Muñoz goes for win in Las Vegas UFC

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino-American Mark Muñoz resumes his quest for recognition and respect as he goes for a quick, impressive victory over a dangerous Ryan Jensen today (Philippine time) in their light heavyweight bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship 108 Evans vs. Silva at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

The 30-year-old Muñoz, fighting out of Vallejo, California, has won six of his seven fights including a split decision over Nick Catone in UFC102 Couture vs. Nogueira last Aug. 29. A win over Jensen should push the former up in the ladder.

Muñoz, who is incidentally fighting in the same weight class as countryman and friend Brandon “The Truth” Vera, however, knows he’s up against a fighter also coming off a rousing first round technical knockout of Steve Stenbeiss in UFC Fight Night Diaz vs. Guillard last Sept. 16.

In that fight, Jensen, who has a 15-4 (win-loss) record, used his excellent standup skill in knocking out Steinbess with 3:56 minutes left in the first round, ending a string of three losses in the octagon.

“Ryan (Jensen) will be a tough opponent. He’s well rounded and has more experience in the cage. I’ve been training real hard and working specifically on my standup,” said Muñoz.

Truly, Muñoz needed to sharpen his standup skill well following a first round TKO loss to Matt Hamill in his UFC debut in UFC 96 Jackson vs. Jardine last March 7. It was a bout he lost after a Hamill kick sent him sprawling on the canvas.

Muñoz said he has trained in boxing and kickboxing in preparation for this match.

“A typical day consists of strength and conditioning for an hour and a half, MMA training for two hours, then boxing/kickboxing for another two hours,” he said.

What Muñoz should do though is to use his ground skills in bringing down Jensen, who lost three of his UFC fights via submission.

The 6’1” Jensen, fighting out of Omaha, Nebraska, lost to Wilson Gouveia in UFC Fight Night Diaz vs. Neer two years ago, Demian Maia in UFC 77 Hostile Territory and Thales Leites in UFC 74 Respect also three years ago - all via submissions (arm lock, choke and other).

Muñoz, Vera and Ultimate Fighter runner-up Philipp Nover are among the few Filipinos fighting in the UFC. – Joey Villar