Park Dae-Sung has the distinction of being one of only two Korean lightweights who made it out of the International Trials to be seeded in the $1 Million Tournament, the other being Kim Chang-Hyun. 

He's a prodigy from Team MOB who stunned the audience with his amazing performance. Park faced much more experienced MMA fighter Rodrigo Caporal, former RUFF champ, who is also a black belt in jiu jitsu and a highly accomplished grappler.

Park studied Caporal thoroughly. It was obvious. His takedown defense was on point, he fed knees and shots inside, and controlled the fight almost to the final bell. The 23-year old was ecstatic to have his hand raised.

“His jiu jitsu is strong, but my wrestling was better. I tried to knock him out, but anyway I beat him. In every way I beat him.”

Park was one of many Korean fighters who started in the ROAD FC amateur leagues. After much success in the Into League in 2013, he went pro and had some hard fights against more experienced opponents.  Then in just one year he went on a 3-fight win streak.

Seeing MMA as his long-term future, Park was smart and got his mandatory military duties out of the way early. His return pitted him against fellow superrookie Kim Kyung-Pyo at ROAD FC 035 in what became a fight of the year contender. And so he earned a shot in the Trials.

Now ahead of him is the opening round of the tournament. He will face Japan Trials winner Shimoishi Kota, a former DEEP title challenger with a very long record. Park once again shows his  brash confidence and sense of humor when discussing his opinion about the match up.

"No, I didn't want him. Is the answer set? It seems to be a conspiracy by Kwon A-Sol. He keeps saying 'Dae-Sung, come on up.' You understand my feeling? [laughs]  Shimoishi Kota is a little like my style once was, and he's similar because he's left-handed too. He's got three times more experience than me. I think I can win in the first round. Actually, I don't know why he's even in this tournament.”

Well then. Does Park have any pressure heading into the opening round?

“My family has the pressure.  They seem to be expecting a lot. Probably because it's a big prize-winning tournament.”

Park is very familiar with another fighter who is getting his second chance in the tournament, former ROAD FC Lightweight Champion Nam Yui-Chul. When Park started MMA, Nam was his coach.  He got his foundation from the powerful grinder.

"Nam Yui-Chul is a South Korean athlete who has competed with international fighters and champions. It's a natural result that he's here.”

Of course Park would have a positive view of his senior participating in the monumental tournament.  But what if he ends up fighting Nam?  Will his personal insight help?

“It's a secret!”

Is there an opponent he expects or wants to face in the tournament?

“I want to fight with Kwon A-Sol even before the title match.”

And he has a pretty clear opinion about who is the front runner in the tournament.

“Ronys Torres of Nova Uniao.”

Park has made a name for himself both in and out of the cage. While his fight style earned him the moniker "Crazy Dog", he also tends to bark out his opinions at the slightest provocation.  He knows what people think, but...

“I don't get it. I'm being just as authentic as when I'm in a fight. I want you to remember that I am a fighter.”

Sure, but there was that incident when he got a little too rambunctious with ROAD Girl Choi Seol-Hwa​ following a win, prompting so much criticism that he had to publicly apologise to her.

"When I won I was so happy that I couldn't control myself. But That's no excuse.  I was wrong and I'm really sorry to Miss Choi."

With that behind him, and fantastic performances making more of an impression on the fans, Park is looking forward to a dream come true.

“My childhood dream was to fight in the UFC. But my dream is being realized in ROAD FC. There are many high level fighters coming to this tournament, so I think that ROAD FC is no different than UFC or Bellator.  I'm determined to give everything in this match. I will fight with no regrets.  Because I would really like to beat up Kwon A-Sol one day.”