UFC 321: Ikram Aliskerov vs Park Jun-yong Preview & Prediction
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The penultimate fight on the prelims sees Ikram Aliskerov take on Park Jun-yong in a 185 pound showcase.
Ikram Aliskerov vs Park Jun-yong facts
What time are Ikram Aliskerov and Park Jun-yong expected to walk out?
Where is UFC 321? Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Where can I get tickets for UFC 321? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC 321
What TV channel is UFC 321 on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN+
Where can I stream UFC 321? UK – TNT Sports subscribers can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC 321 main card
Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane (Heavyweight)
Virna Jandiroba vs Mackenzie Dern (Women’s Strawweight)
Umar Nurmagomedov vs Mario Bautista (Bantamweight)
Alexander Volkov vs Jailton Almeida (Heavyweight)
Aleksandar Rakic vs Azamat Murzakanov (Light Heavyweight)
UFC 321 prelims
Nasrat Haqparast vs Quillan Salkilld (Lightweight
Ikram Aliskerov vs Park Jun-yong (Middlweight)
L'udovit Klein vs Mateusz Rebecki (Lightweight)
Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs Matheus Camilo (Lightweight)
Valter Walker vs Louie Sutherland (Heavyweight)
Nathaniel Wood vs Jose Miguel Delgado (Featherweight)
Hamdy Abdelwahab vs Chris Barnett (Heavyweight)
Azat Maksum vs Mitch Raposo (Flyweight)
Jaqueline Amorim vs Mizuki Inoue (Women’s Strawweight)
Ikram Aliskerov: The menacing KO artist looks to kickstart another middleweight win streak
While a first round KO defeat to Robert Whittaker may have considerably dampened his hype, Ikram Aliskerov (16-2) remains one of the best middleweights currently plying their trade outside the UFC rankings. The 32 year old Russian's only other defeat is to current 185 pound kingpin Khamzat Chimaev, and he's largely run roughshod over his competition outside of that. A bruising power puncher with heavy hands, Aliskerov also has underrated grappling ability to fall back upon. Beginning his UFC career at 2-0 before running into "Bobby Knuckles," Aliskerov has since rebounded with a stoppage victory over Andre Muniz.
Park Jun-yong: Can "The Iron Turtle" play spoiler at the expense of his foe?
A UFC competitor since 2019, the all-action Park Jun-yong (19-6) has quietly put together one of the more consistent records at middleweight in recent years. A fan-favorite with a penchant for a brawl, "The Iron Turtle" is 9-3 with the promotion, scoring three wins by rear-naked choke submission to boot. With losses to the likes of Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues, he's only ever come up short to decent levels of competition and is currently on a two fight win streak over Brad Tavares and Ismail Naurdiev.
Ikram Aliskerov vs Park Jun-yong prediction
Aliskerov may not be as elite as many people thought he may have the potential to be, but he's still only lost to the very best at 185 pounds; the man's only losses are to Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev for crying out loud! Outside of those two standout middleweights, he's largely decimated everybody they've put in front of him.
"The Iron Turtle" is renowned for his toughness but he's also been getting hurt far more often than usual in his recent fights. He could conceivably win this if he can drag Aliskerov into the deep waters of a brawl, but he's got to survive the Russian's initial onslaught to do so. He hasn't been stopped on the feet since running into the heavy handed Gregory Rodrigues back in 2021, but Aliskerov is easily the heaviest hitter he has fought since that loss.
At the end of the day, Aliskerov has only ever lost to championship level fighters while Park arguably has yet to even face anybody who is even truly elite. The Russian has all the momentum of an impressive rebound TKO over Andre Muniz, a fighter who incidentally holds a victory over "The Iron Turtle."
This looks primed to be the one where all of the damage catches up with the South Korean. Aliskerov cracks Park's chin early for the first round TKO.
Prediction: Ikram Aliskerov to win by first round TKO
