LAS VEGAS – With the UFC looking to host another big card in England in the near future, Mick Parkin wants to be part of it.
Parkin (6-0) is the newest English fighter to get signed to the UFC, punching his ticket through Dana White’s Contender Series 51 on Tuesday. In the featured bout of the night, Parkin quickly submitted Eduardo Neves in the first round.
Parkin experienced the buzz and atmosphere while attending the UFC’s two London shows this year and now that he has an opportunity to be a part of one, he hopes to land on the Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman trilogy event, which is being considered for the U.K.
“European card would be great,” Parkin told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “Obviously fight in front of fans, like a big arena, something like that would be great.”
He continued, “That would be crazy. My friend rang me now and was like, ‘England card. Definitely get on it.’ So that would be crazy, because I’ve actually been to the last two events at the O2 to watch my friends Paul (Craig) and Tom (Aspinall) fight, so the atmosphere is absolutely amazing. I remember the first one watching it, all the guys got finishes, and I remember thinking this is going to be me. It’s amazing.”
With Edwards becoming the second English fighter to win UFC gold, U.K. MMA is booming. Teammate and fellow Brit Tom Aspinall has had a fast rise up the heavyweight ranks, and Parkin sees a similar future for himself.
“U.K. MMA is doing mint now, and I’m fortunate that there’s not many heavyweights,” Parkin said. “So it’s probably a little bit easier path for me than some of these lighter guys.”
