Budding Fil-Am star in mixed martial arts arena
By June Navarro
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:55:00 06/19/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Unknown to many, there’s another fighter with Filipino blood on the rise in the international mixed martial arts arena other than Brandon “The Truth” Vera.
Mark Muñoz may not sound familiar but the Filipino-American from Sacramento, California, is slowly carving a niche in the World Extreme Cage (WEC) fighting, an affiliate of top MMA organization Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Acknowledged as the “Filipino Wrecking Machine” in MMA circles, Muñoz has become a favorite among UFC officials after the 6-foot light heavyweight won his first four fights capped by a technical knockout against Chuck Grigsby in Sacramento early this month.
Muñoz literally cut the 6-foot-5 Grigsby down to size just 45 seconds in the first round with a combination of wrestling and muay skills.
Grigsby, a former basketball player before trying his luck in MMA, was unbeaten in his last eight fights before Muñoz threw a thunderclap of punches on his head that rendered him briefly unconscious on the mat.
The 35-year-old Grigsby, who suffered his fourth defeat in 15 fights, was carried out of the octagon on a stretcher before a huge crowd of roughly 15,000 at the Arco Arena on June 1.
“I didn’t expect the crowd. I knew it would be a lot of people. I heard them screaming my name and it was electrifying,” said Muñoz, a two-time All-American and 2001 NCAA wrestling champion at Oklahoma State.
It’s quite understandable why the 26-year-old Muñoz was overwhelmed with the adulation.
Just a few years back, Muñoz was quietly working on his master’s degree in exercise biology in a bid to get a high-paying job to support wife Kristine and four children.
Then, the prodding from WEC lightweight reigning champion and close friend Urijah Faber came.
“He (Faber) told me that I have to fight in WEC because I’m really destined to be an MMA fighter,” said Muñoz. “He never stopped telling me that I have to fight until it finally sank in.”
With his career on the rise, Muñoz is preparing to move to San Diego within the month and train with Vera, a Filipino-Italian MMA fighter who regularly competes in the UFC.
“Mark is a Division I champion wrestler. He’s just awesome, man. I say he’s going to go places,” said Vera, who won his first eight bouts as a heavyweight in the UFC before losing his last two, including a controversial defeat against Fabricio Werdum recently in London.
Like Vera, Muñoz possesses Filipino traits despite his ferocity and toughness in the cage.
“Man, Mark is a family man,” said Vera. “He takes care of his wife, his four kids and the whole family. He’s so religious, too.”
UFC liaison officer Loren Mack told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the WEC organization, led by UFC president Dana White, has grand plans for Muñoz. One of the plans is to bring Muñoz and Vera in a WEC and UFC fight card in the Philippines.
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