Jiu-jitsu ace Andre Muniz took on the ‘Iron Turtle,’ Jun Yong Park, to open the UFC Vegas 83 main card.
Muniz gained fame by submitting the legend Jacare Souza via armbar and kept his win streak going for two fights after that. Unfortunately, he lost his ranked status when he lost two straight to Brendan Allen and Paul Craig so he sought to regain it by beating Park. ‘Iron Turtle’ came in on the best streak of his UFC career; he won four in a row and three of those by submission before facing Muniz.
After a feeling-out process, Muniz shot a double leg takedown and quickly moved to the back of Park along the fence. The fence initially prevented him from getting both hooks in but Muniz never relinquished the rear body-lock and trapped Park in a spin cycle of being mat returned repeatedly upon each stand-up.
Finally with ninety seconds left Muniz was able to drag Park away from the fence and get both hooks in to solidify his back take. He looked for a choke but Park was able to spin into the guard and get into full mount with thirty seconds left in the round, where he rained down elbows until the horn.
After a first round which was made close by the damage from Park at the end, the second round started with a competitive striking battle. Andre Muniz shot a takedown which failed initially one minute in, but then he pulled guard and was able to roll into top position with a slick move. As Park tried to stand up, Muniz took his back. Park again spun into the position to escape but Muniz stayed after him and wrestled to the rear body-lock, again using it to take the back. Park squirmed to avoid being settled in a dominant position but was not able to escape the grasp of Muniz fully until the horn separated them.
With potential for the scorecards to have Muniz ahead two rounds to none or to have the fight tied one round apiece there was all to play for in the final stanza. Muniz once again executed his gameplan of getting the takedown and securing a spot on Park’s back. With a body triangle locked up it was much harder for Park to spin into the guard of Muniz like he had before. Nevertheless, the South Korean did just that, ending up on top in the dangerous full guard of the Brazilian. Muniz swept him but Park used a single leg to wrestle up and get to the feet. Muniz instantly shot a takedown but Park defended it and got on top of Muniz in guard again. Park had trouble getting past Muniz’s defense but was still able to land some ground strikes through that resistance, leading to a tense judges’ decision.
The decision was predictably split, though when all three scorecards were read it was Andre Muniz who earned two 29-28’s and thus the victory.
