Mark Munoz (9-2-0) never wanted to be a full time cage fighter. But when friend Urijah Faber invited Mark to train with him and with his first sparring partner being Randy Couture, it didn’t take long for Munoz to join the world of MMA. Although he admits to still being a little green to the fight game, in the world of wrestling he is king. His 2001 NCAA Division 1 National Championship from Oklahoma State proves that. But as we often see with wrestlers it’s been a tough transition for Munoz. “I spent a lot of time working on my weaknesses and making them my strengths,” said Munoz. “If I didn’t have anybody inspiring and motivating me to be my best in all areas of my life, I don’t know where I would be right now.”
Coming off a three fight win streak, Mark was pretty convinced that his high caliber wrestling background could get him through the fights. But in the back of his head he knew that he needed to learn the standup aspect of the sport. It wasn’t until his fight against Yushin Okami in August of 2010 that went from a thought to a reality. “I learned a lot from that fight and that was the turning point for me,” said Munoz. “I know I can stand up with the best of them because now Okami is up for a title shot.” He went and enlisted the help of former Chute Box stand up coach, Rafael Cordeiro who has trained some of the best in the business like Anderson Silva, Shogun Rua and Wanderlei Silva just to name a few.
After winning his last fight at UFC 123 over friend and former wrestling coaching partner Aaron Simpson, the UFC has chosen yet another wrestler as his opponent in CB Dollaway (12-3-0) at UFC on Versus: Sanchez vs. Kampmann and that’s is just fine with him. “A fight’s a fight,” explained Munoz. “I’m going to go out there and do whatever I’ve been working on to the best of my ability.”
Having the advantage of being able to watch a lot of tape on Dollaway being as he was on The Ultimate Fighter, Munoz studies how he sets up shots because that is the best way to learn how to counter a move according to him. “Awareness is the key,” said Munoz. “I watch how he sets it up. If you try to counter what he does it’s too late.”
In addition to his upcoming fight, the UFC has made some note that it has interest in doing a future TUF season in the Philippines and has made some indications that Munoz, whose nickname is “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” because of his Filipino heritage, could possibly be the coach. “I would love to be a coach and coach my people,” explained Munoz. “It just makes sense because I know the language and can communicate with them, so I am very excited to see what happens with that.” All his focus is on Dollaway now though and Kentucky on Thursday. And, if you have never seen him fight he is very clear on what you will witness. “Fireworks,” said Munoz. “I’m not out just to score points, I’m going to press you and I want to end it right away. I’m not one to showboat. I just get the business done.” Mark Munoz and CB Dollaway will co-headline UFC on Versus: Sanchez vs. Kampmann, Thursday, March 3rd from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY, live on the Versus network, 9pm ET.
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