UFC 131: Mark Munoz V Damian Maia (Breakdown)

I am a very big Mark Munoz fan. Not because he is from the Bay Area. Not because he is a fellow Mexican, but because he is a genuine person inside and out of the cage. Videos online portray him as a father figure in training camps, giving wrestling advice to the best in the world, while he himself is still learning.

As UFC 131 approaches, he is set to take on Damian Maia, a third degree blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Boasting some of the most ludicrous sport grappling credentials known to MMA, Maia might deserves credit for quickly and efficiently acclimating his skill to full contact fighting. Drawing upon his practice of Judo and Karate at a young age, the Brazilian has constructed a deceivingly mean clinch game and polished up his kickboxing under the tutelage of the great Wanderlei Silva. After sixteen professional bouts, Maia has only been out-tangoed by Silva and blasted by Marquardt.

Mark Munoz anchors his MMA foundation with some pretty astounding wrestling achievements. "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" was a NCAA D1 national champion and two-time All American. In 2007, Munoz started strong as a light-heavyweight by taking and winning one fight per month to attract the WEC's attention.

After two first-round TKOs in the promotion, Munoz leapfrogged into the UFC and the elite echelon against Matt Hamill, where he lost by head-kick KO at UFC 96. Even though Munoz had wrestled at 197-pounds in college, he was successful in making the 185-pound limit, which flowered new dimensions.

He became leaner, meaner, and quicker, but maintained the same explosive wrestling. Three middleweights fell in his wake, the last being a prominent name in TUF 8 winner Kendall Grove. The current number one contender would be the next to collide with Munoz, and though Yushin Okami eked out a split-decision to advance up the ladder, it was a respectable performance that proved Munoz was on the level.

Check out the rest of the article by clicking the link below and read the in-depth comparison of the two fighters.

Source: Bloody Elbow