UFC Fight Night 30's Norman Parke ready to break 'rut' against Jon Tuck

MANCHESTER – Norman Parke thinks he’s in a rut.

He’s won eight straight fights, not including his fights on the U.K. vs. Australia edition of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which he won at lightweight against Colin Fletcher. He’s got two fairly convincing wins in his first two official UFC fights.

So a rut? It seems like a bit of a stretch. No doubt, many fighters would be happy to win “TUF” and start their UFC careers 2-0. But Parke (18-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who on Saturday fights Jon Tuck (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the main card of UFC Fight Night 30, hasn’t been finishing his opponents since he got on “TUF.” And that bothers him.

“Sometimes you get in a little rut,” Parke told MMAjunkie.com. “I do what I do, but it would be great to get back to finishing – that’s the way I did it from the start. As you see in my career, my first 15 or 16 fights were finishes. But I’m going to be looking for a finish on Saturday night, get that ball rolling again and get people talking about you.”

In fact, Parke started his career 14-2 with all 14 wins by stoppage, and he’ll be looking for a finish against Tuck at UFC Fight Night 30, which takes place at Phones4u Arena in Manchester, England. The main card air on FOX Sports 2 following prelims on MMAjunkie.com.

But after a little coaxing, Parke admitted “rut” might not be the perfect word for what he’s been doing of late.

“I’ll say it’s a good rut – it’s not a bad rut,” the Northern Ireland native said. “This is a good rut – I’m still getting results, but I’d like to think I’m exciting enough that people still want to pay for that ticket to watch me fight, win or lose. But I want a finish and a nice bonus.”

Parke said it’s not so much the quality of competition going up that has kept him from getting some finishes. But he did admit those infamous octagon jitters may have played a little bit of a part.

Still, he had submission attempts against both Colin Fletcher and Kazuki Tokudome, and wound up getting at least one 30-27 score against each of them. So he certainly hasn’t been performing poorly to get those victories.

“I think it’s more you’re fighting on the big stage, and you’ve got more nerves there,” Parke said. “So you’re maybe a bit more cautious. But I had a good chance to finish both my guys. … I feel like I’m getting a little more into the groove. I’m not on a high pedestal. It’s just taken a bit longer than most people. But as the fights go along and I get more relaxed, I think you’re going to see a better me. There’s a lot more to see from me, and I’m proving it every fight. People will see as time goes on.”

He’ll have a some home region fans, at the very least, fighting in England. His official UFC debut, after being in the “TUF” house in Australia, was back Down Under, where he beat Colin Fletcher to win the “TUF Smashes” lightweight title. Then he had to fight in Las Vegas, where he beat Kazuki Tokudome.

Parke, like most fighters, said it doesn’t matter where the bout takes place – but it sure will be nice to have some extra help.

“I’ll fight anywhere,” he said. “I’m from Northern Ireland, and most of my fight career I was fighting in England. So I was getting booed all the time. It doesn’t matter to me. You can put me in a little shack in the middle of nowhere and I’ll still be happy. I’m ready to go – it’s just great to see my friends and family and get some support.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 30, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.