While he is one of the top prospects in the UFC’s heavyweight division, Mick Parkin’s road to Octagon talent surprisingly started as a “chunky” kid in England who didn’t like to fight.
In July, Michael “Mick” Parkin (7-0) made his MMA dreams come true when he not only made his promotional debut but did so in front of a jam-packed and rabid crowd of Englishmen and women at the O2 Arena for UFC London. While his streaking of fight-ending finishes was halted on July 22, he did impress with his first victory inside the Octagon.
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Yet, the journey to full-fledged UFC fighter began in a very unlikely way. The 27-year-old did not get into fight sports because he was a diehard fan, a young martial artist, or from a fighting family. Actually, it was something his family was happy to let him try out so he could slim down his chubby frame.
“When I started, I was a really, really, soft kid,” Parkin told Sportsnaut. “You know how some kids come in just tough and they love it. I was soft, I never liked arguing and stuff like that. I’ve always been big and chunky. I was really chubby. So my family was happy because I would lose a little bit of weight. And I just enjoyed it [and] training.”
Over time, that enjoyment turned into a legit passion to grow as an athlete. And once he actually started competing in events and got a taste of winning, he completely immersed himself in what would become his eventual career.
“Even as an amateur I probably trained more than most pros,” says Parkin. “I was there every day, [and] never missed a session. I’m not one to go out drinking and partying, I was dedicated. I just took it seriously.”
Mick Parkin’s turning point from being an MMA trainee to UFC-caliber fighter
However, just because a person invests all their time in training doesn’t automatically result in becoming a successful fighter. When looking back on his short career, Mick Parkin says when he began training with KSW heavyweight champion Phil De Fries and ranked UFC stars Paul Craig and Tom Aspinall on a consistent basis was the turning point in his career. It was the period when he went from MMA hopeful to a legitimate rising star in the sport.
“When I started training with Phil about five years [ago] I started thinking, ‘I’m good. I’m training with some of the best in the world now and I’m good training for them,'” he recalls. “Phil was wanting us to train with him and was so happy we trained with him, and I was like, ‘Oh, I must be half okay if he wants to train with us.’
“Paul Craig was coming down [to the gym] and [saying], ‘Make sure you come to Scotland and spar with us.’ Then I started training with Tom Aspinall and people around us started doing amazing,” Parkin says. “And I’m like, there’s nothing different about them. They just train really good and really hard and I felt like I could do it too.”
Parkin explains why Tom Aspinall has UFC champion potential
On the same card that Mick Parkin made his UFC debut, training partner Tom Aspinall made his triumphant return to action after a horrific knee injury that sidelined him for a year. In his comeback fight, he earned a dominant first-round victory that pushed him further up our UFC heavyweight rankings and into the thick of the contender conversation.
While some may question if Aspinall has what it takes to defeat UFC GOAT and heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Parkin claims fight fans have yet to see the heights of what he has encountered firsthand in training.
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“He’s amazing,” Parkin said. “You see it, but I’ve trained with him. Everyone’s saying how good he is but you haven’t even seen enough of him yet. He’s incredibly fast, but he slows down and he can do that for five rounds. He is the complete [package] and there are not any holes in his game. I think the only hole in his game was his bad knee.”