Kilkenny’s own ‘Magic’ Myles Price isn’t mincing his words ahead of his Brave 13 showdown with Norman Parke.
Eight years ago two of the rising stars of mixed martial arts in Ireland faced each other for the first time at Cage Contenders 3.
Norman Parke (24-6-1) representing the North fought Price (10-6), his southern counterpart. The fight went in favour of Parke finishing Price by first round Kimura to get the submission win.
The careers of both athletes took different trajectories, but ran parallel playing a key role in the growth of the sport in their respective territories. Parke continued on through UFC, fought that famous McGregor v Brandao card in Dublin in 2014, most recently picking up 3 bouts for Polish-based KSW. Price has spent the bones of the past two years between jiu-jitsu competition and opening his Team Ryano Kilkenny facility with fellow pro Mick Brennan.
The possibility of a rematch was raised occasionally and debated but is only coming to fruition now.
Parke did face Price’s Team Ryano stablemate Paul Redmond in the main event at BAMMA 28, also at Belfast’s SSE Arena in early 2017 – one of the fights of the year. On that occasion, for the BAMMA Lightweight title, it was Parke who came away with a split decision victory in a fiercely contested bout. Missing weight ahead of their clash in the BAMMA cage, the win left Parke ineligible for the belt.
Onwards to Brave 13
At Brave 13: Europe Evolution hosted on 9th June at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Price will face Parke after eight years.
Both fighters developed and transformed their skillsets to a whole new level, but the intensity of the rivalry remains the same and Irish MMA fans will relish the chance of seeing two veterans of the scene in action.
In the time since Price was away, Parke picked up a win over Andrew Fisher, Paul Redmond and Lukasz Chlewiki, the latter under the KSW banner. He’s fought Mateusz Gamrot under KSW twice also, shipping a decision in Poland while seeing their rematch ruled a no-contest, Parke looking on course for a title there too.
Price’s win over Phil Raeburn at BAMMA 35 earlier this month marked his return to the professional stage for the first time in two year.
The Kilkenny man is all set to take the fight to a whole new level and haven’t held back his emotions in his latest interview issuing a message aimed at ‘Stormin’ Parke.
“The fight is not going to be nice for you, one way or the other”, says Price.
“I am going to find a route to win. And I am going to do it in a stylish magical fashion by the way. You keep your hands up or not, and my body shots will hurt you a lot. Try to stay away from the chipper and try not to miss weight like the way you usually does.”
The barb – in reference to Parke missing weight on previous occasions – is light, but the pair will meet in a catchweight bout at 73kg (approx 160lbs), up from the usual 155lb lightweight limit. Parke v Price 2 serves as the co-main event for the Belfast card.
Brave Combat Federation will be making their European debut with the 9 June show. Tickets are available locally through Rollercoaster Records Kilkenny, Hickson’s Centra Carlow and online via ticketmaster.ie.
