With no real fight camp or preparation to be heard of, “I’m just going to fight with my regular skills,” South Korea’s Hyun Sung Park said ahead of his short-notice main event at UFC Vegas 108 this Saturday.
Speaking at the event’s rather sparse media day, flyweight Park (10-0) said to those in attendance that Taira was a “good MMA fighter, but not too great. So I think I’ll be able to beat him.”
Communicating via translator, and apparently mistakenly believed to be his own opponent by one reporter present (or just thought to be Japanese, rather than Korean), Park’s appearance was brief. He’s jumped into this headlining gig to replace Amir Albazi, who wasn’t cleared to fight. The good news is, Park was booked to compete the following week, so the weight cut is under control.
“Of course I’m cutting a lot of weight in a short period of time, but I don’t see that as very difficult. I just want to focus on my weight cut right now, and then just be able to win this week.”
As for how he compares to Taira, “striking-wise I’m obviously better than Tatsuro, but he just has a longer reach. I might have difficulty, but I will smash him,” Park promised.
Then, forgoing his translator and speaking in rather clear English, Park stated “I will smash Taira Tatsuro.” Prompted to speak on his own a little more, he added “I will break him.”
A tall order for one of the rising stars in the UFC‘s smallest men’s weight class, but the message was loud and clear.
Watch the full UFC Vegas 108 media day appearance by Hyun Sung Park above.
