Jun Yong Park had a card-stealing performance in his dominant decision win over John Phillips on the preliminary card of Fight Night: Ortega vs The Korean Zombie. He broke the record for most ground strikes in UFC history in this bout. Phillips was the same opponent that Khamzat Chimaev had beaten in July in an equally dominant fashion.
Jun Yong Park's 258 ground strikes landed at #UFCFightIsland6 are a new three-round UFC record for ground strikes.
He surpassed Matt Riddle’s 251 ground strikes landed at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stevens in 2009, per UFC Stats. pic.twitter.com/fzPYkWmyC0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 17, 2020
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However, Park dished out more volume damage in his three-round win, as Chimaev finished Phillips with a submission in the second round. But the parallels were quick to form, with the first mention of Chimaev coming from Park’s mouth himself.
Jun Yong Park's reaction when @dc_mma told him he set the UFC record for ground strikes: "More than Chimaev?" 😆 #UFCFightIsland6 pic.twitter.com/9fhd1Cg8qp
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 17, 2020
In his media appearance after his fight, Park was asked a series of questions about ‘Borz’. The presser was humorous throughout, and Park’s translator said that they’d fight him in a nightclub, to which the fighter seemingly agreed in jest.
“Yeah, we’d fight him in a nightclub or something.”
Upon being asked if he could fight Khamzat in December he said, “Of course”
He was also asked what separates him from Khamzat’s old opponents, to which he said, “I am better at eating than those guys. (laughs). My cardio is off the charts compared to those guys.”
Jun Yong Park is on an upward trajectory
Park wasn’t a celebrated fighter coming into the UFC. He had earned his stripes with a 10-3 record fighting in the Asian circuit of regional MMA. However, he finally got a chance in the UFC but lost his debut to Anthony Hernandez. Despite that loss, the UFC gave him his next fight against Marc-André Barriault. He won that fight via unanimous decision and has come up with another win tonight.
The spectacular nature of his win tonight will garner him more favor inside the promotion. He is evidently humble, saying that he won’t ask for an opponent because he doesn’t think his rank is that high. For a fighter to be this grounded despite the biggest win of their career is a positive sign.
The Chimaev matchup is unlikely, but if there is a lack of opponents for him as White claims, this fight would be an interesting one to watch. Nonetheless, Park’s journey should be watched as well.
