Din Thomas makes his pick for Taira vs. Park and a betting insider finds value bets on this weekend’s MMA cards.
Tatsuro Taira looks to reenter UFC men’s flyweight title contention when he goes head-to-head with HyunSung Park in the main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+, with prelims at 6 p.m. also on ESPN/ESPN+).
Taira, ESPN’s No. 7-ranked flyweight, suffered the first loss of his professional career in his last Octagon appearance, dropping a split decision to Brandon Royval in October. Before the loss, he was riding a 16-fight winning streak.
Park, unranked by ESPN, has finished all three of his opponents since making his UFC debut in February 2023. Park earned a UFC contract by winning the «Road to UFC» tournament in 2022.
Also this weekend, the 2025 PFL championships kick off with the welterweight and featherweight finals. The fights will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Friday (9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+, with prelims at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+).
In the main event, PFL newcomer Thad Jean vies for his first promotional title when he squares off with former Bellator competitor Logan Storley for the welterweight belt. In the co-main event, Jesus Pinedo takes on Movlid Khaybulaev for the featherweight championship.
ESPN MMA analyst and commentator Din Thomas provides his UFC main event prediction, and ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds insight on the value bets available on both fight cards.
