Norman Parke’s MMA comeback could be over before it started

Well, that didn't last long.

On Wednesday, Norman Parke announced his first fight since he was released by the UFC in late March. The Bushmills lightweight's axing from the UFC came as somewhat of a shock despite the fact that he had lost three of his last four fights. Parke looked to have bounced back quickly by striking a deal with Final Fight Championship. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/727812026672795648 Parke had let fans know, via social media, that he would be fighting Valdimir Sikic in September. That announcement has now been refuted by FFC President Orsat Zovko. The promotion contacted SportsJOE, this afternoon, and send on a link to this statement by Zovko:

'It is true, and I can confirm, that FFC is interested to sign Norman Parke. He is one of the former UFC fighters that we’d like to add to our roster in this year, which is crucial for our promotion since we have some upcoming events in the US. 'However, it is absolutely not true that Norman Parke will have his debut against Vladimir Šikić in Linz this September. Actually, I’m not even sure whether we still want to cooperate with Parke after he published this information so hastily. 'Vladimir Šikić could be Parke’s potential opponent just like any other FFC fighter in his division. 'Parke asked for permission... to publish this information about his FFC debut, but he did not get green light from us. Despite that, the news appeared in the European media and this is very unprofessional. I am sorry that happened."

Another Irish fighter running afoul of fight promoters due to his tweets and Facebook posts. Must be something in the water.