The face of the six-game winning streak powerhouse was 'covered in blood,' yet Park Bo-hyun overturned the assessment that she was "at a significant disadvantage" and advanced to the finals... defeating Abduyeva, earning praise for a "great show."

*This content was translated by AI.

'Rush' Park Bo-hyun (27) completely overturned unfavorable predictions about her with her own skills. She defeated a formidable opponent riding a six-game winning streak and reached the final hurdle on her path to joining the UFC.

On the 28th (Korea time), Park Bo-hyun defeated Farida Abduyeva (22, Kyrgyzstan) by unanimous decision in the women's strawweight semifinal of 'ROAD TO UFC Season 5 Semifinals: Mahshat vs. Flowers' held at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China.

With this victory, Park Bo-hyun successfully advanced to the tournament finals. Her professional record now stands at 10 wins and 3 losses, extending her winning streak to six consecutive victories.

ROAD TO UFC is a tournament created to provide promising fighters from Asia and the Pacific region with opportunities to join the UFC. In Season 5, competition is underway across four weight classes: strawweight (52.2 kg), flyweight (56.7 kg), bantamweight (61.2 kg), and featherweight (65.8 kg).

Park Bo-hyun now needs just one more victory in the finals to take a step closer to her goal of securing a UFC contract.

In fact, until before the tournament, expectations for Park Bo-hyun were not high. Earlier, the overseas combat sports media outlet 'Combat Press' analyzed the ROAD TO UFC Season 5 women's strawweight tournament and classified Park Bo-hyun as a "low-probability fighter."

At that time, the outlet stated, "We think Park Bo-hyun is a solid fighter," but also predicted, "This tournament features fighters of incredible levels. Among all weight classes, this bracket has the deepest pool of talent."

In particular, Combat Press pointed out that Park Bo-hyun would have to compete at a higher weight class than usual as a weakness. The outlet explained, "Park Bo-hyun is a fighter who usually competes in the atomweight division, and competing among skilled strawweight fighters creates a significant disadvantage."

Park Bo-hyun has primarily competed around 48 kg in the atomweight division. In this tournament, she is challenging for a UFC contract by competing one weight class higher at strawweight.

Moving up in weight increases the likelihood of being at a disadvantage in terms of physique and strength. Additionally, with many high-level fighters participating in this strawweight tournament, predictions suggested that Park Bo-hyun's challenge would not be easy.

Her semifinal opponent, Abduyeva, was also no pushover. Before the match, Abduyeva had a professional record of 8 wins and 1 loss and was on a six-game winning streak. She was a powerhouse who mastered various striking techniques including Muay Thai, boxing, kickboxing, and Wushu Sanda.

Park Bo-hyun also had confidence in her striking. Using boxing and kickboxing as her primary weapons, she secured five consecutive victories starting from 2024.

The result was a victory for Park Bo-hyun.

Just like her nickname 'Rush.' Park Bo-hyun relentlessly pressured Abduyeva. Although Abduyeva tried to create distance using her long reach and kicks, Park Bo-hyun closed the gap with her signature forward pressure and continued a punch-focused striking battle.

Amid repeated exchanges, Abduyefa's face began bleeding. Even while bleeding, Abduyeva fought back until the end, but Park Bo-hyun remained unshaken. Continuing her pressure to the very last moment, Park Bo-hyun secured a unanimous decision victory after completing all rounds.

After the match, UFC also shared news of Park Bo-hyun's victory on its social media, stating, "She put on a great show." It further introduced that Park Bo-hyun advanced to the finals with a unanimous decision win.

Coincidentally, Park Bo-hyun displayed strong confidence even before the match. She declared, "100%. I will definitely win," and added, "I think I can put on a great fight." And she proved her words true in the actual match.

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*This content was translated by AI.