Prediction for the fight Albert Duraev vs Yun Yong Park

The Russian fighter, Albert Duraev, got into the UFC rather late, and at the start he performed no more than once a year. But now, his second fight awaits him in 2023, against the rather successful Korean prospect Yun Yong Park. Their confrontation will take place in the second most important event of UFC on ESPN 49, which will be held on July 16. For Duraev, as part of performances under the banner of Western promotion, this is almost the most difficult challenge, since his opponent will be ready to fight on any floor. Will the Machete's skills be enough to cut the threads of the Park to win this fight?

• Albert Duraev vs Yun Yong Park;
• Albert Duraev;
• Yun Yong Park;
• Comparative analysis;
• Game Totals Prediction.

Albert Duraev vs Yun Yong Park

Albert Duraev

A fighter from the Akhmat club comes from combat sambo. At one time, he became the champion of Russia, entered the top three at the World Cup, and also proved himself at the world grappling games, where he took second place, confirming a high level of skills on the ground. Later, Albert took the DIA league belts at 77 and 84 kg, gradually retraining as a good striker.

Strengths

In the stance, Duraev is very good on his hands, and concurrently, he pays great attention to kicks (up to 30% of the total number of attacks falls on the lower limbs of the enemy). And when it comes to wrestling, the Russian boasts a polished ground and pound and a variety of submissions: north-south, hand triangle, all kinds of chokes and so on.

Weaknesses

Albert has a low takedown pass rate - only 1/3 of his attempts are successful, and even mediocre defense against them. In addition, against the background of the rise in the level of the opposition, he no longer demonstrates the former pressure, accuracy and rigidity in punches, along with a noticeable drop in stamina. Most likely, both age and frequent downtime affect here, because in the professionals "Machete" is the 12th year, and in statistics he has 20 fights.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Albert is 34 years old, and before the meeting with Joaquim Buckley, he was on a series of 10 victories, blocking an extreme defeat with a very difficult victory over Chidi Njokuani by a split decision. It was no less difficult for Duraev with Roman Kopylov, but before that, he quite confidently dealt with the opposition of the level of Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, Mikhail Tsarev and Sergey Khandozhko. Overall, the Machete is consistently in good shape, but it's not outstanding in terms of stamina or concrete jaw. Right now, this is a classic representative of the "near-top" of the UFC, not demonstrating comforting stability.

Yun Yong Park

The fighter from Korea was originally an ardent representative of the striking style, in particular boxing, but by the time of his debut in MMA, wrestling and grappling had become an integral part of Park's technique. Yun became the champion of the Yawara FC league, competed in two weight categories and, despite not the highest media coverage, met such fighters as Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ray Cooper-third and other strong opponents on his way.

Strengths

Yong Park has a fairly effective technique of transfers to the ground - half of the attempts are successful, while he defends himself well from takedowns. In the stance, the athlete puts special emphasis on blows to the head, and you have to get used to his workrate and endurance - three-round fights, the Iron Turtle survives without problems. Lots of punches and wrestling make meeting this guy very energy intensive.

Weaknesses

If we do not take into account the fact that the Park itself is an obvious middle peasant in the division, without pronounced sides, then its main drawback can be considered straightforwardness. As mentioned above, he almost always hits only in the head, does not combine attacks with kicks, putting pressure on the opponent, without serious hints of the ability to act from him. Simply put, there is no need to talk about the role of the matador in his case, which is why he periodically plays, falling under more assertive opposition.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Yun is 32 years old, and having lost to Gregory Rodriguez by knockout, he went on a great series of victories, defeating the big Eric Anders, Joseph Holmes and Denis Tyulyulin - the last two ahead of schedule. Not to say that Park has been building up a lot or developing as a pro, but he is stable, good at all levels and ready to compete with almost all fighters in the top 20 middleweight UFC. And given the series of 3 victories, we can say that now the Korean is on a very good course.

Comparative analysis

In this pair, Albert will be a slight favorite in anthropometry: 5 cm in arm span and a couple of centimeters in height, nothing more. If we talk about technical issues, then Yun Yong is unlikely to become a gift of fate for Duraev. In the stand, he delivers up to two times more accented punches, and in terms of wrestling, he demonstrates more effective takedowns and good chokes, with which he defeated not passing guys, but rather serious prospects.

So why is Albert better? He has a more interesting kicking technique, excellent ground and pound, but taking a position on top, taking into account Park's takedown defense, it will be oh so hard for the Russian. In extreme performances, "Machete" often ended up on the floor after missed ones, but Yun's jaw is in order. So one cannot exclude such a possibility as a knockdown and finishing off from the Korean athlete already in the 1-2 round.

On the ground floor, both can "please" each other with submissions, but here a lot will depend on who will become that pressing link. The fact is that both do not reveal their trump cards in the best way, acting as second numbers, for this reason, the fight will be even and protracted until someone finally gives the reins of power to the opponent. And Duraev is much more likely to get into trouble, taking into account his cardio, stamina and not the best defense against passes to the legs.

Albert Duraev vs Yun Yong Park Prediction

Despite the coefficients, we can safely say that the fighters deserve each other both in the standing and on the ground. The only thing that is on the side of Yun Yong is a good supply of endurance and a more aggressive fight. Again - these strengths can be neutralized by bombardment from Albert on the ground floor, in case of successful attacks. It’s just not necessary to hope for a miracle, if you look at the extreme fights of athletes, because while Park submits one after another, Duraev holds uncertain fights with counterparts who have a dozen defeats in their careers. For this reason, it is more reasonable to bet on the favorite in this pair, and it is possible that the fight will not reach the final gong. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Yun Yong Park to win