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Northern Ireland's Norman Parke isn't looking past the task that lies ahead of him Feb. 24 at BAMMA 28, but he's well aware of his opportunity on Friday night in Belfast against Paul Redmond.



It was announced earlier this week that for the second time in the promotion's history, BAMMA and Bellator MMA will combine forces for another joint-promoted show, with BAMMA 28 taking place before the Bellator 173 card.



At the crossroads

While Parke now feels motivated to go out and put on a performance like never before, it wasn't so long ago he found himself at a crossroads, asking himself whether he would continue in the sport.



"There was a point a little while ago where I was just going to say f**k this, but then I thought, no way--there's no way I can let my talent go to waste," Parke told FloCombat. "Some people would kill to be in my shoes, you know? So I thought, f**k this, I'm just going to keep going.



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"When I knew I was going to be on 'The Ultimate Fighter,' I went to America and trained and it was like every day we were on the mats every morning and just training the whole time, focused. I did that for like seven or eight weeks, but then once I got into the UFC and with the fight with Andrew Fisher [in ACB] I cheated and I was nowhere near as dedicated as I was when I was in America."



Silencing the doubters

With that realization, Parke now understands he must get back to his old ways if he's to become a force again on the world scene at 155 pounds. While he's doing this all for himself, Parke is also going out there to prove the doubters wrong.



"If you cheat the game it's like anything--it's going to come back and bite you," Parke said. "There's no way I'm going to cheat this game now, and I'm going to put the time and effort in. There are a ton of motherf*****s out there right now saying that I'm done and that I'm sliding off the radar, but f**k that and f**k them.



"I'm still here, and in my mind, I'm going to go out there on February 24 and I'm going to prove I'm still there and I'm going to put on a f***ing good fight and get my hand raised."



The chance of fighting in Bellator MMA and Michael Chandler

Parke is aware of the platform he has in February, and he believes that an impressive win against Redmond will see him take a big step back to being seen as a big player on the world stage.



The Northern Irishman knows that an impressive performance in front of the Bellator brass could well see him get an offer, and if that does materialize, Parke believes he's got more than enough to hang with the best in promotion.



"Whoever wins this fight I think could jump straight into that Bellator promotion and hold their own," Parke said. "That lightweight division isn't that deep--it's got like six people, and I believe we [including Redmond] could jump in there no problem, man.



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"I know Michael Chandler, I've trained with him, and he's a great lad and a great champion. But, I know I can step foot in there any day and compete against him no problem. The door is open, and I'll tell you right now, I'm not looking past Paul one bit, but I know if I put the training in that I will beat Paul Redmond, and I know if I can get past him I could beat Michael Chandler no problem.



"Michael Chandler knows. We've trained together, and if you were to ask him whether he wanted to fight me, he wouldn't respond because he's had enough of me in training. Every time we sparred he had it tough and I know he wouldn't want to fight. I know for a fact I gave him a hard time and so do the coaches at Alliance [MMA]."



The window of opportunity is open

While reiterating the fact that he wouldn't be looking past Redmond, Parke was adamant that this was his opening to get into Bellator MMA and that it wouldn't be an opportunity he would let pass him by.



"When I get past this fight here, this is it--the door is open to jump into Bellator," Parke said. "It's there, and I'm going to take it, and I'm not going to step back and just hide behind everyone else and let it move on. I'm just going to keep plugging away, and hopefully good things will come from that.



"I'm sure Bellator and BAMMA will come to Ireland again, and I'll fight on that for sure. The atmosphere you get at these shows can't be beaten. There are few other things happening right now that I can't talk about, in Russia, but I'm not going to say much about them because things still need to be worked out. This is my focus now. I'm going to get this job done and then move on from there."