UFC Fight Night: Taira vs. Park Fight Card, Predictions, & Odds

The flyweight match between UFC contenders Tatsuro Taira and Hyun Sung Park will be the featured bout on the fight night card on Aug. 2 inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Even though he’s coming off a defeat from his previous fight, Taira heads into the fight as the betting favorite with -360 UFC odds, while Park is going to be the +275 betting underdog despite his undefeated pro record in 10 matches.

UFC Fight Night: Taira vs. Park Odds

• Tatsuro Taira: -360
• Hyun Sung Park: +275

UFC Fight Night: Taira vs. Park: Prediction

I predict that Taira will get the submission win over Park because he has superior grappling skills, and I believe that he can impose this during the match, especially since he’s the taller and longer fighter among the two.

Additionally, Park is a very late replacement opponent for Taira, who was initially scheduled to fight fellow ranked contender Amir Albazi, but had to withdraw due to an injury. It’s a high-risk, high-reward opportunity for the South Korean rising star, but I think that a few days of preparation won’t get the job done for him.

The best route to victory for the Japanese contender is to pressure Park early and press him against the cage. This way, he can cut off the angles against him and use the fence as leverage to secure a takedown. Taira also has the option to lure Park in early striking exchanges to perfectly time a level change.

Meanwhile, Park should keep the fight on the feet, because even though Taira displayed much-improved striking skills against Royval in his last fight, he still has a lot to improve on. Park needs to capitalize on these holes in his striking to potentially land early, inflict significant damage, and potentially end the match early when he finds the mark.

Tatsuro Taira’s Recent Fight Results

Taira is a standout MMA fighter from Japan who dominated the national and regional promotional scene before being signed by the UFC in 2022, with a perfect 10-0 record. He made his octagon debut against Carlos Candelario and defeated him unanimously.

He cracked a spot in the upper echelon of the flyweight division with wins over CJ Vergara, Jesus Aguilar, Edgar Charez, Carlos Hernandez, and Alex Perez. But former UFC title challenger Brandon Royval halted his ascent to the top with a split decision win against Taira last October.

Hyun Sung Park’s Recent Fight Results

Park is an undefeated flyweight contender out of South Korea, who dominated his country’s MMA scene and captured the Double G GFC title, before he joined the Road to UFC in June 2022. He first fought Jeremia Siegar and finished him in the first round via a TKO stoppage.

Then, he went on to win the tournament with a third-round submission over fellow South Korean Seungguk Choi to earn a roster spot in the UFC. Park swept his first two fights in the promotion with wins over Shannon Ross and Carlos Hernandez.

UFC Fight Night: Taira vs. Park: Tale of the Tape

UFC Fight Night: Taira vs. Park Fight Card

• Tatsuro Taira vs. Hyun Sung Park, flyweight fight
• Mateusz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan, lightweight fight
• Elves Brener vs. Esteban Ribovics, lightweight fight
• Karol Rosa vs. Nora Cornolle, women’s bantamweight fight
• Neil Magny vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, welterweight fight
• Danny Silva vs. Kevin Vallejos, featherweight fight
• Rinya Nakamura vs. Nathan Fletcher, bantamweight fight
• Rodolfo Vieira vs. Tresan Gore, middleweight fight
• Nick Klein vs. Andrey Pulyaev, middleweight fight
• Andre Lima vs. Felipe Burns, flyweight fight 
• Piera Rodriguez vs. Ketlen Souza, women’s strawweight fight