UFC Fight Night 233—the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s final UFC Apex show of 2023—offers up another solid set of prelims on Saturday in Las Vegas. Flyweights are the main draw. Recent “Road to UFC” winner Hyun Sung Park gets the featured spot opposite Shannon Ross, while top divisional prospect Tatsuro Taira takes on Carlos Hernandez further down the undercard. From there, the other standout attraction comes in the form of a lightweight showdown between Steve Garcia and Melquizael Costa—a guaranteed banger between two typical featherweights that got pushed back a week.
Flyweights
Hyun Sung Park (8-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Shannon Ross (12-8, 0-2 UFC)ODDS: Park (-425), Ross (+330)
Ross did well to make it to the UFC, even though things have not gone particularly well for the Australian since he arrived. Ross’ fight against Vinicius Salvador was one of the highlights of the 2022 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, but despite “The Turkish Delight” getting knocked out in the second round, the UFC decided to reward his toughness with a contract, particularly when it came out that he had unknowingly been fighting with a ruptured appendix. The hope was that Ross could provide some fun bouts at the UFC level, but his durability has betrayed him since the Salvador fight. Kleydson Rodrigues and Jesus Santos Aguilar each quickly knocked him out in a combined 76 seconds. Ross does not draw another knockout artist in facing Park, but this should still be a difficult test against the Korean. Park won the flyweight bracket of the inaugural “Road to UFC” tournament earlier this year, and “Peace Of Mind” is a solid but unspectacular fighter. He has some decent physical gifts and well-trained fundamentals, but he uses them to fight behind a passive style that does not get much done until he can find an opening. That could make for some trouble against Ross’ willingness to bring chaos, but Park has proven to be a sound submission threat when pressed and figures to eventually take this fight to the mat, even if getting there might be an adventure. The pick is Park via second-round submission.
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Park vs. Ross
Costa vs. Garcia
Santos vs. Egger
Taira vs. Hernandez
dos Santos vs. Alencar