Preview: UFC Fight Night 213 Prelims

Middleweights

Jun Yong Park (14-5, 4-2 UFC) vs. Joseph Holmes (8-2, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Park (-240), Holmes (+200)

It will be nice to see if Park can get back to his more entertaining ways after his last bout. Park’s fights tend to hinge a lot on what his opponent brings to the table, owing to the counter-heavy style of “The Iron Turtle.” Initially more focused on answering his opponents’ striking, Park eventually broke out an impressive wrestling game to make hay against those with more suspect takedown defense. However, as his loss to Gregory Rodrigues in late 2021 showed, the Korean is more than capable of matching his opponent’s chaotic energy, as the two combined for a brutal war with multiple shifts in momentum. Then there is his May outing against Eryk Anders. Pitted against a slow-paced and physically stout adversary, neither man got much done in the rare dud of a fight involving Park. Nevertheless, a win is a win, so Park is on to more exciting things against the much more reckless Holmes, who looks to follow up on his first UFC victory. One of the larger middleweights on the UFC roster, Holmes is awkward but effective. “Ugly Man” is not a clean striker but has enough power behind what he throws to keep opponents honest, all in the name of getting to a crafty grappling game that takes advantage of his length. Given Park’s tendency to let his opponent take the initiative, there is the chance that Holmes can find something that the Korean does not seem coming, particularly since his worst performances seem to come against the best grapplers he faces. With that said, Holmes is a flawed enough fighter, particularly defensively, that the surer bet seems to be Park shutting down the American’s best chances for a finish and slowly drowning him with a more consistent performance. The pick is Park via decision.

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