The MMA Daily

We have a scrap in the Middleweight division, as Eryk “Ya Boi” Anders takes on Jun Yong “The Iron Turtle” Park. Looking to rebound from a submission defeat to Andre Muniz, Anders returns to the octagon for the first time in 2022. Having been through a rough stretch in his last four fights, with one lone win, Anders will need to start finding his stride. Otherwise, it’s possible that Anders may be stuck as a middling Middleweight with no shot at becoming a contender. Meanwhile. Park is coming off a knockout defeat to Gregory Rodrigues. A fight that was hectic throughout, but saw Park end up on the wrong side. Previous to the defeat, Park had won three straight and ten of the last eleven.

As for a prediction, I have Park winning. While this fight could go either way, I’m more confident in Park’s abilities at this stage. Anders has been a mixed bag at times, showing off power in some fights and then wrestling in others. Lacking the necessary volume, Anders has been someone that can be beaten alone on volume. In fact, Anders is 1-5 when absorbing 62 or more significant strikes. The lone win came when Anders landed 64 significant strikes, which is roughly 16.5 more strikes than his average per fifteen minutes. Given this, it’s hard siding with him regardless of his toughness and grit. Park, averaging 4.69 significant strikes per minute offers more volume and throws some solid combinations. With wrestling abilities too, Park, during his three fight win streak, landed eleven takedowns. The only concern I have, is Park’s takedown defense. Which has been problematic at times. However, Anders sports a 31% takedown accuracy and has largely used the cage to control fighters. With that said, I predict that Park will win a hard fought decision.