Mark Munoz - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Mark Muñoz is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

of Filipino

Filipino people

The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

descent currently fighting in the middleweight

Middleweight (MMA)

The middleweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Strikeforce's middleweight division, which groups competitors within 171 to 185 lb...

division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

.

Muñoz is known for his wrestling ability and his relentless ground-and-pound. As of November 2011, Muñoz is ranked as the #4 middleweight fighter in the world by Sherdog

Sherdog

Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...

Early life

Muñoz was born on a US Military Base in Yokosuka, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

to Filipino

Filipino people

parents from Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. At the age of 2, Muñoz and his family relocated and settled in the former US Navy town of Vallejo, California

Vallejo, California

Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...

High school and Collegiate wrestling

In high school, Muñoz was a two-time California State Wrestling Champion at 189 pounds for Vallejo High School

Vallejo High School

Vallejo High School is a high school located in Vallejo, California. It is part of the Vallejo City Unified School District. Vallejo High has been in the heart of Vallejo for more than 100 years. It is home to many athletic teams, and home to the Vallejo High School Proud Heritage Marching Band and...

, Asics First Team All American and the 1996 NHSCA National High School Champion.

As a collegian at Oklahoma State University, Muñoz captured two Big 12 titles and earned back-to-back All-America honors at 197 pounds, including his NCAA title as a senior in 2001. He became the first Filipino American

Filipino American

Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...

at the Division I Level to win a National Championship. He also made the NWCA All-Academic Team for three years and the Big 12 All-Academic squad for four. Additionally, Muñoz was a three-year member of the FILA Junior World Wrestling Team, earning the silver medal in 1998.

Muñoz received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Health Science from Oklahoma State University.

Muñoz continues to give back to the wrestling community by offering a 5 to 10 day wrestling camp for high school athletes in Ocean Side, California. He brings in wrestlers from Cal Poly, Fullerton, and Oregon to help the kids. Also Muñoz brings in Coach Calivitta and many other great clinicians like Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber

Urijah Christopher Faber is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. Faber won the WEC featherweight championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006 and held the title for over two years until his loss to Mike Brown at WEC...

, Joe Heskett, and even the wrestling great and his coach John Smith.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Muñoz made his WEC debut at WEC 34

WEC 34

WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 1, 2008 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The main event, announced on WEC 33, was a bout between Jens Pulver and Urijah Faber for the WEC Featherweight Championship. WEC 34...

on June 1, 2008 in the Arco Arena

ARCO Arena

Power Balance Pavilion is an indoor arena, located in the Natomas area of Sacramento, California. It is the home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.-Background:...

in Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

. Muñoz defeated Chuck Grigsby via TKO (punches) at 4:15 of the first round.

Muñoz was slated to fight Steve Steinbeiss in WEC 36

WEC 36

WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on November 5, 2008 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida...

on November 5, 2008, but due to an undisclosed reason he was replaced by TUF

The Ultimate Fighter

The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as...

alum Alex Schoenauer

Alex Schoenauer

Alex Schoenauer is an Argentine American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He last fought for the Los Angeles Anacondas of the International Fight League and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Early life:...

.

Muñoz defeated Ricardo Barros on December 3, 2008 for WEC's year-end event, WEC 37

WEC 37

WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on December 3, 2008 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event aired live on the Versus Network....

via TKO (punches).

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Muñoz was one of the chosen few to be relocated to WEC

World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...

's sister promotion—which is also owned and produced by Zuffa—along with light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell

Steve Cantwell

Steven Francis Cantwell is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...

, light heavyweight contenders Brian Stann

Brian Stann

Brian Michael Stann is an American mixed martial artist and former US Marine who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former WEC Light Heavyweight champion...

and Steve Steinbeiss

Steve Steinbeiss

Steve Steinbeiss is an American mixed martial artist who recently fought in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:...

and middleweight contenders Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen

Chael Patrick Sonnen is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, a two-time University Greco national champion as well as the 85.0 kg silver medalist at...

and Nissen Osterneck

Nissen Osterneck

Nissen Osterneck is a Hawaiian mixed martial arts fighter. He currently trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Shane Briggs, at the Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu of Myrtle Beach facility. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has also trained with Muay Thai world champion Maurice Travis...

.

On March 7, 2009, Muñoz made his UFC debut at UFC 96

UFC 96

UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . It was held in Columbus, Ohio on March 7, 2009 at Nationwide Arena.-Preliminary card:...

. Muñoz suffered the first loss of his career and was rendered unconscious by a brutal head kick from UFC veteran Matt Hamill

Matt Hamill

Matthew S. Hamill is a retired American wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York...

during the first round. Following the stoppage, Muñoz remained down on the mat for several minutes, eventually leaving the cage wearing a neck brace.

On August 29, 2009 at UFC 102

UFC 102

UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 29, 2009 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon...

, Muñoz bounced back from his first defeat and answered the critics by winning a close split decision (28–29, 30–27 and 29–28) to UFC up and comer Nick Catone

Nick Catone

Nicholas Catone is an American mixed martial artist. Catone currently fights for Ultimate Fighting Championship in their middleweight division.-Mixed martial arts:...

.

On January 2, 2010 at UFC 108

UFC 108

UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.- Background :...

, Muñoz faced and defeated MMA veteran Ryan Jensen

Ryan Jensen (fighter)

Ryan James Jensen is an American mixed martial artist.-Background:Jensen began training at the age of 15. Following his first fight against Travis Fulton in February 1997, he did not compete again until June 2002...

via submission (punches) at the 2:30 mark of the first round. He showcased some vicious ground and pound.

Muñoz defeated The Ultimate Fighter 3

The Ultimate Fighter 3

The Ultimate Fighter 3 was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of Ultimate Fight Night 4. The season featured sixteen fighters with still-feuding former champion Tito Ortiz and...

winner Kendall Grove

Kendall Grove

Kendall Kekoa Grove is an American mixed martial artist. He was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3 on Spike TV.- Early life :...

on April 10, 2010 at UFC 112

UFC 112

UFC 112: Invincible was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...

, by referee stoppage in the 2nd round, also winning the Fight of the Night honors.

Muñoz was defeated by Yushin Okami

Yushin Okami

is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently fights at middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship . Okami is currently ranked the #3 best middleweight in the world by Sherdog and the #2 best middleweight by MMAWeekly....

on August 1, 2010 at UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko

UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko

UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Sunday, August 1, 2010. Originally scheduled to take place at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, the UFC was forced to move the event to a different venue due to low ticket...

where he lost by split decision. In this fight, Muñoz was unable to utilize his infamous ground and pound due to Okami's ability to defend his takedowns.

Muñoz defeated Aaron Simpson

Aaron Simpson

Aaron Simpson, an Emmy-nominated animation producer, is the founder and editor of Cold Hard Flash. A native of Birmingham, Michigan, he recently served as a producer for Warner Bros. Animation's Flash-animated series Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island. Producing more than a dozen development shorts...

on November 20, 2010 at UFC 123

UFC 123

UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 20, 2010 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan...

by unanimous decision.

Muñoz defeated TUF 7

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest was the seventh season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter, and premiered on April 2, 2008 on Spike TV, after UFC Fight Night 13...

finalist C.B. Dollaway

C.B. Dollaway

Clarence Byron Dollaway is an American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7 making it to the finale where he was defeated by an armbar from Amir Sadollah.-Early life:...

at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann

UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann

UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 3, 2011, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The event was broadcast on Versus in the U.S. and Rogers Sportsnet One in Canada...

on March 3, 2011 via first round KO. Muñoz landed a right hand that floored Dollaway, where he then followed up with some ground and pound which secured him the victory.

Muñoz defeated Demian Maia

Demian Maia

Demian Maia Baptista is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Maia is currently ranked the #6 middleweight in the world by Sherdog and Yahoo! Sports., and the #8 middleweight fighter in the world by...

on June 11, 2011 by unanimous decision at UFC 131

UFC 131

UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Background:...

..

Muñoz defeated Chris Leben

Chris Leben

Christian Cyrus Leben is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he fights as a middleweight....

on November 5, 2011 by corner stoppage at UFC 138

UFC 138

UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, England. The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the U.S. and live on Sportsnet in Canada...

. The stoppage was due to the ground and pound of Muñoz that opened a cut over Leben's eye, rendering him unable to see and continue the fight.

Mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- Fight of the Night
  Bonus Awards
  -Background:UFC Bonus Awards are three different kinds of awards usually given to four fighters after a UFC event.Fight of the Night - Award given to the two fighters that fought each other and delivered the "most impressive" fight on the card....
  
  (One time
  Bonus Awards
  -Background:UFC Bonus Awards are three different kinds of awards usually given to four fighters after a UFC event.Fight of the Night - Award given to the two fighters that fought each other and delivered the "most impressive" fight on the card....
  
  )

Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...

FILA Wrestling World Championships
FILA Wrestling World Championships
FILA Wrestling World Championships is the Amateur Wrestling World Championship organized by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles . The men's Greco-Roman tournament began in 1904...
- FILA World Championships Junior Freestyle 178.5 1b - 5th place (1996)
- FILA World Championships Junior Freestyle 182.5 1b - 2nd place (1998)
USA FILA Junior World Freestyle Championships
- USA FILA Junior World Freestyle Championship 182.5 1b - Winner (1998)

Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...

National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
- NCAA Division I 197 1b - 3rd place out of Oklahoma State University (2000)
- NCAA Division I 197 1b - Champion out of Oklahoma State University (2001)

Mixed martial arts record

|-
| Win
| align="center" | 12-2
| Chris Leben

Chris Leben

Christian Cyrus Leben is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he fights as a middleweight....

| TKO (corner stoppage)
| UFC 138

UFC 138

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England
|
|-
| Win
| align="center" | 11–2
| Demian Maia

Demian Maia

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 131

UFC 131

UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Background:...

|
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 5:00
|Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|10–2
|C.B. Dollaway

C.B. Dollaway

|KO (punches)
|UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann

UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align='center'|9–2
|Aaron Simpson

Aaron Simpson (fighter)

Aaron Michael Simpson is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Before starting his mixed martial arts career, Simpson was a standout wrestler. In high school, Simpson compiled a 142–1 record wrestling for Antelope Union High School...

|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC 123

UFC 123

Auburn Hills, Michigan

Auburn Hills is a city in Metro Detroit, Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. The city was formed in 1983 when Pontiac Township became the City of Auburn Hills.-Economy:...

Yushin Okami

|Decision (split)
|UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko

UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align='center'|8–1
|Kendall Grove

Kendall Grove

Kendall Kekoa Grove is an American mixed martial artist. He was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3 on Spike TV.- Early life :...

|TKO (punches)
|UFC 112

UFC 112

UFC 112: Invincible was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...

, United Arab Emirates
|Fight of the Night
|-
|Win
|align='center'|7–1
|Ryan Jensen

Ryan Jensen (fighter)

|Submission (punches)
|UFC 108

UFC 108

UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.- Background :...

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align='center'|6–1
|Nick Catone

Nick Catone

Nicholas Catone is an American mixed martial artist. Catone currently fights for Ultimate Fighting Championship in their middleweight division.-Mixed martial arts:...

|Decision (split)
|UFC 102

UFC 102

UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 29, 2009 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon...

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

Matt Hamill

|KO (head kick)
|UFC 96

UFC 96

UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . It was held in Columbus, Ohio on March 7, 2009 at Nationwide Arena.-Preliminary card:...

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align='center'|5–0
|Ricardo Barros
|TKO (punches)
|WEC 37

WEC 37

Las Vegas, Nevada

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align='center'|4–0
|Chuck Grigsby
|KO (punches)
|WEC 34

WEC 34

Sacramento, California

Lemoore, California

Lemoore is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of 230 feet . It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align='center'|2–0
|Mike Pierce

Mike Pierce

Michael Adam "Mike" Pierce is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion...

Sacramento, California

Lemoore, California

, United States
|

External links

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