Stormin’ Norman Parke eyes his toughest challenge to date as he faces off against former lightweight title contender Diego ‘The Nightmare’ Sanchez, a Latin-American MMA icon whose appearance on November 15 should help the Mexico City Arena crowd to reach fever pitch at UFC 180.

The Next Generation Northern Ireland man sees the booking of the bout as a huge indication that UFC have noted his development in the sport, remaining unbeaten in five tests in the Octagon. Parke also banked his first finish under the promotion’s banner when his second round ground and pound assault of Naoyuki Kotani brought a stop to their bout at UFC Dublin on July 19.

“I think it’s just a case of them knowing that I’m ready for the step up and I feel like Diego is a good fight for me,” Parke explained his feeling on the UFC 180 match-up. “He’s got a household name, he’s been in the UFC since day one and I think a win over him will significantly push me up in the rankings.

“He was a good name to call out, it’s nothing personal. It’s not like I’ve got any hatred towards him, I know there have been a few things said on Twitter but that’s just the way it goes. This is the fight game, there’s always going to be a bit of a back and forth between opponents.

“For the most part I respect him. I know he’s going to come at me hard especially because he’s lost a few of his last fights. I’m not going to have any of that though, I’m going to be smart, pick my shots and that should be enough to get me the win.”

Although Sanchez has previously traded leather with Ross Pearson and Myles Jury of Alliance, a gym frequented by the Rodney Moore student, Parke revealed that he has consulted neither of his sometime teammates with regard to ‘The Nightmare’.

“I haven’t really talked to them guys since I fought over in Brazil. Ross has been back at home too and I haven’t been talking to Myles either. I’m pretty sure I can figure this one out myself though, I’ll obviously listen to what my coaches have to say but I’ve got a good fighting mind.

“I know what I have to do to win. I know how to beat him. I know he’s going to come out charging at me and trying to intimidate me, but I’m not playing any of that bullshit. We all know he’s got a tough chin and although he’s known for his stand-up style I think he might try to mix things up, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to take me down.

“Good luck to him if he wants to that. I’ll have a ground battle with him no problem. We’ll see on the night, it’s all a guessing game until we get into the cage. He’s been there before, he’s fought a lot of the big names in the division so I know this is nothing for him.

“In the back of his mind I don’t think he even cares. He’s just fighting to make up the numbers. I think he’s going to try and turn this into a brawl but that’s not going to happen,” said Parke.

The Northern Irish lightweight also revealed that he would be returning to the States in preparation for the Mexican date:

“I’m heading back over to work on my altitude training, I’ve got a guy over there that’s going to help me with that. I should be heading back to America in the next week and a half. They’ve got a few southpaws over there for me to work with.”

Conor McGregor is a man that has voiced some problems with Parke since his arrival in the UFC, albeit with little malice. His comments on his northern neighbour began on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour before the Dubliner seemed to cut Parke off at the UFC Dublin pre-fight press conference.

A video was released last week of McGregor calling Parke an “ugly Northern Ireland kid” as he commentated on the TUF:Smashes winner’s decision win over John Tuck from last year, adding further speculation to where the friction between the two originates from.

“I think the stuff with Conor all goes back to the early days when we were meant to fight,” Parke suggested. “It’s amazing what he’s doing now and it’s unbelievable how far he’s come in a year and a half. Someone sent me a link of him commentating on my fight with John Tuck from last year, I don’t know why it was only released now.

“I watched and I laughed, what else could I do, I just laugh at everything he says. I never get caught up in his mind games because I think he’s just trying to get a psychological advantage over me. If a fight between us sometime down the road happens, it happens, I have no problem with that. We’re on different routes now, we’re in different weight divisions.

“If we did fight I could shock him though. I know he’s very confident, and I do admire he’s self-confidence but I’m a strong fighter. I know he’s a fantastic striker but everyone has got holes in their game. He’s said the same about me and I’m saying the same about him, but I think I’d be too strong for him.

“I don’t want to mouth off about him though, but if the situation arises so be it. At the moment he doesn’t come into my head. If he was in the lightweight division I’d be interested but I don’t want to get caught up talking about Conor McGregor when I’m getting ready to fight Diego Sanchez.”

Finally, Parke gave his thoughts on how he thinks things will unfold when he locks horns with Sanchez on November 15.

He said: “It would be great to finish him that would be something special. He’s got a lot of scar tissue on his face so if it goes to the ground you know I won’t be just lying on him. I’m going to try to open him up and if I get an opportunity to tee off on his face I will.

“I’ve already told him that. If I was to predict how the fight will end I would say it will be a finish but I’m not going in there with that in my head. I’ve got to fight smart to get a win out of this considering his luck with the judges, but if it does got to the ground I think I can put him away.”

@PetesyCarroll