Preview: UFC Fight Night 218 Prelims

Middleweights

Jun Yong Park (15-5, 5-2 UFC) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (10-6, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Park (-270), Tiuliulin (+210)

Park can be quite entertaining when given the chance, and it is good to see that he gets a willing dance partner. “The Iron Turtle” came to the UFC in 2019 and showed off a wide range of skills dulled a bit by his own approach. Park has typically fought as a counterstriker who looks to answer while letting his opponent lead. That came back to bite him against the aggressive stylings of Anthony Hernandez in his UFC debut, but Park has effectively adapted to press the action more, including leaning on a sneakily effective wrestling game. Park can still hit a physical ceiling, as he lost a war to Gregory Rodrigues and got stalled out in a narrow win over Eryk Anders, but he ran through Joseph Holmes to prove what he is still capable of and should build on that momentum in this pairing. Tiuliulin was a late-notice signee for a fight in March and was not exactly knocking down the UFC’s door in terms of his regional resume, but he is an exciting fighter who is willing to throw down. He was a tough out for Aliaskhab Khizriev in that debut, and it was nice to see him earn a UFC victory in fun fashion against Jamie Pickett in September. That aggression could be enough to catch Park off-guard for an early win, but if things start to go sideways for the Korean, Tiuliulin figures to be undone by his lack of wrestling and grappling defense. The pick is Park via second-round submission.

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Park vs. Tiuliulin
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