Muñoz stops opponent in 1st round of UFC 108

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino-American Mark Muñoz used his superb wrestling skills to the hilt as he stopped Ryan Jensen in the first round in the Ultimate Fighting Championship 108 Evans vs. Silva at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Muñoz, a 31-year-old former US All-America wrestler, made it two straight after deciding to go down from the light heavyweight class to middleweight as he leaned on his ground and pound attack to win by submission 2:30 into the opening round.

“I have a good ground and pound and I really wanted to get the submission victory today (yesterday), so I’ll take it,” said Muñoz.

It was Muñoz’ second win in a row since losing in his UFC debut to Matt Hamill in UFC96 Jackson vs. Jardine last year and seventh overall in eight mixed martial arts fights.

Muñoz won his first UFC bout with a split decision over Nick Catone in UFC102 Couture vs. Nogeuira last Aug. 29 before this rousing victory over Jensen, who fell to his fifth defeat against 15 wins.

Jensen, who came into the fight hoping he could beat the Vallejo, California native with his standup skills, came out quick and appeared to be on the verge of stunning the slightly favored Muñoz after the former weathered repeated attempts by the latter to take the fight down to the mat.

After his failed takedown attempt, Muñoz didn’t give up and struck back strong on his second try as he finally sent Jensen, who has pedestrian grappling skills, to the ground.

That was when Muñoz, called “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” worked his magic as he ripped off Jensen with a barrage of unanswered blows that forced the latter to tap out due to strikes to seal the win.

Muñoz, who came into the arena with an improved standing game thanks to his vigorous training in boxing and kickboxing, said it’s still his wrestling that gave him this much-needed victory.

“I worked hard trying to improve my standup skills without sacrificing my ground and pound game,” he said.

Muñoz’ close buddy light heavyweight contender Brandon “The Truth” Vera and nurse-turned-fighter Philipp Nover are among the few Filipinos competing in the most popular mixed martial arts league in the world.