UFC star wants to do a Pacman

MANILA, Philippines - Like Manny Pacquiao in boxing, Fil-Am Mark Munoz dreams of lording it over the octagon ring in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

“He’s really a role model, I wanted to be a Manny Pacquiao in mixed martial arts,” said Munoz, one of the fast rising stars in the UFC with a 7-1 (win-loss) record.

“I’m a very, very huge fan of Manny,” said Munoz in a phone interview arranged for the media by television giant ABS-CBN and its sports cable channel Balls at the ELJ Building in Quezon City yesterday.

Munoz is coming off an impressive victory over Ryan Jensen, finishing off his rival in just two and a half minutes in the first round during their middleweight undercard bout in UFC108 Evans vs. Silva at the MGM Grand Arena last Sunday.

It was Munoz’s second straight win since beating Nick Catone via split decision in UFC102 Couture vs. Nogueira last August. Those victories more than made up for his disappointing loss to light heavyweight contender Matt Hamill in UFC96 Jackson vs. Jardine five months ago.


Munoz said he even went to Los Angeles, California – a three-hour drive from his hometown in Vallejo – to train under Freddie Roach for a UFC bout and meet the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

“I actually trained with Freddie Roach when I was in LA and the reason I want to train with him is that I want to see Manny while training under the world’s best trainer,” said Munoz.

“At the same time, I want to see how compassionate a role model he is because aside from boxing, he’s a very good person that’s why I wanted to see and meet him,” Munoz said.

Like all boxing fans, Munoz said he was disappointed that the superfight pitting Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been called off, saying the unbeaten American fighter was scared of the Filipino champion.

“I think Mayweather is scared. I think he is putting off to create a lot of drama, so to speak. But I think they’re going to make it a bigger fight right now,” said Munoz.

Source: Joey Villar  | Philstar.com

Fil-Am Muñoz wants to be ‘Manny Pacquiao’ of MMA

Up and coming Filipino-American mixed martial artist (MMA) Mark Muñoz is a self confessed Manny Pacquiao fan.

In fact, he wanted to be the Manny Pacquiao of MMA.

“[I’m a] huge [fan of Pacquiao]. Very very huge,” Muñoz said in a phone patch interview with several sports scribes in the Philippines.

“Actually, I trained with Freddie Roach when I was in LA. The reason why I wanted to train with Freddie is that I can see Manny.”

The 6-foot tall fighter known as the “Filipino Wrecking Machine” said he doesn’t just admire Pacquiao’s boxing skills but he also likes the boxer's down-to-earth attitude.

“I got to see him train and how he treats people,” said Muñoz, who already scored 2 wins in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). “He’s a very good role model aside from his boxing. He’s a very good person.”

“That’s what I wanted to be. I definitely wanted to be the Manny Pacquiao of mixed martial arts,” he added.

Muñoz broke into the MMA scene with two successive wins in the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) where he scored first-round victories over Chuck Grigsby and Ricardo Barrios.

Although he lost his fighting debut in the UFC to veteran MMA fighter Matt Hamill, he made it up by scoring two more victories over Nick Catone and Ryan Jensen.

‘Mayweather’s just scared’

When asked about the cancellation of Pacquiao’s bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Muñoz said the American boxer is only looking for excuses to postpone the fight.

“I think Mayweather is scared, I think he’s putting it off,” said the MMA fighter.

Muñoz, one of the many fight fans who wanted the mega-bout to happen, said the cancellation only made the Pacquiao-Mayweather clash bigger than it was.

“It’s actually a big fight, huge fight right now but I think they‘re gonna make it a bigger fight because now it wasn’t gonna happen so people are talking about it now. I think it’s gonna happen,” he said.

He also frowned over the demand by Mayweather’s camp to have Pacquiao undergo Olympic-style drug testing.

Muñoz said he is puzzled over the move to change the drug testing process that has been used in boxing for years and years.

“I think he’s just finding a reason to cancel the fight. I don’t like how it’s been carried out, I don’t like it at all,” he said.

Still, Muñoz wanted the fight to push through.

“It has to happen,” he said.

Source: Dennis Gasgonia  | abs-cbnnew.com