Having made the move to Fight Ready in Arizona, former LFA champ Eryk Anders was looking to bounce back from a submission loss to Andre Muniz when he faced off with Jun Yong Park on the UFC Vegas 55 main card.
South Korea’s Park had seen a three-fight winning streak snapped in his last fight, a wildly entertaining bout that saw him fall to Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues.
Round 1 began with Anders working a game plan that seemed to be shooting for takedowns only to get close to Park. He would then break the clinch and land on the break. This happened a few times until he finally shot in for a single leg and got Park to the ground. Park was able to get to his feet, Anders landed a head kick Holm-Rousey style, but Park ate it. Park wagged his finger as to say “nope” and he went at Anders to end the round.
Round 2 kicked off with a lot more action. Anders and Park traded for a bit until Anders shot in for a double leg and got Park down. Park got to his feet quickly and Anders got on his back, but didn’t land too much damage.
They went back to trading until Anders landed a shot to the cup that put Park down for a minute, but the fight continued. Jason Herzog warned both men about groin strikes and said he’ll start taking points.
Anders went back to his game plan, and took Park’s back near the end of the round. However he was too high on the back and fell off. The round ended with Anders defending against Park from bottom.
Round 3 was more of the same from Anders, but Park put the pressure on Anders. Anders resorted to shooting single legs to try and slow the action. Park knew he would likely need a finish, but Anders’ game plan of shooting to slow the action and stop the pressure was too much. The fight went to the judges despite Park’s efforts to land a finishing shot.
Official Result: Jun-Yong Park def. Eryk Anders via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
