Philadelphia's Cindy Ung looking to use a little hometown advantage to claim FURY Professional Grappling 13 tournament crown

With $5,000 on line, Ung is dialed in for massive opportunity: "Winning this would top my list of accomplishments."

With $5,000 on the line and competing under the bright lights of Atlantic City, Cindy Ung is ready to bring home a tournament victory at FURY Professional Grappling 13.

Set for Friday, May 23 at New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and streaming live on UFC FIGHT PASS, the FURY Professional Grappling 13 lineup is stacked from top to bottom with surging talent, a few UFC homecomings, the first two inaugural title matches in the promotion's history, and an intriguing single-night, four-woman tournament at 125 pounds.

Ung will represent Philadelphia's Balance Studios in the four-woman field, enjoying a short trip to the venue in what will essentially be home game for her.

Founded by the Migliarese brothers, Phil and Ricardo, Balance Studios sees the two Relson Gracie black belt each utilize more than 30 years of Brazilian jiu-jitsu training in their lessons. The two expert instructors are considered to be an extended family of the Gracies, and Ung is proud to represent that team in the tournament and feels she is more than ready for a successful business trip to the Jersey Shore.

"I wouldn't get better without my training partners," Ung said. "A lot of my teammates are on this card with me. They're pushing me, and I'm pushing them every day. We're on the mats every single day.

"Phil and Rick, who are the owners of Balance, have been like the first pioneers of jiu-jitsu in the Philadelphia area. They have a lot of history in the game, and when you are around people like that who work hard, you work hard, too."

Opening round matchups for the tournament will be determined following weigh-ins, but Ung will compete alongside Trinity Pun, Taylor Hishaw and Amanda Bruse. The tournament winner takes home $5,000 and significant bragging rights.

In one of the few women's grappling competitions offering such a substantial reward, Ung was honored to just be selected to compete for the prize.

"I'm super grateful," Ung said. "Being one of the first females to be in a cash bracket for FURY is really exciting. Also exciting that it's going to be in Atlantic City on Memorial Day Weekend. It's going to be madness."

In addition to enjoying a short trip to the venue, Ung also expects to benefit from the support of a local crowd. Living and training just a quick car ride away from the venue, Ung says it will be an honor to represent Philadelphia in her efforts to secure the tournament win.

"It's really cool," Ung said. "The Eagles are a great example of a hometown advantage. It's cool to compete close to home. The fanbase is kind of crazy, so I'm really stoked because I feel like I will have the advantage."

With eight years of training under her belt, Ung now turns her attention to what she feels is the biggest opportunity of her career thus far. Matched up with three young, hungry, and high-level targets, Ung feels she has the experience to win it all. Having already competed against both Pun and Hishaw in the past, Ung could walk into two rematches in this bracket, but she's equally excited about the possibility of facing Bruse, as well.

"I'm scrapping it out May 23," Ung said. "Trinity is a monster on the mats. We've trained together a little bit. I faced her when I got my purple belt, and she beat me. I'm hoping to run that one back.

"Taylor is also a beast. She's super athletic, super strong. She plays rule sets very well. I've never gone up against Amanda, but I'm a big fan of her. She's super accomplished, and I'd love to get a match with her."

Ung feels what sets her apart from the other women is her old-school fighting style. The Philadelphia native enjoys hammering down the basics of jiu-jitsu as well as staying ready for the new meta we see in modern jiu-jitsu today.

Team Balance has prepared their pupils to hit the mats come May 23. Ung will look to pull out all the stops and showcase her and her team's elite grappling abilities in this high-stakes cash bracket.

"Winning this would top my list of accomplishments," Ung said. "Getting the job done would mean a lot in terms of how far I've come on this journey, in terms of how much better of an overall grappler I've become.

"Once I get on that stage, I'm very high energy. It's going to be a scrap. At the end of the day, I have the mentality to go out and do this – not only as a grappler, but as an athlete."

ARTICLE BY: SETH FASSANO