Rivalries: Jun Yong Park

Jun Yong Park probably needs to pick up his pace if he wants to make any genuine progress in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division before the door shuts on his competitive prime.

“The Iron Turtle” will attempt to bolster his standing within the promotion when he toes the line against Brad Tavares in the UFC Fight Night 244 co-main event this Saturday at the UFC Apex. Park, 33, has won four of his past five bouts. However, he finds himself on the rebound following a contentious split decision defeat to Andre Muniz at UFC Fight Night 233 in December. The South Korean has never suffered back-to-back losses as a professional.

As Park moves ever close to his forthcoming clash with Tavares at 185 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Anthony Herandez

The former Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder overcame a slow start to plant his flag in the 185-pound weight class when he dispatched Park with an anaconda choke in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 157 prelim on Aug. 31, 2019 at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, China. The end came 4:39 into Round 2. Hernandez was met with fierce resistance, as the organizational newcomer had him reeling with punches on more than one occasion. However, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum altered his approach, pushed for takedowns and eventually secured a dominant position in the second round. Hernandez applied his ground-and-pound, then transitioned from a guillotine to the anaconda choke for the tapout. The setback was Park’s first in more than three years.

Marc-Andre Barriault

Park established his foothold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he outpaced the former two-division TKO Major League MMA titleholder in all phases ahead of a unanimous decision in their UFC Fight Night 165 middleweight showcase on Dec. 21, 2019 at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. Scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. Park dictated the terms of the engagement at range and in the clinch, forcing the Canadian into desperation mode as time wore on. Barriault was ineffective outside of a steady reliance on leg kicks, as he connected with 21 of them in the 15-minute affair. Park still outstruck him by an 83-57 margin, completed five takedowns and racked up more than three minutes of control time to earn his first victory inside the Octagon.

Gregory Rodrigues

“Robocop” strengthened his position in the middleweight division when he struck down Park in their featured UFC Fight Night 196 prelim on Oct. 23, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rodrigues drew the curtain with unanswered punches 3:13 into Round 2. The Brazilian controlled the ground exchanges—he advanced to the back with body triangles on multiple occasions—but flirted with disaster on the feet. Park pinned the former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion to the fence in the second round and let punches fly from both hands. Rodrigues seemed to be wilting but responded with a series of precise right hands, pushed the Korean Top Team standout across the Octagon, flurried along the fence and connected with an uppercut that had him out on his feet. It was enough to prompt the stoppage.

Eryk Anders

Park stuck a significant feather in his cap when he eked out a split decision over the former University of Alabama linebacker as part of the UFC Fight Night 206 undercard on May 21, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Sal D’Amato and Anthony Maness for Park, Michael Bell for Anders. Operating in the shadows of the Holly Holm-Ketlen Vieira headliner, Anders executed three takedowns in the first two rounds but failed to do enough with them to satiate the judiciary. Park made a stronger closing argument in Round 3, where he stonewalled all 12 of his opponent’s attempted takedowns and outlanded him by a 49-33 count in significant strikes across the final five minutes.