The UFC Vegas 68 prelims will see Jun Yong Park take on Denis Tiuliulin in a middleweight bout that will take place on February 5 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV.
Despite being a relatively mediocre card, the rescheduled heavyweight showdown between Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak, and a few other fights should be intriguing to watch. As such, the fight night event will feature Jun Yong Park vs Denis Tiuliulin, which is the second fight on the preliminary card.
Doo Ho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson (first rep. @JHKMMA) and Jun Yong Park vs. Denis Tiuliulin (first rep. @mmaecosystem) officially added to #UFCVegas68 on February 4th. pic.twitter.com/tc5IcjZ6gw
— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) December 28, 2022
Building on his last two wins, “The Iron Turtle” (15-5) will look to continue his form and make his case for a ranked opponent next. Since making his debut in 2019, the Korean’s journey has been nothing to write home about. However, he has showcased the ability to adapt to his opponent’s weaknesses to eke out a win.
Facing Park, we have Denis Tiuliulin (11-6), a relatively new addition to the UFC. Coming in with a TKO win against Jamie Pickett, the Russian will be looking to replicate his success with another win. Although relatively unknown, the Russian has the potential to light up the Octagon with some thunderous striking.
UFC Vegas 68 Prelims: Park vs Tiuliulin Head-to-Head Stats
| Stats | Jun Yong Park | Jun Yong Park |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | 15 | 11 |
| Losses | 5 | 6 |
| Height | 1.78 m | 1.85 m |
| Division | Middleweight | Middleweight |
| Reach | 1.85m | 1.96m |
| Age | 31 | 34 |
Jun Yong Park vs Denis Tiuliulin: Fight Breakdown and Prediction
Coming in as a slight favorite, Park’s ability to switch up from a boxing-heavy approach to wrestling will be key in this fight. On the other hand, we’ve seen Denis fight in a more gung-ho way, which worked to his benefit against Pickett but was his downfall against Aliaskhab Khizriev. Since Park’s boxing and striking are not the most impressive, we are more likely to see him implement his wrestling if things get hairy.
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With Denis, he will likely be coming in, ready to stand and bang and likely try to get the upper hand with some thunderous combinations. Moreover, having 9 professional wins by way of KO/TKO, he is the more dangerous fighter out of the two.
Additionally, Park is not the most mobile fighter, meaning that Tiuliulin will have a half-decent chance of connecting with a shot. Unfortunately, he also tends to leave himself open to takedowns, and worse, 50% of his losses have come by submission.
With Jun Yong’s last win coming by way of a rear naked choke, his game plan coming into this fight will be similar. Although the Korean is a pretty average fighter, he has shown good fight IQ, meaning that he can improvise and fight the smarter fight.
Notably, Park will have to maintain his distance against Denis, who has a higher reach advantage and is arguably the harder hitter. If all goes well, Park will be the one with his hand raised on Saturday night.
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