Mark Muñoz (born February 9, 1978 in Yokosuka, Japan) is a Filipino-American mixed martial artist, currently fighting in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
High School & Collegiate Wrestling[]
Template:Unreferenced section In high school, Muñoz was a two-time California State Wrestling Champion at 189 pounds for Vallejo Senior 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.
Mixed Martial Arts Career[]
World Extreme Cagefighting
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 (Strikes) at 4:15 of the first round. [1]
Muñoz was slated to fight Steve Steinbeiss in WEC 36 on November 5, 2008,[2] but due to an undisclosed reason he was replaced by TUF alum Alex Schoenauer.[3]
Muñoz defeated Ricardo Barros last December 3, 2008 for WEC's year-end event, WEC 37 via TKO (strikes).[4]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Muñoz was one of the chosen few to be relocated to WEC's sister promotion, which is also owned and produced by Zuffa, UFC. Along with light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell, light heavyweight contenders Brian Stann and Steve Steinbeiss and Middleweight contenders Chael Sonnen & Nissen Osterneck.[5][6][7]
On March 7, 2009, Muñoz made his UFC debut at UFC 96. Mark 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. [8]
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) to UFC up and comer Nick Catone. The fight was full of intense sprawls and exciting stand up battles.
On January 2, 2010 at UFC 108, Muñoz brought in the new year with a bang by defeating MMA veteran Ryan Jensen via submission (strikes) at the 2:30 mark of the first round.
Muñoz is scheduled to face The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove on April 10, 2010 at UFC 112.[9]
Personal life[]
Mark and his wife have four children.[10]
Mixed martial arts record[]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 13 | 7 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 3 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kendall Grove
|
UFC 112: Invincible | April 10, 2010 |  Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| ||||||
| Win | 7-1 | Ryan Jensen
|
Submission (Punches) | UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva | January 2, 2010 | 1 | 2:30 | Las Vegas, United States
| |
| Win | 6-1 | Nick Catone
|
Decision (Split) | UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira | August 29, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Portland, Oregon, United States
|
Middleweight Debut |
| Loss | 5-1 | Matt Hamill
|
KO (Head Kick) | UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine | March 7, 2009 | 1 | 3:53 | Columbus, Ohio, United States
|
UFC Debut |
| Win | 5-0 |  Ricardo Barros
|
KO (Punches) | WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia | December 3, 2008 | 1 | 2:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
| |
| Win | 4-0 | Chuck Grigsby
|
TKO (Punches) | WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver | June 1, 2008 | 1 | 4:15 | Sacramento, California, United States
|
WEC Debut |
| Win | 3-0 | Tony Rubalcava
|
Decision (Unanimous) | PFC 4 - Project Complete | October 18, 2007 | 1 | 2:13 | Lemoore, California, United States
| |
| Win | 2-0 | Mike Pierce
|
Decision | GC 69 - Bad Intentions | September 22, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States
| |
| Win | 1-0 | Austin Achorn
|
TKO (Punches) | PFC 3 - Step Up | July 19, 2007 | 1 | 1:25 | Lemoore, California, United States
|
References[]
- ↑ WEC | World Extreme Cagefighting
- ↑ STEVE STEINBEISS VS MARK MUNOZ AT WEC 36 - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more
- ↑ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/08/25/tuf-1-and-ifl-alum-alex-schoenauer-to-make-wec-debut-on-sept-10/
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/osu-wrestlers-dominate-wec-undercard-15383
- ↑ 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/
- ↑ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/08/30/wec-moving-closer-towards-elimination-of-middleweight-and-light-heavyweight-divisions/
- ↑ http://archive.is/20120710040948/mmajunkie.com/news/13423/wec-veteran-mark-munoz-headed-to-the-ufc.mma
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-96-Live-Play-by-Play-16462
- ↑ UFC 112: Kendall Grove vs Mark Munoz booked for April 10. mmamania.com (2010-01-18).
- ↑ Mark Munoz goes from Cowboy to MMA sensation. Stillwater-Newspress.com (2009-01-03). Retrieved on 2009-03-06.
External links[]
Professional MMA record for Mark Munoz from Sherdog Fight Finder- Mark Munoz Profile at the National (Amateur) Wrestling Hall of Fame
ja:マーク・ムニョス