Parke reading for Brazilian battle

Bushmills MMA fighter Norman Park is in Brazil ready for this weekend’s fight against Francisco Trinaldo at the Goinia Arena.

Last year Parke fought Leonardo Santos in Brazil and was handed a draw, a decision he was aggrieved about and he doesn’t intend to give the judges the opportunity to deny him on this visit.

“Francisco Trinaldo is a good fighter. He is a Ju Jitsu brown belt and also a Brazilian kick boxing champion.

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“He will definitely be a tough test and I will need to be on top of my game to make sure I put him away. I don’t want to let it go to the judges at all because in Brazil they will rob you.

“My focus is to go there, get in, get the job done as quick as possible and come home with the win.”

Trinaldo wasn’t Parke’s original opponent. The lightweight fighter was due to face Gilbert Burns until an undisclosed injured forced Burns to withdraw, with Trinaldo stepping up on the back of a two-fight winning streak with unanimous decision victories over Leandro Silva and Akbarh Arreola.

“I wanted to fight Burns,” explained the Bushmills man. “I thought it would be a good fight, so I said let’s make it happen in Brazil. So we made the fight then next thing he is apparently injured.

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“We’ve now got this new fight in front of us and I actually think Trinaldo is a lot tougher fight to be honest. That will make it even better for me when I win the fight.”

28-year old Parke had his recent five-fight unbeaten UFC streak snapped by a split decision against Gleison Tibau in January and he is determined to get back to winning ways. He has been training hard in preparation for this fight at The Next Generation Gym, Coleraine. “I’m more than ready for this fight, preparation has been going well.

“He’s (Trinaldo) very aggressive, he likes to come forward and throw that left hand. That’s something you’ve got to be aware of, he’s confident he can knock people out with that left and I can see that. Sometimes he can get overaggressive and that leaves him open for takedowns, that could play right into my game. If he does that to me I’ll just do a quick level change and take him down. I would love to go in there and completely destroy him.” he added.

Norman Parke and Trinaldo will square off on the main card of UFC Fight Night 67 on May 30.

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