Meet the next great British MMA heavyweight hope

Aged 29, undefeated in the UFC and training with two of the best heavyweights in the UK, Mick Parkin can't believe he is getting paid to fight.

"Something I was doing for free for years, and then you get paid? It's amazing," he says.

It even makes the three-hour commute he makes some days to train with the likes of UFC interim champion Tom Aspinall and KSW heavyweight champion Phil De Fries worth it.

"I could be going to like a building site in the freezing cold, which I would absolutely hate," he adds.

"I enjoy this, or sometimes it's a bit 'what are you being sad for? You've got an amazing life at the moment'."

Parkin is on a four-fight winning streak in the UFC. He signed with the UFC after just six bouts on his record.

The Sunderland man has been somewhat fast-tracked in the promotion thanks in part to the ever-changing nature of the division he fights in and his closeness with one of the UFC's biggest star, Aspinall.

He earned a spot on Dana White's Contender Series in 2022 and won himself a UFC contract with a first-round stoppage.

Before then, Parkin was working security at a bar, regularly travelling to Sunderland games.

His mother pushed him to try out the jiu-jitsu gym and from there he transitioned from kickboxing into MMA.

"I don't think I'd be anywhere near where I'm at now without Phil and Tom and coach [Andrew] Fisher," he says.

"I went [to train with Aspinall] and I thought I was really good and I just got knocked off. Really bad. I thought, 'oh my god', I'm useless at this. It's like starting again.

He adds: "I know I haven't had many fights in the UFC but I'm already ranked.

"Heavyweight, you get pushed a little bit more, because there's just not many of us.

The heavyweight scene in the UK has often been scarce. Parkin says he turned pro because he struggled for opponents in the amateur ranks.

But recent years have seen two key men emerge and find success in very different factions.

Manchester fighter Aspinall, 31, shot through the UFC ranks and is now the number one heavyweight contender in the UFC, waiting for his shot at champion and legend Jon Jones.

Sunderland's De Fries, 38, is one of KSW's biggest star. He is the European promotion powerhouse's most dominant champion with eleven successful defences since 2018.

Parkin sits number 13 in the UFC's rankings. He fights number eight contender Marcin Tybura at UFC London on Saturday.

The heavyweight division, not unlike boxing, continues to dominate attention in the UFC.

The scene is primed for another heavyweight to step up and under the tutelage of Aspinall and De Fries, Parkin could be that fighter.

But that doesn't mean Parkin has any aspirations to fight Aspinall in the future, quite the opposite.

"I wouldn't want to fight him. He's my friend, but I was hoping by the time I got there he'd be completely done, and maybe hopefully get this Jon Jones fight and get loads of money and retire," Parkin says.

"But I'm still loads of fights off that yet, and like, unless it was for crazy money, I just wouldn't want to fight him, really.

"I'm 13th ranked now. I know I'm fighting eighth but there's still potentially 15 guys I have to beat to even get there."

"I think Tybura had like 20 odd UFC fights," Parkin adds.

"So you kind of can't be not good having 20 UFC fights, you know. I do think I'm probably better than him. I do believe that."