Fighting butterflies

CLOVIS - Harvey Park won't lie. He's excited, nervous, almost ready to jump out of his skin as Friday's Mixed Martial Arts lightweight fight against Demarques Jackson approaches.

When asked about it, Park actually chuckled.

"How would you feel? Yeah, there's butterflies," said Park, a Clovis resident who grew up in Melrose, with a Navy stint in between.

"It's worse than other sports because the stakes are higher, in my opinion. ... It's a whole different feeling when it's yourself you have to hold accountable. ... I will be nervous, but they always say, 'When you don't feel like that it may be time to hang them up.'"

Eric Suan - owner of Force of One Martial Arts in Clovis - is Park's trainer, and he has the butterflies, too. For good reason.

"Every fight for Harvey is a bigger and better fight, one step closer to where we want to be," Suan said. "We want to be where the best fighters are, and that's the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). That's the most exposure for us as a small-town gym. And to make it to the big time like that would be kind of a Cinderella story."

Friday's fight, to be televised live at 7 p.m. MDT on AXS TV, will be held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance Lightweight Championship. Park, 11-2 as a pro, will take on the 10-2 Jackson from Boca Raton, Florida in Friday's main event.

Park, who originated from Downey, California and uses the nickname "Fightbot," recently celebrated his 33rd birthday. Jackson, nicknamed "Scrap Iron'" is 28. Jackson comes into Friday's clash on a three-fight winning streak; Park has won two straight, overcoming injury to earn a unanimous decision against Le'Ville Simpson last Nov. 9 in Phoenix and stopping Jaleel Willis at 3:17 of Round 1 on Jan. 25 in Albuquerque. Each fighter is 4-1 in his last five bouts.

As of Tuesday, Park was listed at 155.8 pounds, Jackson at 164.0 pounds. Park stands at an even six feet tall, giving him a height advantage over the 5'8" Jackson. Their reaches are practically a wash - Park's is 72 inches, Jackson's 72.5.

Park, though confident, expects Jackson to be a formidable opponent.

"He's got a little bit of power in his hands," Park said, "so he's going to look to mix it up between striking and wrestling."

The fact that Park is sizing up an opponent's strengths for a championship bout is impressive, considering he only started training as an MMA fighter 10 years ago after getting out of the Navy. He was already 23, "so I got a fairly late start," he said.

About four months after his discharge, Park met Suan, who had been involved with Force of One since 2006.

"We've kind of grown together," Park said. "I didn't have any fights when I met him. He's been my trainer since before we were ever making a dime together."

"He's always had that drive," Suan said, "and anything that we taught him he just soaked up like a sponge. He's just a quick learner."

Suan still remembers how Park's high school football coaches described him going up between two defenders for a ball thrown his way. "He was like a dog fighting for a treat," Suan said. As a senior in 2003, Park set a six-man national record with 29 touchdown catches.

And that determination continued as Park worked his way through an amateur career, losing just once in 10 bouts.

Park was proving he was tough, but also that he had an intellect, a prerequisite for any MMA fighter.

"It's as strategic as it gets," Park said. "It's all the discipline of fighting, so people are stronger in one thing or another. ... So there are different ways you're going to approach fights. People are good in some things and weaker in others. It's a real 'Art of War' sport, taking advantage of where people are strong and people are weak. ... Anyone can beat anyone. It's really about a stylistic matchup, who can execute game plans and who can execute strategies."

One thing Park doesn't use often when fighting is his mouth.

"I don't really like to talk trash at all," he said. "I've never been that way. Sometimes there's a place for it in sports, but I just like to train and compete. It's about competing for me. People might like to talk; it helps them psychologically. For me, it's just the opposite; it would hurt me. I just want to train and be happy with the work I put in."

That's been paying off for him so far. After toiling and succeeding as an amateur, Park rose to professional status. And with the help of Suan, manager Ricky Kottenstette, coaches Nick Urso and Seth Eifret, and boxing coach Jose Lopez, Park was able to work toward Friday's championship bout. He is grateful for all that coaching and training, and for quite a few other people.

"Thanks to all my sponsors and everyone supporting me," Park said. "They make it easier on me, and their support really helps."

A lot of it, though, has been Park's own grit, on full display in last November's decision victory over Simpson. During the first round, Park suffered a compound fracture in his right index finger.

"The bone went through his skin and he kept fighting with it," Suan recalled. "I popped it back in; he was able to punch with it for a while."

A pretty gruesome scene indeed. "You could see a big hole where the bone had punctured through the skin," Suan said.

There were also referees who wanted to stop the fight, but Park would have none of it. He went on to win and went viral on YouTube.

Park is hoping to avoid any injuries Friday. He just wants to fight, win, move up.

"(The fights) always get bigger if you keep winning," Park said. "We don't want to look ahead. We do have high aspirations, but if you win they get bigger. Even if you have a dull personality, if you win they keep getting bigger. It does help if you're charismatic, if you talk some trash, and build some drama for the fight. But as long as you're winning you're going to get bigger fights."