Leonardo Santos (12-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. Norman Parke (19-2, 3-0 UFC)
Two winners of international editions of “The Ultimate Fighter” square off in a main card bout when season two winner of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” Leonardo Santos takes on “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” lightweight winner Norman Parke. Santos hasn’t fought since winning the reality show as he is coming off of submitting William Macario at UFC On FUEL TV 10 in June to win the UFC contract. Santos is riding a six-fight win streak. Parke also has a long win streak as he has won nine straight fights and 19 of his last 20. He is 3-0 in the UFC and last fought in October, defeating Jon Tuck at UFC Fight Night 30.
Fight Breakdown- There has been a recent trend of matching winners of “The Ultimate Fighter” up against each other, especially with the additions of the international series of shows. This fight is another in the line of those as we have two international winners doing battle. Santos won season two of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” in the welterweight division. He wasn’t an original finalist, though, as he lost in the semi-finals to Santiago Ponzinibbio. However, Ponzinibbio broke his hand and was forced out, and Santos stepped in and took advantage. Santos fought William Macario at UFC On FUEL TV 10 in June in the finals, and while Macario took the first round, Santos came back strong in the second round and won by submission. It won Santos the six-figure UFC contract and improved his win streak to six straight, and he has won eleven of his last twelve fights overall. Santos is an accomplished jiu-jitsu specialist as he is a four-time World Cup Champion, and he has won eight fights by submission. After winning “TUF: Brazil 2” as a welterweight, Santos will be dropping down to the lightweight division, a division more suitable for his size.
Parke won the lightweight tournament on “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” as a member of Team UK. He won unanimous decisions over Richie Vaculik and Brendan Loughnane to advance to the finals where he took on Colin Fletcher. They met at UFC On FX 6 in December 2012 and Parke again won by unanimous decision to win the six-figure UFC contract. Parke made his post-TUF debut in July at UFC 162, and again he took home a unanimous decision by winning on the scorecards over Kazuki Tokudome. It was the first time Parke ventured out of the United Kingdom for an official fight, but he found himself back in England for his next fight. He took on Jon Tuck at UFC Fight Night 30 in October, a bout that was rescheduled after their scheduled fight in April was cancelled due to an injury by Tuck. Parke again controlled the fight and won a unanimous decision which put his winning streak at nine straight fights. He has won 19 of his last twenty fights after losing his professional debut. While all of his official and unofficial fights inside the Octagon have gone the distance, Parke scored stoppage wins in 15 of his 16 wins in his pre-UFC fight career, and he will be looking for his first stoppage win as part of the UFC roster when he fights in Brazil for the first time.
There is no question where each man wants this fight to take place. Santos really wants to get this fight to the mat and show off his world-class jiu-jitsu skills. Parke wants to keep this fight on the feet as Santos won’t be able to hang with him standing up. It will come down to which man can keep the fight where they want. Since each round starts on the feet, it’ll start where Parke is most comfortable. Parke fights as a southpaw and has a solid right hand. Santos has basic standup as he relies on fluid use of leg kicks and straight punches. Parke’s ability to mix things up more on the feet and string his combinations together nicely gives him the big edge on the feet. Parke also has a good judo and grappling base and can score with the takedowns, and he does have twelve submission wins under his belt. However, Parke’s two losses in his career have both come by submission. Santos doesn’t have the best wrestling and likes to score takedowns from the clinch, but Parke’s strong judo base could be enough to stop the takedowns from the clinch. Parke has also fought twice since Santos last fought, so Santos should worry about ring rust. Parke pushes the pace well in his fights and that will be tough for Santos to match. Parke takes the fight as it goes to the judges.
Why It Matters- This is a fight, plain and simple. Neither man is close to sniffing title contention though Parke has been impressive enough and has a good win streak. Santos also has a good win streak and wants to show why he deserved to win “TUF: Brazil 2” despite being eliminated on the show and only winning by being given a second chance. This is also a chance for Santos to show that the lightweight division is a good fit for him. Neither man wants to have a win streak ended and the loser will see just that happening. There is more upside to Parke and maybe he can make it onto the card in Dublin in July. A win would set him up for a solid fight there. Santos will be a fixture of Brazilian fight cards for the foreseeable future. We will be seeing both men for quite some time in the UFC.
Prediction- Parke
