Mark Muñoz

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Mark Muñoz
Born (1978-02-09) February 9, 1978 (age 35)
Yokosuka, Japan (US Military base)
Other names The Filipino Wrecking Machine
Nationality American, Filipino
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 186 lb (84 kg; 13 st 4 lb)
Division Middleweight (2009 – present)
Light Heavyweight (2007–2009)
Reach 71 in (180 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Lake Forest, California, United States
Team Kings MMA
Reign Training Center
Rank Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Wrestling NCAA Division I Wrestling
Years active 2007-present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 15
Wins 12
By knockout 6
By submission 1
By decision 5
Losses 3
By knockout 2
By decision 1
University Oklahoma State University[1]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: November 23, 2011

Mark Kenery Muñoz[2] (born February 9, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Muñoz is known for his wrestling ability and relentless ground-and-pound. As of March 2013, Muñoz is ranked as the #7 middleweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.[3]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Muñoz was born on the US Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan to Filipino parents from Manila, Philippines. At the age of 2, Muñoz and his family relocated and settled in the former US Navy town of Vallejo, California.

High school and Collegiate wrestling [edit]

In high school, Muñoz was a two-time California State Wrestling Champion at 189 pounds for Vallejo High School, Asics First Team All American and the 1996 NHSCA National High School Champion.

As a collegian at Oklahoma State University, Muñoz captured two Big 12 titles and earned back-to-back All-America honors at 197 pounds, including his NCAA title as a senior in 2001. He became the first Filipino American at the Division I Level to win a National Championship. He also made the NWCA All-Academic Team for three years and the Big 12 All-Academic squad for four. Additionally, Muñoz was a three-year member of the FILA Junior World Wrestling Team, earning the silver medal in 1998.

Muñoz received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Health Science from Oklahoma State University. Muñoz continues to give back to the wrestling community by offering a 5 to 10 day wrestling camp for high school athletes in Oceanside, California. He brings in wrestlers from Cal Poly, Fullerton, and Oregon to help the kids. Also Muñoz brings in Coach Calivitta and many other great clinicians like Urijah Faber, Joe Heskett, and even the wrestling great and his coach John Smith.

Mixed martial arts career [edit]

World Extreme Cagefighting [edit]

Muñoz made his WEC debut at WEC 34 on June 1, 2008 in the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. Muñoz defeated Chuck Grigsby via KO (punches) at 4:15 of the first round.[4]

Muñoz was slated to fight Steve Steinbeiss at WEC 36 on November 5, 2008,[5] but due to an undisclosed reason he was replaced by TUF alum Alex Schoenauer.[6]

Muñoz defeated Ricardo Barros on December 3, 2008 for WEC's year-end event, WEC 37 via TKO (punches).[7]

Ultimate Fighting Championship [edit]

Muñoz was one of the chosen few to be relocated to WEC's sister promotion—which is also owned and produced by Zuffa—along with light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell, light heavyweight contenders Brian Stann and Steve Steinbeiss and middleweight contenders Chael Sonnen and Nissen Osterneck.[8][9][10]

On March 7, 2009, Muñoz made his UFC debut at UFC 96. Muñoz suffered the first loss of his career and was rendered unconscious by a brutal head kick from UFC veteran Matt Hamill during the first round. Following the stoppage, Muñoz remained down on the mat for several minutes, eventually leaving the cage wearing a neck brace.[11]

On August 29, 2009 at UFC 102, Muñoz bounced back from his first defeat and answered the critics by winning a close split decision (28–29, 30–27 and 29–28) over fellow wrestler Nick Catone.

On January 2, 2010 at UFC 108, Muñoz faced and defeated MMA veteran Ryan Jensen via first round submission due to strikes at the 2:30 mark of the first round, showcasing some vicious ground and pound.

Muñoz defeated The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove on April 10, 2010 at UFC 112, by referee stoppage in the 2nd round, also winning the Fight of the Night honors.[12]

Muñoz was defeated by Yushin Okami via split decision on August 1, 2010 at UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko. In this fight, Muñoz was unable to utilize his infamous ground and pound due to Okami's ability to defend his takedowns.

Muñoz won a unanimous decision over Aaron Simpson on November 20, 2010 at UFC 123.

Muñoz defeated TUF 7 finalist CB Dollaway at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann on March 3, 2011 via first round KO. Muñoz landed a right hand that floored Dollaway, where he then followed up with some ground and pound which secured him the victory.

Muñoz defeated Demian Maia via unanimous decision on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131.[13]

Muñoz defeated Chris Leben, in the first 5 round non title fight in UFC history, on November 5, 2011 by corner stoppage at UFC 138.[14] The stoppage was due to the ground and pound of Muñoz that opened a cut over Leben's eye, rendering him unable to see and continue the fight.

Muñoz was set to fight Chael Sonnen on January 28, 2012 at UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis. However, Muñoz pulled out of his fight with Sonnen on January 17, 2012 due to an injury during training and was replaced by Michael Bisping, who was pulled from a scheduled fight with Demian Maia on the same card.[15]

Returning to action, Muñoz instead faced Chris Weidman on July 11, 2012 in the main event at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman.[16] He lost the fight via KO in the second round.

Muñoz is expected to face Tim Boetsch on July 6, 2013 at UFC 162.[17]

Personal life [edit]

Mark lives with his wife and his four children in Lake Forest, California.

Championships and accomplishments [edit]

Mixed martial arts [edit]

Amateur wrestling [edit]

  • FILA Wrestling World Championships
    • FILA World Championships Junior Freestyle 178.5 1b - 5th place (1996)[18]
    • FILA World Championships Junior Freestyle 182.5 1b - 2nd place (1998)[19]
  • USA FILA Junior World Freestyle Championships
    • USA FILA Junior World Freestyle Championship 182.5 1b - Winner (1998)[20]

Collegiate wrestling [edit]

Mixed martial arts record [edit]

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 12–3 Chris Weidman KO (elbow & punches) UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman 02012-07-11July 11, 2012 2 1:37 San Jose, California, United States
Win 12–2 Chris Leben TKO (corner stoppage) UFC 138 02011-11-05November 5, 2011 2 5:00 Birmingham, England First 5 round non-title fight in UFC history.
Win 11–2 Demian Maia Decision (split) UFC 131 02011-06-11June 11, 2011 3 5:00 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win 10–2 CB Dollaway KO (punches) UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann 02011-03-03March 3, 2011 1 0:54 Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Win 9–2 Aaron Simpson Decision (unanimous) UFC 123 02010-11-20November 20, 2010 3 5:00 Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
Loss 8–2 Yushin Okami Decision (split) UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko 02010-08-01August 1, 2010 3 5:00 San Diego, California, United States
Win 8–1 Kendall Grove KO (punches) UFC 112 02010-04-10April 10, 2010 2 2:50 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Fight of the Night.
Win 7–1 Ryan Jensen Submission (punches) UFC 108 02010-01-02January 2, 2010 1 2:30 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6–1 Nick Catone Decision (split) UFC 102 02009-08-29August 29, 2009 3 5:00 Portland, Oregon, United States Middleweight Debut.
Loss 5–1 Matt Hamill KO (head kick) UFC 96 02009-03-07March 7, 2009 1 3:53 Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win 5–0 Ricardo Barros TKO (punches) WEC 37 02008-12-03December 3, 2008 1 2:26 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 4–0 Chuck Grigsby KO (punches) WEC 34 02008-06-01June 1, 2008 1 4:15 Sacramento, California, United States
Win 3–0 Tony Rubalcava Decision (unanimous) PFC 4: Project Complete 02007-10-18October 18, 2007 3 3:00 Lemoore, California, United States
Win 2–0 Mike Pierce Decision (unanimous) GC 69: Bad Intentions 02007-09-22September 22, 2007 3 5:00 Sacramento, California, United States
Win 1–0 Austin Achorn TKO (punches) PFC 3: Step Up 02007-07-19July 19, 2007 1 1:25 Lemoore, California, United States

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.markmunoz.net/mark-munoz-to-make-middleweight-debut-vs-nick-catone-at-ufc-102
  2. ^ http://boxing.nv.gov/2010%20Results%20Web/01-02-10%20MMA.pdf
  3. ^ "Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". sherdog.com. March 4, 2013. 
  4. ^ WEC | World Extreme Cagefighting
  5. ^ "STEVE STEINBEISS VS MARK MUNOZ AT WEC 36". MMAWeekly.com. July 12, 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-25. 
  6. ^ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/08/25/tuf-1-and-ifl-alum-alex-schoenauer-to-make-wec-debut-on-sept-10/
  7. ^ Mike Fridley. "OSU Wrestlers Dominate WEC Undercard". Sherdog. 
  8. ^ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/09/26/wec-announces-miguel-torres-vs-manny-tapia-for-title-on-dec-3-will-drop-middleweight-and-light-heavyweight-divisions-in-2009/
  9. ^ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/08/30/wec-moving-closer-towards-elimination-of-middleweight-and-light-heavyweight-divisions/
  10. ^ "WEC veteran Mark Munoz headed to the UFC in 2009". MMAjunkie. 
  11. ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-96-Live-Play-by-Play-16462
  12. ^ "Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz in the works for UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi". MMAjunkie.com. 2010-01-18. 
  13. ^ "UFC 131: Mark Munoz vs Demian Maia in the works for June 11 in Vancouver". mmamania.com. March 12, 2011. 
  14. ^ "Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz headlines UFC 138 in Birmingham, England". mmajunkie.com. 2011-07-19. 
  15. ^ "Munoz out at UFC on FOX 2; Bisping vs. Sonnen now set for shot at champ Silva". MMAJunkie.com. January 17, 2012. 
  16. ^ "Mark Munoz vs. Chris Weidman headlines UFC on FUEL TV 4 on July 11". mmajunkie.com. 2012-04-24. 
  17. ^ Ariel Helwani (2013-03-06). "Mark Munoz vs. Tim Boetsch slated for UFC 162". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2013-03-06. 
  18. ^ http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/wrestlers.php?wrestler=2483
  19. ^ http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/wrestlers.php?wrestler=2483
  20. ^ http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/wrestlers.php?wrestler=2483
  21. ^ http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/wrestlers.php?wrestler=2483
  22. ^ http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/wrestlers.php?wrestler=2483

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External links [edit]

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