Author: By Jordan Newmark

It’s the rematch we’ve all been waiting for. The original bout captivated a nation and caused an indelible rift between opposing parties, which is still present to this very day. It’s the act two that the fans have clamored for and it’s the fight UFC welterweight Mike Pierce has pined for since the moment the first ended. It was inevitable and it’s now finally upon us: Chael Sonnen vs. Anderso… just kidding.

Of course, I’m referring to Pierce’s own rematch with Paul “The Gentleman” Bradley on November 12th at UFC on Fox with a little overestimation of the surrounding facts. Truthfully, Pierce is excited for both fights, as he wants to get back to his own winning ways and he wants to see his longtime friend get another shot at the UFC middleweight title.

The 31 year old Oregonian grew up on the same wrestling mats that Sonnen did at the Peninsula Wrestling Club in Portland. Under the watchful eye of Coach Roy Pittman, the two learned the takedowns, the scrambling, the toughness and the attitude that both still employ to this day inside the Octagon. As genuinely as he is looking forward to the possible Sonnen/Silva II, Pierce’s mind is solely focused on one thing: beating Bradley worse than he did the first time.

“For this fight specifically, I want to be that guy I was in the third round versus Johny Hendricks or Jon Fitch,” asserts Pierce. “I want to be that guy who really throws caution into the wind and says I don’t give a s**t and I just want to really rip this guy’s head off. It doesn’t mean you’re going in there like a wild man and dropping your hands and throwing wild punches. It means that I want to get in there with an agenda, put pressure on this guy and break him down. That’s what I want to do, and that’s what I’m looking to do in this fight.”

It’s a gameplan that Pierce knows very well, and he has executed it to perfection in his UFC wins over Brock Larson, Julio Paulino, Amilcar Alves, and Kenny Robertson. At 12-4, Pierce’s losses inside the Octagon have come in two tough decisions against Jon Fitch and, most recently, Johny Hendricks in August at UFC 133. But in those battles, Pierce showed tenacity and a pointed attack in the third round that possibly could have finished both fighters if Pierce had only flipped that switch on earlier.

“I think when your back is against the wall you can do one of two things: lay down and give up or say screw it and give it all you’ve got,” states PIerce. “I’m not one of those guys who lays down and gives up. In those third rounds specifically from those two fights, I felt that I needed to do something at that point because I hadn’t done enough. So, I just gave everything I had to try and win. I don’t want to let it get to that point. I’ve been working hard in this camp to turn it on a lot sooner. You have to have faith in your conditioning because if it is not there then you can’t do it. The conditioning workouts I go through are hellish, and it’s just a matter of getting in there and saying I have to do this and actually doing it. My camp has been pretty focused around doing that and making sure the pace and the intensity are high from the get go, so I can break these people down.”

The split decision with Hendricks was a grueling three round war between very well matched opponents. It is becoming the new UFC trend, putting strong wrestlers against each other in the Octagon and watching them slug it out with brutal, thudding standup. Pierce and Hendricks traded fists, feet, elbows, knees and dirty boxing without giving an inch, but rarely shot for a takedown. Despite the loss, it was a solid performance by Pierce, where he showed his ability to get stronger as the fight went on and, again, that he could match wrestling skill sets with vaunted former collegiate All-Americans like Hendricks.

“It was hard for me to see the silver lining because I was just really pissed off after the fight,” admits Pierce. “I know I can beat him. I was just not into the game that night. Chael was in my corner and after the fight he was saying there is a small silver lining in this even though I might not see it now. He had talked to Joe Silva afterward and he said that Joe really loved that fight and he said that was ‘Fight of the Night’ until the Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz fight. And I was like, ‘No! That was a bonus I could have had. Thanks for making it worse (laughs).’ But as long as the bosses love it and I go out there and put on a show and fight my ass off, that’s what they’re looking for guys to do. They’re not looking for guys to lay and pray, evade or run around the Octagon. They’re looking for guys to engage and fight. This is a business where people are supposed to fight and that’s what I did and they’re happy.”

Up next for Pierce is the November 12th rematch with “The Gentleman”. Back in 2009 on the humble local MMA circuit in Pennsylvania, a relatively unknown 7-2 Pierce was scheduled to tangle with the 2x NCAA division I All-American from the University of Iowa, Bradley, who was also undefeated in his MMA career. The main event bout was set for a catchweight of 180 pounds as Bradley is typically a middleweight and Pierce a welterweight. At the time, Pierce was a heavy underdog against Bradley and it was that adversity that drove him to win.

“I knew he was going to be a strong wrestler with a similar fighting style,” says Pierce. “I just wanted to go out there and do anything I could to just break this guy down. I didn’t care if this was a submission, a TKO or whatever – I had one intention and that was to get my hand raised at the end of the night. It didn’t turn into a wrestling match. It was definitely a striking match in that first fight we had. I landed a lot of leg kicks, I out struck him, I pushed him up against the fence, and I popped off some dirty boxing. It was one of those things I was fighting in his hometown at the time, he was undefeated, and even the promoter came up to me after the fight with his jaw dropped and was like ‘You had to know that no one thought you had a prayer in Hell in beating this guy. The odds were completely stacked against you.’ I was like yeah, but if I had that mentality going into it then I wouldn’t have had a chance. You can’t go into these things, even when it seems the cards are stacked against you, and lay down and give up. I went in there with a goal in mind and came out of it doing what I wanted to do.”

Fast forward two years later, the tables have turned, the shoe is on the other foot and Pierce is the favorite. As opposed to their first fight, Bradley is the underdog, with Pierce having much more experience in the UFC with Bradley making his debut in the Octagon at middleweight at UFC 133 where he lost a decision to Rafael Natal. Now, Bradley will be cutting 15 pounds to make welterweight, where Pierce regularly fights. They’re both better fighters than they once were, but Pierce does know what it takes to beat Bradley, and this time he will have the metaphorical home-field advantage of fighting inside the Octagon.

“My own personal confidence is that I beat this guy once before and I did it in a dominating fashion,” affirms Pierce. “I beat him 30-27 across the board, in his hometown and he’s a 2x All-American out of Iowa. He knows that my wrestling is where it needs to be and he knows my striking is where it needs to be and I’ve only gotten better since then. I don’t think he believes I’m going to be the same guy on the 12th that he fought two years ago. I kind of like that.”

To prepare for the fight, Pierce has been training at either end of Portland with the Sports Lab and at Portland Thai Boxing with Jeremy Wijers. “My main coach is Phil Claud, who is also my conditioning coach,” says Pierce of Claud, who is most famous for his coaching at US Olympic Training Center and his own time as a professional cyclist on the USA national team. “I’ve been training with guys like Nate Quarry, Dave Jansen, a couple other up and coming pro guys. It has been a good camp so far and I’m ready.”

On November 12th in Anaheim, California, Pierce and Bradley will throw down for the second time, but this one will be in the Octagon. “I have one goal and one particular agenda that night and that is to win,” declares Pierce, who not only wants to get back into the winning mix of the UFC welterweights, but he wants to stay undefeated against his former foe – “The Gentleman”.

Expect the unexpected.

It’s a cliche, but each and every UFC fighter needs to prepared for just about anything to happen inside the Octagon. Specifically, for the opponents of Pablo Garza, they need to be ready for something “flying”. Both of Garza’s Octagon appearances ended abruptly with high risk, high reward maneuvers that netted him two wins and two bonuses. What was surprising to him wasn’t the knee landing or the triangle sinking in, but that his life had even led him into the cage.

“I never thought I would be fighting in the UFC,” he admits. “A lot of people in the UFC will tell you it’s been their dream ever since they saw Royce Gracie fight Ken Shamrock when they were a little kid and this and that. For me, I remember seeing those videos when I was a kid too, but I never had that dream of becoming a UFC fighter then. I more fell into this. I fell into fighting because it was competitive. I played college basketball and got into MMA because it was competitive. It snowballed and I ended up in the UFC. It wasn’t my dream to be in the UFC – it just happened. Now that I’m in it – I feel blessed to be in the UFC.”

It’s a dose of refreshing honesty that he no more predicted being a professional cagefighter than fight fans could have guessed the outstanding outcomes to Garza’s only two UFC bouts. Ironically enough, the guy who never anticipated competing in the Octagon was actually a part of UFC history by fighting in the company’s first featherweight matchup at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale on December 4th against Fredson Paixao.

Garza introduced this lighter weight class to the UFC faithful with a bang in the form of a flying knee that knocked Paixao out just 51 seconds into round one. “‘The knee’, I do train that,” states Garza of his highlight reel Knockout of the Night, which he emphatically says wasn’t a fluke strike, but something his 145-pound peers have to be wary of. “I’m tall and everyone is usually shorter, so with the height difference, I believe I can land that probably better than anyone in the weight class because I’m taller than everybody.”

He followed up the unlikely KO with the almost unheard of in the form of a flying triangle at UFC 129. Garza’s second outing in the Octagon was also historical, as this time it was a landmark event in Toronto, Canada at the Rogers Centre in front of the UFC’s largest audience of over 55,000. The record crowd saw Garza take on fellow countrymen Yves Jabouin, and the fight lasted longer than a minute, but ended in as exciting fashion as Garza jumped for a triangle from a standing clinch with Jabouin, nailing it for another win and a Submission of the Night award.

“To tell you the truth, when we were in the back locker room warming up, my coach was shooting in on me and grabbing a single leg takedown and when I was warming up I just jump triangled on him when he went for that single leg and I landed it,” tells Garza. “People looked at me and laughed and were like, ‘you better not try that in the fight or you’ll end up on your back and getting hurt.’ In the fight, I was landing knees on him in the clinch. I noticed the second time we clinched he put his arms down to block my knees. I just felt like I could do it, so the third time we clinched when he put his arm down to block my knees and left the other one around my head, it gave me the opening to just go for it. It was just instinct. I just went for it and didn’t think what would happen if I missed or if I landed it. I felt like I had an opportunity to do it, so I did it.”

At 28 years old and with an overall 12-1 career, “The Scarecrow” is slated, yet again, to fight on another significant night for the company: November 12th at UFC on Fox. The headlining bout is the very well publicized UFC heavyweight title match between Junior Dos Santos and champion Cain Velasquez. The first bout announced to be on the card outside of the main event was Garza vs. fellow burgeoning star Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. Clearly, the UFC’s top brass wants some more magic out of these two featherweights, who truly do shine when the bright lights are on.

“Dustin’s really tough,” asserts Garza. “He’s beaten some really good people. He’s a really strong striker and comes straight forward. He’s a good all-around MMA fighter in general. It’s going to be a good fight. It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to show off what I can do and to do it against a really strong opponent in Dustin Poirier. He’s ranked up there in our weight class as an up and comer. He’s beaten a lot of good people; he destroyed Josh Grispi and Josh Grispi was supposed to fight Jose Aldo for the title when he did that. He also beat an awesome striker in Jason Young. I have a lot of respect for him and have been training hard and can’t wait to fight.”

To prepare for the 10-1 Poirier, Garza is training in his hometown of Fargo, North Dakota at The Academy of Combat Arts run by his head coach Dylan Spicer. “The Scarecrow” is also making the drive across neighboring state lines to The Academy, formerly known as the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, owned and operated by the world renowned Greg Nelson. The two gyms have similar names, but not by coincidence, as Spicer’s facility is an affiliate of Nelson’s as Spicer is a protégé of his. Although new to the UFC, Garza is busy training with Octagon regulars like Jacob Volkmann and Nik Lentz while being taught in a system which has helped produce former UFC champions like Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar.

“When I first started training, I thought I was in good condition fighting in these local shows,” says Garza. “Once I got to train with them and seeing what actual training was for legit professional fighters in the UFC, it was a big eye opener. It showed the type of dedication that someone has to have. When Dylan came down here from the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and came to Fargo, North Dakota and opened his gym, the type of practices he made us go through I would think, ‘This is too much. There is no way my opponent is training this hard.’ Then when I started going to The Academy, I was like holy s**t these guys are training just like that. It was another thing that Dylan brought to my attention and the other fighters’ attention at our gym was that this was the type of training we had to do to compete at this level; it was going to be really rigorous and strenuous. It was a big eye opener, definitely.”

All fighters must thank their coaches for helping mold them to be the fighters they currently are, so that they could be in the UFC today. For Garza, it is a step further than that because it was Spicer who convinced him not to quit MMA and to give it one more year. In that rollercoaster year, Garza went from more local shows to his Octagon debut against Paixao. Garza is thankful for Spicer’s insistence to see where this sport could lead in a year, as well as for his continuing presence as a coach and friend.

“With Dylan, our relationship started out as coach and student,” expresses Garza. “We’ve evolved into really good friends. We’re more than just coach/student – we hang out all the time. He’s the type of guy that just understands the whole MMA game. He understands what you need to do to be disciplined in all these areas. A person can train their Muay Thai and train their wrestling and train their jiu-jitsu, but if a person can’t bring it all together in an MMA fight and if they can’t transition from striking to a quick takedown into their submissions, then a fighter isn’t going to last. Dylan, he really understands that part of the game of bringing it all together and bringing it to one. That’s what makes him so good. I can honestly compare him to famous MMA coaches like Greg Nelson. He does it all by the book of what Greg Nelson does. He can break down a fight and break down a fighter. He’s one of the coaches who knows how to bring it all together and he can teach what is hard to be simple.”

On November 12th in Anaheim, California, fiery featherweights will collide as “The Scarecrow” clashes with “The Diamond”. It should prove to be wildly exciting, as both fighters are young and hungry and have yet to fail to deliver those metaphorical fireworks in the Octagon. For Garza, he’s willing to roll the dice in the cage as he is sort of playing with house money by competing at the highest level of a sport he never envisioned himself in. Regardless of its lack of predetermination, Garza is certainly game and settling in nicely to being a professional UFC fighter.

“I’m just starting to realize that,” divulges Garza. “My coach is always telling me, ‘you know you’re a professional fighter?’ It’s hard to picture myself as a professional athlete. When I think of a professional athlete I’m thinking of LeBron James or someone in the NFL. But I’ve been training like a professional athlete. I do my two-a-days, I watch my diet, and I do my strength and conditioning. It’s weird when I think of myself as a professional athlete. But it’s definitely a good thing. Yeah, definitely a good thing.”

If he can keep “flying” through the weight division, then Garza and fight fans can expect him to be a professional fighter for years to come.

This sport has never been about who is the “baddest”; it always was and forever will be about who is the best.

From its inception to its darkest of days clear through to the current near mainstream acceptance of the UFC, mixed martial arts has never been judged on who has the scariest look, the most fiendish tattoos, the greatest trash talk or, overall, the meanest disposition. The Octagon is in existence to determine who the elite athletes of this exciting hybrid combat sport are. In conclusion, the terrifyingly tough UFC roster is filled with genuinely good guys when they’re not busy cagefighting.

With that said, Mark Munoz is arguably the nicest person ever.

“The Filipino Wrecking Machine” is the proud owner of a heartwarming smile coupled with an infectious positive “can-do” attitude as well as a pair of heavy hands that have knockout potential written all over them. One would seriously have to dredge the deepest ocean or travel to a distant planet to find some life form who has anything bad to say about this 11-2 middleweight and they would still be wrong. Munoz is a wildly accomplished amateur wrestler with a humble confidence, an unabated drive to be at the top of his division, and who is quick to recognize the unquestionable importance of those who have helped him along his way.

“When I first got into the fight game I was 29,” says Munoz. “I’ve been competing all my life. I really had to learn quick in high school and through college. If I didn’t learn quick then I would have fallen behind and not accomplished what I accomplished in high school and college. I feel like it was the same in the UFC. I lost my first fight. I got knocked out from not seeing that head kick coming from Matt Hamill. I really had to learn quick from there. What did I do wrong? What do I need to work on? What do I need to do to change my camp? I did the things necessary for me to be successful. I’ve taken my lumps. I’ve fallen backwards a little bit and then I’ve gained more momentum going forward. It’s been kind of two steps forward, one step back, but I am always going forward. Now, I’ve learned extremely quick, but my success is a testament to my training partners and my trainers. I have confidence that I have the best training and the best training camp in the world right now. I owe it all to the guys who train beside me. For me, to be able to be at this point in my career – it is because of them.”

The 33-year old is certainly at an interesting point in his career. Munoz is coming off a UFC 131 unanimous decision win over the highly regarded Demian Maia, and he is about to headline an event for the first time at UFC 138 against the devastating power of “The Crippler,” Chris Leben. Munoz is comfortably awaiting this career defining opportunity being the featured bout in Birmingham, England because of what he gained in his hard fought victory with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Maia.

“I came away with a lot of confidence,” states Munoz. “I feel like I’ve arrived in the middleweight division and I feel like it’s my time to go for the world title. I felt that in that fight. Demian Maia fought for the world title and was ranked in the top five in the world. Having won that fight and beating him in all aspects of the fight, I felt like I really have arrived in the weight class. With that win it catapulted my confidence and catapulted my stance in the division.”

The 2001 NCAA Division I national wrestling champion from Oklahoma State University was nearly in this same situation last year. After making the switch to 185, Munoz rattled off three wins in a row over Nick Catone, Ryan Jensen and in a “Fight of the Night” against Kendall Grove. This set-up Munoz’s clash with Yushin Okami on August 1st, 2010, which ended in a razor thin split decision that propelled Okami to a title eliminator later in the year. Munoz has rebounded with three more wins: a decision over Aaron Simpson, a knockout of CB Dollaway, and the decision win against Maia. As he is again looking to solidify his position among the weight class’ top tier, Munoz is sticking with the same austere training attitude that got him to the dance.

“I do work extremely hard,” admits Munoz. “When I have something in my sights I basically put blinders on like race horses. I don’t let anything hold me back. A lot of my training partners say, ‘You over train, Munoz.’ But I feel like if you’re not over training then you’re not training (laughs). At the same time, my training partners say ‘take a day off’ or ‘you shouldn’t spar for 10 rounds’ or ‘take it easy on conditioning, your body’s not responding right.’ But I do train extremely hard and that’s what I know and that’s what I do. I wouldn’t have the success that I have if I didn’t have the work ethic I have.”

Two of Munoz’s successes outside of the cage are what best propel him into each of his fights, including the main event against the 22-7 Leben. The first was Munoz’s ability to adapt his amateur wrestling skills to fit his overall MMA approach. It was a transformation that did not come easy as he explains, but it came through the typical hard work and self-analysis for which Munoz is known.

“MMA wrestling is totally different than pure wrestling, amateur wrestling,” affirms Munoz. “I did have to change my wrestling style. If you watched my amateur wrestling days, I was the type of guy who was very technical with hand fighting and positioning and I had to touch you to sprawl on you. In MMA it’s different. Your setups come from your punches and you’re on the outside and you penetrate with an explosive shot into your opponent from the outside. I wasn’t that wrestler. I was always that wrestler that had to grab a hold of your arm, snapping your head, pushing you and pulling you – I was that kind of wrestler. I had to change my style a bit. But when it hit the ground I was always scrambling. Scrambling has always been my ‘bread and butter’ or actually I’m Asian, so it’s my ‘rice and soy sauce’. That’s what I did in college – I scrambled a lot. That actually transitioned really well into MMA and I took the aspects of scrambling into my style of MMA and it’s done really well for me.”

The second success has four walls, a roof and resides in Lake Forest, California: Reign Training Center. In December of 2009, Munoz opened up his own facility with the goal of being the best gym Orange County has to offer. Less than two years later, Reign has quickly risen as one of the go to destinations to train for pro MMA fighters. In many ways, Reign with Munoz as its face can be seen as an extension to what longtime friend Urijah Faber has done in Sacramento with his gym and Team Alpha Male. It’s about team spirit, community and pushing each other to the ultimate goal: a world title.

“Nowadays, people are thinking about coming down to Reign Training Center,” boasts Munoz. “Now that we have a great team, people are thinking about moving out to be with us. Brendan Schaub is thinking about coming down. Jake Ellenberger has already moved out. Krzysztof Soszynski is there. Jason “Mayhem” Miller is there. We’ve got other good fighters like Brett Cooper, Emanuel Newton, Satoshi Ishii, Raphael Davis. There are guys in there that are monsters. It’s great. We have great team chemistry. We are taking aspects of wrestling and taking other people’s abilities and combining them to our own. Ishii was an Olympic champion in Judo and he’s teaching everyone Judo throws. ‘Mayhem’ is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and he’s teaching us about MMA jiu-jitsu. Krzysztof is teaching us his knowledge of strength and conditioning and helping us out with functional strength for MMA. We have great trainers for striking and jiu-jitsu – it’s just great. Now, Reign is a juggernaut. All of us are moving forward as a unit. All of us who are getting into the upper echelon of our divisions is because of our team and I give them all the credit.”

The next step for Munoz is to travel halfway across the world and tangle with Leben at UFC 138. A perennial fan favorite, Leben was riding a highly successful three fight win streak – Jay Silva, Aaron Simpson, and Yoshihiro Akiyama – before experiencing a TKO loss hiccup against Brian Stann at UFC 125 in January. The Oregon native recovered with a highlight reel knockout over his idol Wanderlei Silva in July. And besides Leben being a tough test for Munoz, this bout will mark the first five round non-title main event in UFC history. Although unlikely, Munoz couldn’t be any more excited at the proposition of battling Leben for a full 25 minutes.

“I’m a fan of Chris Leben,” exclaims Munoz. “I like how that dude fights. He is so exciting and our fight is going to be doubly exciting. I throw bombs and he throws bombs. I think that’s why we are the main event (laughs). For me to be able to fight Chris Leben is a huge honor because he is definitely a guy that if I get past him then I definitely have stamped my position in the middleweight division. It’s also a great honor to be a main event, to headline a card. I think it shows the UFC has confidence in our fighting ability that it can support a whole card. I am honored and humbled by the opportunity. And I love the fact that it’s going to be five rounds. I have confidence in my shape. Guys at the gym have confidence in my shape too with what we’ve put in and how hard we have worked to last 10 rounds. I like being in the first five round non-title fight, I love it. But a fight’s a fight. I don’t think this is going to go five rounds, but I definitely will be prepared if it goes for five rounds.”

On November 5th at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England, Munoz meets Leben in the Octagon for a scheduled five rounds of cagefighting fun. “With a win over Chris Leben, I stamp myself in the division and let everyone be put on notice that Mark Munoz has arrived and he’ll be a force in the middleweight division,” asserts Munoz, who will be prepped for a war with his explosive takedowns and his destructive punching power. “That’s what I train for. I train to be the best and I’m not going to let anyone stop me. I want it bad and I train accordingly.”

Before and after the fight, Munoz will continue to be a nice guy, but for those minutes in the cage “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” will be plenty mean to “The Crippler” – and that’s when it counts.

This sport has never been about who is the “baddest”; it always was and forever will be about who is the best.

From its inception to its darkest of days clear through to the current near mainstream acceptance of the UFC, mixed martial arts has never been judged on who has the scariest look, the most fiendish tattoos, the greatest trash talk or, overall, the meanest disposition. The Octagon is in existence to determine who the elite athletes of this exciting hybrid combat sport are. In conclusion, the terrifyingly tough UFC roster is filled with genuinely good guys when they’re not busy cagefighting.

With that said, Mark Munoz is arguably the nicest person ever.

“The Filipino Wrecking Machine” is the proud owner of a heartwarming smile coupled with an infectious positive “can-do” attitude as well as a pair of heavy hands that have knockout potential written all over them. One would seriously have to dredge the deepest ocean or travel to a distant planet to find some life form who has anything bad to say about this 11-2 middleweight and they would still be wrong. Munoz is a wildly accomplished amateur wrestler with a humble confidence, an unabated drive to be at the top of his division, and who is quick to recognize the unquestionable importance of those who have helped him along his way.

“When I first got into the fight game I was 29,” says Munoz. “I’ve been competing all my life. I really had to learn quick in high school and through college. If I didn’t learn quick then I would have fallen behind and not accomplished what I accomplished in high school and college. I feel like it was the same in the UFC. I lost my first fight. I got knocked out from not seeing that head kick coming from Matt Hamill. I really had to learn quick from there. What did I do wrong? What do I need to work on? What do I need to do to change my camp? I did the things necessary for me to be successful. I’ve taken my lumps. I’ve fallen backwards a little bit and then I’ve gained more momentum going forward. It’s been kind of two steps forward, one step back, but I am always going forward. Now, I’ve learned extremely quick, but my success is a testament to my training partners and my trainers. I have confidence that I have the best training and the best training camp in the world right now. I owe it all to the guys who train beside me. For me, to be able to be at this point in my career – it is because of them.”

The 33-year old is certainly at an interesting point in his career. Munoz is coming off a UFC 131 unanimous decision win over the highly regarded Demian Maia, and he is about to headline an event for the first time at UFC 138 against the devastating power of “The Crippler,” Chris Leben. Munoz is comfortably awaiting this career defining opportunity being the featured bout in Birmingham, England because of what he gained in his hard fought victory with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Maia.

“I came away with a lot of confidence,” states Munoz. “I feel like I’ve arrived in the middleweight division and I feel like it’s my time to go for the world title. I felt that in that fight. Demian Maia fought for the world title and was ranked in the top five in the world. Having won that fight and beating him in all aspects of the fight, I felt like I really have arrived in the weight class. With that win it catapulted my confidence and catapulted my stance in the division.”

The 2001 NCAA Division I national wrestling champion from Oklahoma State University was nearly in this same situation last year. After making the switch to 185, Munoz rattled off three wins in a row over Nick Catone, Ryan Jensen and in a “Fight of the Night” against Kendall Grove. This set-up Munoz’s clash with Yushin Okami on August 1st, 2010, which ended in a razor thin split decision that propelled Okami to a title eliminator later in the year. Munoz has rebounded with three more wins: a decision over Aaron Simpson, a knockout of CB Dollaway, and the decision win against Maia. As he is again looking to solidify his position among the weight class’ top tier, Munoz is sticking with the same austere training attitude that got him to the dance.

“I do work extremely hard,” admits Munoz. “When I have something in my sights I basically put blinders on like race horses. I don’t let anything hold me back. A lot of my training partners say, ‘You over train, Munoz.’ But I feel like if you’re not over training then you’re not training (laughs). At the same time, my training partners say ‘take a day off’ or ‘you shouldn’t spar for 10 rounds’ or ‘take it easy on conditioning, your body’s not responding right.’ But I do train extremely hard and that’s what I know and that’s what I do. I wouldn’t have the success that I have if I didn’t have the work ethic I have.”

Two of Munoz’s successes outside of the cage are what best propel him into each of his fights, including the main event against the 22-7 Leben. The first was Munoz’s ability to adapt his amateur wrestling skills to fit his overall MMA approach. It was a transformation that did not come easy as he explains, but it came through the typical hard work and self-analysis for which Munoz is known.

“MMA wrestling is totally different than pure wrestling, amateur wrestling,” affirms Munoz. “I did have to change my wrestling style. If you watched my amateur wrestling days, I was the type of guy who was very technical with hand fighting and positioning and I had to touch you to sprawl on you. In MMA it’s different. Your setups come from your punches and you’re on the outside and you penetrate with an explosive shot into your opponent from the outside. I wasn’t that wrestler. I was always that wrestler that had to grab a hold of your arm, snapping your head, pushing you and pulling you – I was that kind of wrestler. I had to change my style a bit. But when it hit the ground I was always scrambling. Scrambling has always been my ‘bread and butter’ or actually I’m Asian, so it’s my ‘rice and soy sauce’. That’s what I did in college – I scrambled a lot. That actually transitioned really well into MMA and I took the aspects of scrambling into my style of MMA and it’s done really well for me.”

The second success has four walls, a roof and resides in Lake Forest, California: Reign Training Center. In December of 2009, Munoz opened up his own facility with the goal of being the best gym Orange County has to offer. Less than two years later, Reign has quickly risen as one of the go to destinations to train for pro MMA fighters. In many ways, Reign with Munoz as its face can be seen as an extension to what longtime friend Urijah Faber has done in Sacramento with his gym and Team Alpha Male. It’s about team spirit, community and pushing each other to the ultimate goal: a world title.

“Nowadays, people are thinking about coming down to Reign Training Center,” boasts Munoz. “Now that we have a great team, people are thinking about moving out to be with us. Brendan Schaub is thinking about coming down. Jake Ellenberger has already moved out. Krzysztof Soszynski is there. Jason “Mayhem” Miller is there. We’ve got other good fighters like Brett Cooper, Emanuel Newton, Satoshi Ishii, Raphael Davis. There are guys in there that are monsters. It’s great. We have great team chemistry. We are taking aspects of wrestling and taking other people’s abilities and combining them to our own. Ishii was an Olympic champion in Judo and he’s teaching everyone Judo throws. ‘Mayhem’ is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and he’s teaching us about MMA jiu-jitsu. Krzysztof is teaching us his knowledge of strength and conditioning and helping us out with functional strength for MMA. We have great trainers for striking and jiu-jitsu – it’s just great. Now, Reign is a juggernaut. All of us are moving forward as a unit. All of us who are getting into the upper echelon of our divisions is because of our team and I give them all the credit.”

The next step for Munoz is to travel halfway across the world and tangle with Leben at UFC 138. A perennial fan favorite, Leben was riding a highly successful three fight win streak – Jay Silva, Aaron Simpson, and Yoshihiro Akiyama – before experiencing a TKO loss hiccup against Brian Stann at UFC 125 in January. The Oregon native recovered with a highlight reel knockout over his idol Wanderlei Silva in July. And besides Leben being a tough test for Munoz, this bout will mark the first five round non-title main event in UFC history. Although unlikely, Munoz couldn’t be any more excited at the proposition of battling Leben for a full 25 minutes.

“I’m a fan of Chris Leben,” exclaims Munoz. “I like how that dude fights. He is so exciting and our fight is going to be doubly exciting. I throw bombs and he throws bombs. I think that’s why we are the main event (laughs). For me to be able to fight Chris Leben is a huge honor because he is definitely a guy that if I get past him then I definitely have stamped my position in the middleweight division. It’s also a great honor to be a main event, to headline a card. I think it shows the UFC has confidence in our fighting ability that it can support a whole card. I am honored and humbled by the opportunity. And I love the fact that it’s going to be five rounds. I have confidence in my shape. Guys at the gym have confidence in my shape too with what we’ve put in and how hard we have worked to last 10 rounds. I like being in the first five round non-title fight, I love it. But a fight’s a fight. I don’t think this is going to go five rounds, but I definitely will be prepared if it goes for five rounds.”

On November 5th at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England, Munoz meets Leben in the Octagon for a scheduled five rounds of cagefighting fun. “With a win over Chris Leben, I stamp myself in the division and let everyone be put on notice that Mark Munoz has arrived and he’ll be a force in the middleweight division,” asserts Munoz, who will be prepped for a war with his explosive takedowns and his destructive punching power. “That’s what I train for. I train to be the best and I’m not going to let anyone stop me. I want it bad and I train accordingly.”

Before and after the fight, Munoz will continue to be a nice guy, but for those minutes in the cage “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” will be plenty mean to “The Crippler” – and that’s when it counts.

It finally happened!

It took just over seven years of being a professional in the sport, a case of walking pneumonia and a former UFC heavyweight champion, but Roy Nelson’s cardio looked bad in a fight. For all the haters and harpies of his trademark tummy, UFC 130 was really a unique experience seeing “Big Country” gassed in the second and third round while being outwrestled by Frank Mir. The Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner knows best how uncharacteristic his performance was, he’s owned up to it and he is ready to move on from it.

“I got the walking pneumonia a week after I went to Canada for the Expo from basically touching dirty fans,” semi-jokes Nelson. “My whole fight career, I always give you 100%. I usually have more cardio than the other guy. With this fight, I hit a wall and that’s what happens when you’re not up to 100%. Afterward, it is easy to blame the way I look or the color of my hair – there’s always something else to blame. Going into the fight against Frank, I was going up against a former champion. I wasn’t feeling good, but I was feeling confident. How do we get paid? We get paid to fight, so I went in there and did the best that I could. It went better for Frank that day.”

At 35 years old and a veteran of 22 pro fights spread across numerous organizations, Nelson is focused on entering the Octagon for the fifth time and his future past that. “If I lose I’m going into the gym to become a better fighter and if I win I’m going into the gym to become a better fighter,” says Nelson, owner of a 16-6 overall record and a 2-2 UFC slate, with back-to-back wins followed by back-to-back losses. “A thing I’ve always said is, ‘once you fight me, you’ll never want to fight me again.’ I believe that’s true from all the way from dos Santos, Frank and to anyone I’ve beaten before. If you’re going to fight Roy then you need to bring all your guns because you’re going to be in a war.”

The Las Vegas native’s next Octagon appearance will be at UFC 137 on October 29th when he will square off against international fan favorite Mirko Cro Cop. Nelson knows exactly how much weight Cro Cop’s name and 27-9-2, 1 NC career carries if one has a win over him. “I think it’s cool because you have to beat a legend to become a legend. He’s definitely beaten some of the top guys. He’s a guy that if you can beat him then you know where you stand in the scheme of things with the rest of the heavyweights in the world.”

Cro Cop and Nelson are in a similar position coming into this fight. Both are well regarded heavyweights who have faced some of the best their division has to offer and both are on a two fight losing skid. For Cro Cop, Mir and Brendan Schaub caught the former PRIDE star with about a minute left in their respective fights. For Nelson, the decision loss to Mir followed the decision loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 117. The most important thing for both fighters is to walk out of the Octagon with a win, and Nelson will do anything to make sure it’s him.

“In this fight, I’m coming off two losses,” he explains. “The first fight I lost I was fighting for a shot at the world title and the second fight I was fighting against a guy who has already had the title twice. For me, losing to those guys and now coming out here, it’s basically that I need to get back into the win column. I don’t care if it is the ugliest fight in the world, I just need to get the W. Once you get the W in the win column then you can start making your way back to the title. But first you need to get that W because you can’t climb up the ladder while you’re losing.”

Fighting an opponent as famous as Cro Cop does have an upside of generally knowing what to expect from him. The Croatian striker has been surgically knocking out opponents for well over a decade, and from his time as a professional kickboxer to his glory days in PRIDE to his nine fights inside the Octagon, Cro Cop continues to more or less have the same well-documented strengths and weaknesses. Nelson believes he’s figured out his opponent stylistically and knows how to counter it.

“I think Mirko is going to stay on the outside and pick his shots with his left hand and look for his kicks,” estimates Nelson. “That’s what Cro Cop is really good at. He sucks you into a lullaby and you put your guard down and then BAM that’s where the kick or the punch is. For me, I have to be patient and look for my shots or look for the takedowns. I have to punch him in the face, but I have to be patient. Mirko is a patient man and he waits for that one mistake and he capitalizes on it.”

“Big Country” does have two Knockout of the Night bonuses that both occurred in the first round, but Nelson is ready to go all three rounds with Cro Cop. “With every fight, I prepare like it’s going 15 minutes,” states Nelson, well aware that he might need to go into the later rounds in search of another bonus, as all but one of his foe’s losses in the UFC have occurred in the third. “If it gets done earlier then it’s like going to work and punching out early because you got all your work done. Mirko is very steady and elusive when it comes to striking and he stays out on the perimeter and picks his shots. He is a guy you have to hunt down, and it might take 15 minutes to get there.”

This Saturday, the mullet, the beard and the belly of “Big Country” will take to the cage against feared fists and feet of Cro Cop.

“He is one of the most feared strikers when it comes to matchups, but one thing that people don’t like about fighting me is that I’m not afraid to bang with you,” asserts Nelson, eager to put his crushing right hand and black belt in BJJ to use to get back to winning, climbing the ladder, and proving the naysayers wrong. “You not only have to be the better striker, but you have to see who hits harder. Another thing is that I have a good ground game. It’s not a pure classic ‘grappler vs. striker’ because this grappler is willing to bang with you.”

From one fight fan to another, you’re going to remember George Roop.

Honestly, there’s nothing not to like about this guy. In his past six fights in the UFC and WEC combined, Roop has fought all top 10 opponents and across three different weight classes. After going 1-1 in his first two fights outside of The Ultimate Fighter house, Roop took on George Sotiropoulos at the start of Sotiropoulos’ tear through the lightweight division and six months later Roop battles former WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland to a decision. Meanwhile, Roop’s proper weight division is featherweight, where he is 2-1-1 in his last four.

Now, Roop’s about to face a man many believe is the best 145er in the world who wasn’t previously in the UFC: Hatsu Hioki. At 12-8-1, people will not be making the argument that the Arizonan is the uncrowned champion like some do with the 24-4-2 Hioki. But that won’t stop Roop come fight night at UFC 137 when he plans on ruining Hioki’s debut and playing his favorite role: the underdog that wins. No one explains it better than Roop himself; he’s in the Octagon to fight the best – period.

“I actually got the choice of fighting Hioki or [Dustin] Poirier,” says Roop. “I was kind of shooting for the Poirier fight already, but then they offered me Hioki. I really do want to fight the best. If you look at all of my (UFC / WEC) opponents from Sotiropoulous to my last fight, each one of those guys were ranked in the top 10 at that time. I like to fight the best and I feel like it brings out the best in me. I want to look back at my career and say that I fought the best. I don’t want to fight a turd. I’m not one of those guys asking for ‘tune-up’ fights, so I can make sure I get my win bonus. I’ve got a hot sugar momma who pays my bills for me, so I’m not worried about that. I would be graduating from pharmacy school this year if I wanted to make money at a secure job. I want to look back at this and I want to know that I pushed myself. I want to be able to tell my kids that I competed against the best in the world at my time. It’s all about my life and my legacy. I might not have a legacy like Anderson Silva, but it’ll be a legacy to my family, my friends, and myself. I’m going to be proud of myself for taking on the toughest competition in the world.”

Seriously, there’s nothing not to like.

The 29-year old simply loves to scrap. He proved as much on the eighth season of TUF as Roop won his first fight by decision while suffering from a broken hand. And though he has been a nomad with his weight while searching for tough competition, he has finally found a home at 145 pounds. In his first two fights in the division, Roop won Fight of the Night in the draw against Leonard Garcia at WEC 47 and scored a highlight reel, head kick Knockout of the Night on Chan Sung Jung at WEC 51.

“All finishes come by surprise,” admits Roop. “I don’t train to finish guys. I train for a three round grueling war. If anyone trains to plan on finishing a guy in the first round then they are making a huge mistake. I plan on putting the pressure on in all three rounds. I’m always happy with the finish. I do have that killer instinct that if I see a finish I go for it, but my plan is to win that war.”

Roop won a war of his own creation in his last fight at The Ultimate Fighter 13 finale in June. Roop’s opponent was the highly touted Josh Grispi, who no doubt was the favorite leading into the bout. Grispi went undefeated in the WEC and earned himself a title shot against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, before Aldo was forced out of their UFC 125 bout due to injury. But on that UFC 125 card in January, Grispi suffered his first loss in over four years to rising star Dustin Poirier. Roop expected the 23-year old to come out on fire in the first, which he did, but Roop cooled those flames in the following rounds with punishing attacks both standing and on the ground.

“I expected him to come out strong and fast and the idea was to take him into the later rounds,” tells Roop. “That’s where I feel like I have the advantage and that’s where I think I thrive in fights. The second and third rounds were great rounds for me. After the first round, I went back to my corner and I felt like I lost that first round. The second and third rounds, I hit him with everything but the car. It was a satisfying win. I was able to display a lot of my tools. I was able to display that I’m a complete mixed martial artist. I’m not just a standup fighter or I’m not just a wrestler or not just a jiu-jitsu player. I’m a complete mixed martial artist. I showed my submission defense in the first round and then I showed my heart that I bring to every fight and the pressure I put on him. On the other hand, he made me look good. He made me look good because his gas tank wasn’t there. If someone’s gas tank isn’t there then you can do whatever you want to them.”

Roop finished Grispi with a right hand to the body at 3:14 into the third. It was easily the most complete performance Roop has given inside the Octagon. Roop dominated every aspect of the game: submission defense, takedowns, striking, ground and pound, cardio and sheer strength. Maybe the most impressive attribute of Roop’s in the June bout was his ability to overpower Grispi. Being 6-foot-1 and fighting at 145 pounds, Roop was able to pack on a surprising amount of muscle before his last fight, and he is doing the same for the showdown with Hioki.

“I hired on a great strength and conditioning coach here in Tucson,” explains Roop. “I put on a lot of muscle. I put on about an extra 10 pounds onto my frame. I felt very strong. My power lifting went through the roof from when I started my camp to when I finished my camp. I have also done the same thing with the training for this fight. I feel like I’ve always been strong. From watching Grispi fight on TV the dude looks shredded; he’s got good genes or something. That was definitely something I was worried about, him having much more strength than me. But when we got in there I felt like I could have picked him up and tossed him out of the cage.”

Waiting in the wings for Roop is Japan’s most recent favorite son, Hioki. The 28-year old has won and defended about every notable featherweight belt he could have outside of the UFC/WEC, and he vacated one such title (the Sengoku belt) to join the UFC. Hioki has victories over several Japanese legends as well as two wins over Roop’s former teammate and opponent Mark Hominick. He is a well rounded fighter and has been able to defeat foes in all areas, but Hioki’s especially great on the ground, with 12 of his 24 wins coming by submission.

“Hioki is the toughest guy I have faced to date,” states Roop. “He’s an awesome fighter. I’m going to have to fight the best fight I’ve ever fought in my life to win this fight. I will tell you this – I will be ready. I will get that W at the end of the day. He’s a tough opponent. He’s very good everywhere. He’s spectacular on the ground. He’s good standing up. I’ve watched those fights and honestly two of those split decisions he didn’t even lose. He’s the tallest opponent I’ve ever faced, but I think I’m the tallest opponent he’s faced. I think he’s almost the same as me in that he gets better as the fight goes on. He puts more pressure on you as the fight goes on as well and that’s what I do. He’s going to be in great shape. I know he’s not going to gas out. He’s fought title fights that are five round wars with Marlon Sandro. I expect the best Hatsu Hioki anyone’s ever seen. I’m going to be ready for that. I’m going to be ready for this fight like I’ve never been ready for any other fight.”

For his toughest test, Roop is in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, splitting his time between APEX Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing Inc. “I do boxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and mixed martial arts sparring Monday through Friday evenings and I do strength and conditioning Monday through Friday mornings,” reveals Roop, who is busily preparing for Hioki with hard sparring five nights a week. “I spar every single night; I do ‘shark tanks’ Monday through Friday and I feel like nothing gets you in better shape than specific training. Strength and conditioning makes me stronger, but for cardio, technique and timing, there’s nothing better than getting in there and having a real MMA fight.”

Lastly, Roop was a member of Team Tompkins, overseen by the late Shawn Tompkins, who passed away suddenly on August 14th. As with most, if not all, of his fighters, Tompkins and Roop were friends and it was more than just a coach and student relationship. The loss of Tompkins was a terrible one to the sport of MMA and not just as a phenomenal source of knowledge of it, but as one of the good guys inside and outside of the cage, one who exemplified the quality of the spirit of the people involved in it. Much of Tompkins’ legacy will be his fighters and how they carry on his lessons with their own careers.

“Me and Shawn Tompkins were really close,” says Roop. “When I moved to Vegas, I moved up there just for Shawn Tompkins to train with him and we became real close. It’s a huge tragedy to the sport and to a lot of us because he was an irreplaceable coach, an irreplaceable friend and an irreplaceable mentor. Shawn Tompkins was always there for you no matter where you were at in life. You’ve seen him really be there for all kinds of fighters who really didn’t have their heads on straight and he helped them through that. For me, he was a great coach and he helped take my game to the next level. I know Shawn Tompkins is still looking down and we’re all going to make him proud at Team Tompkins. We’re only going to get stronger.”

On October 29th in Las Vegas at UFC 137, Japanese superstar Hioki will make his Octagon debut against the rabid underdog Roop. It’s a position Roop has come to know well and he half expects it. Either way, Roop gets what he wants, and that’s a chance to tangle with the best and write his own legacy one cage fight at a time. It’s also another opportunity to prove the doubters wrong, which is an added incentive.

“Heck yeah it affects me,” exclaims Roop. “I love playing the underdog! I know everyone says that, but I truly do love playing the underdog and proving people wrong. I love people saying I can’t win because it makes me train hard and it gives me fuel. It gives me that nervous feeling like when you’re a kid and someone says, ‘I’m going to beat you up after school’ and I’ve got that feeling for four months every day. I love it! I love that feeling. I think it helps me in my fights.”

Whether he’s a 3-to-1 or a 7-to-1 underdog going into this fight, when the cage door shuts it’s only Hioki and Roop in there. Meaning, Roop’s got a 50/50 shot of getting his hand raised no matter how prestigious his opponent may be. And Roop’s going to give it all he’s got to make that upset a reality.

“I just want the fans to be excited,” says Roop. “I just want them to remember me. I want them to really want to see me fight. Whether it was an exciting fight or a cool kick – I want them to remember me.”

If he beats Hioki at UFC 137, no fight fan will ever be able to forget Roop.