Continuing a great night of fights, Norman Parke and Leonardo Santos came into this fight with wins in their last UFC bouts and are both Ultimate Fighter winners. Parke is an impressive 19-2 and is riding a nine fight win streak. He is undefeated in the UFC at 3-0 while Santos is riding a five fight win streak and won his UFC debut.
The first round was filled with a lot of clinch work and some good striking. Parke was throwing some good kicks but stayed disciplined with his location. Santos was able to get some nice strikes in as well, doing some good damage with a left uppercut to Parke’s left eye. The round seemed close, but the points seemed to go to Santos.
The second round featured a few more impressive exchanges with much of the staying in the clinch. After getting separated, both fighters started to bang even more. Both fighters showed educated takedown defense and kept the fight standing most of the time. However, on one takedown attempt, Parke tried a little too hard and was deducted a point for pulling Santos’ shorts. The round ended with Parke holding Santos against the fence while trying to go for a takedown.
Knowing he needed a finish, Parke came out with some good strikes and was forced into Santos’ clinch once again. Parke was clearly the stronger fighter and was able to keep Santos against the fence for the first two minutes of the round. Parke was able to keep this going for most of the round until the referee separated them. After a few more strikes, both fighters ended back up against the fence with Parke going for a takedown.
This fight was far from a spectacle but it seemed Santos had it in the bag after Parke’s point deduction. However, he threw away the third round which allowed Parke to steal a round. With the fight ending in a draw, both fighters see their winning streaks come to an end and their UFC records take a small hit. Hopefully they can bounce back with more impressive fights in their next appearances.
Check out full UFC Fight Night 38 results HERE.
