Claiming his first UFC finish and getting back to winning ways against Naoyuki Kotani on July 19 after his controversial draw to Leonardo Santos, Stormin’ Norman Parke finally got the match-up he was waiting for when he was announced to meet veteran Diego Sanchez at UFC 180 in Mexico City. However, just last week the Antrim man was forced out of the contest after suffering a “heart-breaking” injury to his knee.

“It happened three weeks ago,” he explained. “My knee had been at me when I was getting ready to fight Kotani in Dublin. It’s been there a long time I just never had the time to rest it. I was training with my coach and I could feel it niggling away and the next day it was still quite sore. I didn’t think about it too much so I went back training the next night.

“I was working on the ground with Rodney Moore and then I felt a tear. I was just trying to pass guard, a knee slide pass, and that’s when I felt it. I knew straight away. It was the same feeling I had when I was in San Diego trying to get ready for Jon Tuck. I had the same injury then but it’s on the opposite knee this time.

“There was no turning back for that fight, I was in San Diego and I couldn’t just come back home. I could just about hit pads when I was getting ready for the Tuck fight – I couldn’t do any grappling or anything like that. I just told Rodney when it happened again that this was going to be a camp exactly like the Tuck one.

“That puts you off training to be honest and getting in there without any proper training is never a good idea. It’s completely heart-breaking. It’s not the end of the world though, I can fight someone else and I will try to get the winner of the Sanchez/Lauzon match-up.

“My knee isn’t completely torn. It’s a grade two tear on my MCL so my forward movement isn’t that bad. It’s the lateral movement – left to right – that it’s affecting. In my mind it’s completely fine but it plays up if I try any kind of movement. I just think if I was to do a hard wrestling session it would completely tear it.”

Parke discussed his recovery and why he felt it was better for him to pull out of the Sanchez bout. The Next Generation man also revealed that he is eyeing a January return at UFC 182.

“I feel like it is getting better each day I’ve been doing some rehab on it using strengthening bands to keep my legs tight. I’m doing everything that the physio tells me to do, I’m following the protocol, but in my mind I just want to keep pushing it and pushing it. I know it’s the worst thing to do though.

“I got a phone call the other day from Lorenzo. He was just seeing if I needed anything done with my knee and I told him it would heal on its own and that it would be fine. UFC have been helping me out as much as they can but for the most part it’s all about resting it and working the rest of the ligaments around that area.

“I just felt like it was the right thing to do. I knew that I was going to beat John Tuck no problem and I know that I can beat Diego Sanchez, but I know that in wars that the knee could be damaged much more. I want to guarantee myself at least three fights next year and I think I’ll be able to go back in January.

“I told Lorenzo that I want to fight on the UFC 182 card in Vegas when Jon Jones takes on Daniel Cormier. I know I’ll be 100 per cent back then, ready to go,” he said.

Asked whether pulling out of the UFC 180 bout would affect his promotional trajectory, Parke insisted that he will be given a top 20 counterpart on his return to the Octagon.

He said: “I don’t think Diego is even in the top 20 anymore, but I know in my next fight I’ll be fighting someone from the top 20 for sure. I see the way this works now, if you let yourself be heard that’s what the company want.

“There’s a ton of fights up there for me. Bobby Green, we’ve had a bit of beef before but I think he’s lined up to fight. There’s Abel Trujillo, Ross Pearson was meant to fight him but he got injured. Then there’s guys like Jorge Masvidal, they’re the type of guys I’m looking at. At the end of the day that’s where I want to be. If I have to call them out, so be it.

“I respect everyone in this game – we’re all chasing the same goal. Everyone has got their own journey so you’ve got to just push yourself forward. I don’t see this injury as taking step back. I don’t think I should get a lesser name than Diego just because I got injured. It makes no sense.

“Realistically, I’m unbeaten in UFC so I want someone in that top tier to test me. If that’s what the guys at the top think they can do, we’ll see about that.”

Finally Parke commented on the match-up of Neil Seery and his fellow TUF: The Smashes competitor Richie Vaculik, who the Northern Irishman defeated on route to winning the series:

“The fight with me and Richie was a tough. There was a lot of nerves going into that fight, we’d both finally made it to the big show, The Ultimate Fighter. All of my fights in the house I didn’t fight the way I should have because of that extra pressure.

“I think this a great match-up for Neil. Neil’s pretty well rounded everywhere and so is Richie so I think it will be a good fight. Neil definitely has the capabilities to beat him, he’s just got to stay composed and relaxed.

“We saw how relaxed he was in his last fight when he beat Phil Harris and I know I’ll be rooting for Neil Seery to win this one.”

@PetesyCarroll