UFC’s Fighting Irish head for Boston: What’s on the line for Norman Parke

Stormin' Norman will be looking to continue his ascent in the UFC's most populated division

The main card action for Boston kicks off with an intriguing bout between Bushmills native Norman Parke (20-2-1) and Brazilian grappler Gleison Tibau (30-10). The Northern Irishman is undefeated in his last 11 professional bouts and comes into this off the back of a stunning second-round TKO over Naoyuki Kotani at UFC Dublin in July. Tibau, who steps in for his injured training partner Jorge Masvidal, has won four of his last five bouts and secured a split decision victory over Piotr Hallmann in his last trip to Octagon in September. The 31-year-old veteran is known for his grappling prowess and holds victories over quality opponents such as Jeremy Stephens, Jamie Varner and the man who will be fighting for the lightweight belt in March, Rafael dos Anjos. There is no doubt about it, Tibau represents the biggest challenge of Parke's fighting career and poses a legitimate threat to ending his unbeaten run in the world's largest MMA promotion. By defeating Tibau, Parke would finally hold a victory over a big name in the sport, not a marquee name by any stretch, but a well-respected athlete nonetheless. The fact that Parke is undefeated in five UFC bouts and is only receiving an opponent of Tibau's profile now, is a testament to the depth of the 155 lb division. The strength of the division becomes more apparent when you realise that the Brazilian isn't ranked. However, it is difficult for one star to shine bright among a cluster. That is the reason why Parke has yet to break into the upper tier of the division despite racking up consecutive victories, with his sole blemish being an extremely contentious majority draw against a Brazilian fighter in Brazil. The Antrim man has been unlucky with match-ups lately. He has missed out on a few big bouts that could have given him the chance to elevate his profile in the promotion. Parke was scheduled to throw down with MMA veteran Diego Sanchez on the main card of UFC 180, the promotion's first event to be held in Mexico, but was forced to withdraw with a knee injury. As it turned out, injuries to both Sanchez and Parke's replacement Joe Lauzon led to the fight being scrapped completely, but Parke still missed out on being part of a huge event in the UFC's calendar. Even for this event, he was originally scheduled to fight Masvidal, who's currently riding a three-fight win streak and is arguably a tougher opponent than Tibau. The 30-year-old pulled out of the bout with a back injury. With Boston set to be his fifth UFC main card bout of his career, a victory will get him one step closer, if not actually secure him a bout against a ranked opponent. That is going to benefit him financially when the Reebok sponsorship deal kicks in and it would give him a base to launch a title run. A defeat, on the other hand will see him fall down the pecking order and he'll have to wait a little longer before getting that elusive ranking.