UFC Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz
Odds: (+205 Leben / -265 Munoz )
Betting Pick: Munoz
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In the main event of the evening, tough-as-nails brawler Chris “The Crippler” Leben will face a stern test in heavy-handed wrestler Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz. Leben is not always the most consistent performer, but he always shows up to fight and he always puts on a show. Munoz isn’t quite as edge of your seat exciting as Leben, but he is extremely consistent and effective, mixing up his heavy power punches with his dominant wrestling very well. Leben does have some submission skills, as he showed by triangle choking Yoshihiro Akiyama, but he is not known as a ground fighter and may have trouble dealing with a guy as large and skilled as Munoz on top of him. On the other side of that coin, Munoz has never had to deal with anyone as tenacious and determined as Leben, who seems to thrive on taking a beating, wading through it, and giving back as good as he is giving. This is an interesting style matchup and should make for a very entertaining main event.
Chris “The Crippler” Leben was undeniably the villain on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. His mood swings, childish pranks, and verbal assaults on other cast mates made him easily the most hated fighter on the show. Over the years since, though, Leben has grown into a very popular fan favorite because of his never say die fighting style and the fact that it is legitimately impossible for one of his fights to be boring. Leben is a very dangerous slugger who has a lot of power in his hands, but what makes him so dangerous is that he never stops fighting for even a second. He will wade through beatings that are hard to even watch just to land a couple of counter haymakers. His gameplan is always predictable: he will move forward constantly, absorbing any punishment he has to, just to make sure he lands his power punches. When a fight settles into a groove and becomes technical, that is when Leben tends to stagnate. He is at his best during wild, ugly brawls, and he is very good at making his fights turn out that way. The big question mark against Munoz is how well his takedown defense will hold up and how effectively he will be able to fight off his back with a big, technical wrestler like Munoz on top of him.
Mark Munoz, who is currently riding an impressive three fight win streak, is one of the rising stars of the Middleweight division. A skilled wrestler with devastating power punches, Munoz has consistently improved and turned in solid performances. Outside of a head kick knockout he suffered at the hands of Matt Hamill, the only blemish on Munoz’s record is a narrow split decision loss to top contender Yushin “Thunder” Okami. Munoz has a very complete offensive game, with good boxing, dominant wrestling, and a very active and effective clinch. As good a puncher as Munoz is, he probably doesn’t want to stand and trade with Leben, just because that is Leben’s strength and it is ridiculously difficult to put him down with strikes. Munoz has the tools to put Leben on the ground, though, and he would be smart to use them. In a ground fight, from top position, Munoz instantly becomes the favorite here, so he would be wise to force this fight to the mat as early as possible.
This is going to be a very competitive fight. On the feet, both of these guys can do a ton of damage, which makes this a tough fight to call if it plays out in the striking department. The difference maker here is going to be Munoz’s clinch game and wrestling. Both of these guys are tough and solid chins, so this should go the distance, but Munoz’s ability to control position with the clinch and score points with takedowns and ground and pound should be enough to earn him the unanimous decision win in his first main event.
Prediction: Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz via Unanimous Decision.
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