Tatsuro Taira vs. Hyun Sung Park Prediction, Pick, Odds for UFC Vegas 108 (Saturday, August 2)

Check out the Tatsuro Taira vs. Hyun Sung Park prediction for UFC Vegas 108 on Saturday, August 2, with my betting preview and breakdown.

Tatsuro Taira vs. Hyun Sung Park Odds

On Saturday, the UFC returns to the APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a 12-fight card, featuring a flyweight main event between 25-year-old Japanese phenom Tatsuro Taira and unbeaten 29-year-old Hyun Sung Park — a native of South Korea.

Park is stepping in for Amir Albazi on extremely short notice, accepting the bout earlier this week. Park was in training camp and scheduled for a step-up in competition against Steve Erceg on next week's card, but will compete in his first main event or five-round fight on Saturday. Park has only seen the third round twice in his professional career.

"Peace of Mind" earned his UFC contract with a 3-0 record on Road to UFC (all by finish) and has maintained a 100% finish rate against a pair of UFC opponents (Shannon Ross and Carlos Hernandez).

Taira hopes to bounce back from his first career loss – a five-round main event at the APEX against Brandon Royval last October – and reascend towards title contention. The standout grappler has a 6-1 promotional record, including four finishes.

Below, I'll provide my analysis and projections for the UFC Vegas 108 main event on Saturday and utilize those factors to bet on these flyweights. They should make their cage walks at approximately 11:45 p.m. ET (8:45 p.m. PT) on ESPN on Saturday evening.

Here's my Taira vs. Park pick and prediction.

Tale of the Tape

Taira is the longer athlete (4" reach advantage), and has faced a higher level of competition – defeating several competent UFC flyweights; and dominating minutes in the majority of those fights – whereas Park has dispatched of two unranked competitors in less than 10 minutes of combined fight time. Moreover, Taira is still improving – both in terms of skill and physical maturation – in his mid-twenties, while Park is already at his athletic prime.

Park is aggressive – he hasn't seen the scorecards since his MMA debut, with an average fight time of 5:47 in those contests. And he has both well-rounded skills and the fight IQ to attack opponents in an area where he can exploit a potential advantage.

Park is the more dangerous striker in this matchup. He swings harder, lands with more power, throws combinations in the pocket, changes levels to work the body, and has vicious knees to counteract Taira's takedown attempts. Moreover, Park has also looked strong when grappling opponents offensively – physically overpowering Carlos Hernandez from the outset in a way that Taira (and his countryman Rei Tsuruya) were unable to initially:

Park excels at taking the back and choking opponents out – securing his fifth career rear-naked choke against Hernandez – but he's likelier to knockout than submit a grappling ace in Taira, who only defends strikes at a 46% clip.

While Taira's offensive striking has improved, he is extremely hittable defensively and was nearly tripled up at range by Royval (outlanded 97-38). I'd expect Park to land more volume early if this fight stays standing. Still, I'm not particularly confident in his ability to maintain a high pace into the championship rounds, given his lack of third-round experience and his tendency to put 100% power into every striking and grappling technique.

Conversely, Taira showed sufficient cardio, in addition to heart and high Fight IQ in his loss to Royval; relentlessly pursuing takedowns after falling behind in the opening frame (controlled Royval for 4:10 in Round 2). As a result — considering I think Park will find his best success early in this matchup — you can consider live betting Taira anytime after Round 1, provided his price improves; I'd expect Park to slow eventually, and to become easier to wrangle, the longer the fight goes.

Like Park, Taira enjoys taking the back of his opponents – but he'd rather sit and hold a body triangle for extended stretches and maintain position rather than aggressively hunting for a finish, and risk losing control of his opponent. Park is a talented prospect, but a short-notice matchup specifically against Taira's fighting style is a difficult spot; he has a unique body type and grappling style to prepare for.

Moreover, since Park was preparing for a boxer in Erceg — rather than a grappler — he was likely training to offensively wrestle, as opposed to drilling defensive scrambling and takedown defense.

And he's the "B" side of this fight. The UFC put Taira's entire UFC career for free on the internet this week and is hyping him as Japan's "ticket to a UFC championship." They are invested in getting him to a title fight, for marketing purposes, by whatever means necessary.

Whether Taira is capable of defeating Alexandre Pantoja, Josh Van, Royval, Manel Kape, or any other top five flyweight contenders remains to be seen (I'm skeptical due to the physicality and offensive striking) but as we have seen in the past (against Hernandez specifically) Taira's grappling threat creates openings for him in the striking; and both Taira's power may be underrated, while Park's durability (as an undefeated fighter) is potentially overrated; he was knocked down in seperate fights in his Road to UFC victories.

Still, I'd expect Taira's patience to ultimately prove the difference against Hernandez, who is likely to overswing and create reactive takedown opportunities for Taira to put him flat on the mat.

Taira vs. Park Pick, Prediction

I projected Tatsuro Taira as a -320 favorite (76.2% implied) for Saturday's main event; as a result, I don't show actionable value on either side of the moneyline.

However, to reiterate, you can live bet Taira anytime after Round 1, assuming his price improves; Park is just far too untested in extended fights.

Additionally, I like the fight to end inside the distance around 70% of the time (-237 implied odds) and would bet on the Under 4.5 Rounds (-150) to -190 or the Fight Doesn't Go to Decision (-175) prop to -215.

Alternatively, or in addition, I project value on Taira to win by submission (projected +148, listed +165) or inside the distance (projected -121, listed +100); which I would take to +150 and -120, respectively.

And lastly, if you want to lean into the potential cardio dynamic of the fight, consider Taira to win in Round 4 (+1400) or Round 5 (+2000) as dart throws.

Sean's Pick: Fight Ends Inside the Distance (-175 at BetWay) | Tatsuro Taira wins Inside the Distance (-109 at ESPNBet) | Tatsuro Taira Live Anytime after Round 1