Muñoz, Vera face tough foes in UFC

MANILA, Philippines - Fil-Ams Mark Muñoz and Brandon Vera will get a chance to move up in their respective divisions as they headline two fight cards in the Ultimate Fighting Championship next month.

Back after undergoing a ligament operation last January, Muñoz will try to regain his old place in the middleweight class as he takes on a fast-rising Chris Weidman at UFC on Fuel TV slated July 12 (Phl time) at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

Muñoz, 34, was set to fight top middleweight challenger Chael Sonnen early in the year but pulled out in the last minute after sustaining an arm injury.

The former two-time All-America champion was then replaced by Michael Bisping. Sonnen won that fight and gained a second crack at division champion and mixed martial arts’ pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva.

Muñoz hopes to make the most of the chance to get another crack at the big fight.

“I’m happy to be back fighting again,” Muñoz, who visited the Phl and met with his family and held some clinics a couple of months ago, told The STAR. “I’ve been saying that I want a fight against whoever is the champion and for me to get that is to win the fights given me along the way.”

Vera, meanwhile, will be fighting former light heavy champion Mauricio Rua at UFC on Fox on Aug. 5 (Phl time) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

It will be a make-or-break bout for the 34-year-old Vera, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Eliot Marshall at UFC 137 in October last year that put him back on track with 12 wins, five losses and one no-contest.

Vera was also scheduled to fight in the Muñoz-Weidman undercard against James Te Huna but got the call after Rua’s original foe, Thiago Silva, backed out due to an injury.

But Vera will have his hands full against Rua, a Curitiba, Brazil native who owns a 20-6 (win-loss) record and raring to regain the title he lost to reigning champion Jon Jones.

While Vera faces an old rival in the tough light heavy division, Muñoz will tackle a rising fighter tipped on his way to middleweight title radar in Weidman, who has won all eight fights, including one against former contender Demian Maia.