchup. Over here at Kingdom MMA we’ll be backing Norman to keep Stormin and get the job done in Brazil.