Mark Munoz may soon be returning to the UFC’s middleweight rankings, from whence he disappeared last week.
On Thursday, Munoz announced through his Twitter feed and other social media that he had signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC. Later in the day, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Munoz has been re-signed by Zuffa at his UFC 174 media scrum.
The new contract comes on the heals of much uncertainty for perennial top ten fighter Munoz, who lost his May 31 main event bout against Gegard Mousasi at UFC Fight Night 41 in Berlin. In that fight — in which Munoz was finished via submission for the first time in his career — he suffered a grade 3 tear in his left MCL and a strained ACL, injuries that will keep him sidelined for awhile.
The 36-year old Munoz (13-5), who goes by the nickname “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” has had a rough stretch of late after winning four fights in a row in 2010 and 2011. In what amounted to a No. 1 contender’s bout in July 2012, he lost via TKO to eventual champion Chris Weidman. He rebounded with a victory over Tim Boetsch before dropping his next two bouts against Lyoto Machida and Mousasi.
Even with the recent losses, and even with the knee injury, he vowed he would come back. Less than two weeks after saying he’d pick himself up after the loss, he’s got a new deal.
“I’m happy to be a part of the best MMA organization in the world,” he told MMA Fighting. “And I’m happy to compete with the world’s best.”