Gleison Tibau hands Parke first UFC loss, with split decision victory
Gleison Tibau handed TUF winner Norman Parke the first loss of his UFC career, in his own 25th bout for the promotion. The American Top Team veteran out-pointed Parke and won a split decision with scores of 29-28 (twice), and 28-29.
Neither fighter ever really found their striking range or landed solid with too many strikes, though there were spurts of hard swinging exchanges in the pocket, in every round. Parke, who has shown great boxing in his UFC career, decided to mostly shoot high for takedowns throughout the bout.
The Northern Ireland TUF winner didn't land any of those takedown attempts, but Tibau did land two of his own, in the second round. The third round saw Parke walk down Tibau time and again, but hardly ever strike first or often, choosing instead to continue to shoot for takedowns.
Overall, Tibau landed more strikes on the feet, though connecting shots were sparse on both sides. Walking past media row, an elated Tibau told the cameras, "I'm so happy! Twenty five!"
Indeed, few UFC fighters in history have fought and won more times in the Octagon than the 31 year-old. The win is the Brazilian's third straight, and he improves his record to 40-10, overall.
With the loss, Parke's record dips to 21-3-1.
