Norman Parke retires from MMA because he’s “sick of how this game works”

Norman Parke has never been afraid to speak his mind.

The Antrim fighter has apparently grown tired of what goes on behind the scenes in mixed martial arts as he has revealed immediate plans to hang up his gloves. Parke, who spent four years competing under the UFC banner, explained in a Twitter statement that he intended to retire because he is "sick of how this game works." https://twitter.com/norman_parke/status/1082411032386125825 'Stormin' Norman claimed that he still hopes to compete in a bareknuckle boxing bout later this year but would not return to MMA unless he is offered a significant one-fight deal. Parke earned a UFC contract by winning The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes lightweight tournament in 2012. He put together a 5-3-1 record during his stint with the world's most popular MMA promotion before he was cut from the roster two years ago. Parke has since competed for several different organisations such as ACB, BAMMA, KSW and Brave. The Bushmills man signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator last year and as recently as last week, Parke was revealing plans to hire a nutritionist to help out his cut to 155lbs. While it's not unheard of for a fighter to threaten retirement in order to persuade their promoter to offer more money, it definitely seems like Parke is serious about drawing the curtain on a 12-year fight career.