LAS VEGAS – Junyong Park will search for his fourth consecutive octagon win on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 49, but he knows it won’t come easy against Albert Duraev.
“It is going to be a long three rounds,” Park told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 49 media day. “Pretty much like a war.”
Park (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Duraev (16-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in a middleweight bout at the UFC Apex. The card airs on ESPN, which presents the fighters with a platform to show their skills to a notable audience.
This matchup has been on Park’s raar for several years, he said, and although he expects to have “the upper hand in the striking,” he knows it’s not a layup.
“He’s definitely a fighter I’ve known before I got into UFC,” Park said. Then I got his name I was like, ‘OK, this might be a fight that I can challenge myself to.’”
If Park can extend his winning streak to four fights in this spot, it should set him up to make a leap in the 185-pound pecking order. However, he won’t look beyond the task at hand.
“I really don’t look past this fight,” Park said. “I continue focusing on the fight ahead of me and nothing beyond that point. It’s not even like I look left or right. It’s just focusing on the fight ahead.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 49.
Junyong Park anticipates ‘a long three rounds’ with Albert Duraev in UFC on ESPN 49 co-headliner