5 Things You Might Not Know About Jun Yong Park

Forgive Jun Yong Park if he clings too tightly to momentum. Like most seasoned mixed martial artists, he understands its fleeting nature.

The surging South Korean middleweight will look to improve upon a 6-2 record in the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he tackles Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Albert Duraev in the UFC on ESPN 49 co-main event this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Park enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back-to-back victories. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 218, where he put Denis Tiuliulin to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their Feb. 4 encounter. The 32-year-old has secured 10 of his 16 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

As Park moves ever closer to his high-profile showdown with Duraev at 185 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. His start was inauspicious.

Park made his professional mixed martial arts debut under the Top Fighting Championship banner on Dec. 8, 2013 and wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Jae Young Kim. He did not fight again for more than a year.

2. He struck regional gold.

“The Iron Turtle” laid claim to the Yawara Fighting Championship middleweight title with a 49-second technical knockout of Matvey Ivanenko at Real Fight “Double Impact” in December 2018. A little less than nine months later, Park arrived in the UFC.

3. He prioritized premium preparation.

Park operates out of the Korean Top Team camp in Seoul, where he trains under Dong Hin Ja. The South Korean gym has produced several other Ultimate Fighting Championship-caliber fighters, including Tae Hyun Bang, Da Woon Jung and Kwan Ho Kwak.

4. Some might consider him a globetrotter.

The well-traveled Park has piled up the frequent-flyer miles during his 21-fight career. Beyond the seven appearances he has made in his native South Korea, he has competed in China, Russia, Guam, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

5. Consistency has been a calling card.

Park has never lost two fights in a row. In fact, he has followed four of his five pro defeats with multiple victories, including a seven-fight winning streak that was spurred by a 2016 submission loss to the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. Two-time Professional Fighters League champion Ray Cooper III was one of Park’s victims during that career-best tear.