Mark Munoz wants to be the “Manny Pacquiao of Mixed Martial Arts”

Nice guys don’t always finish last. A statement redefined by The Filipino Wrecking Machine with three solid wins in his last three outings. Appearing calm and confident at today’s UFC 138 press conference, one thing was clear right off the bat: this fight is for number one contender status.

Munoz surely makes the better claim with Leben faltering recently against Stann, compared with his own impressive win-streak in an intriguing Middleweight division. Leben emphatically made his pitch to be at the top of the pile with a win on Saturday but the Filipino discussed his thoughts more discretely but was adamant nonetheless.

“This is for number one contender, I’d be surprised if it was anything else. With the run that I’ve had, I beat the last number one contender in Demian Maia and Chris Leben’s got a big win over Wanderlei Silva. I had a four-fight winning streak and my last loss was to Yushin Okami, who fought for the title.

“I’m right there, I’m at the top of the heap and there’s nowhere else for me to go. I want to be world champ and I’ve written that goal on my wall so I see it every day. I train accordingly and I think accordingly.”

A calm and collected Mark Munoz (Steven Bond)

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Shotgun Young reloads for a second chance outing in the UFC

East London born and raised, Jason “Shotgun” Young faces Japanese veteran Michihiro Omigawa on Saturday night in Birmingham. After a hard fought decision loss Dustin Poirier at UFC 131 in Vancouver, Canada, Young faces an experienced Omigawa who likely has more cause for concern over his place in the organisation after consecutive losses to Chad Mendes and Darren Elkins.

Shotgun, who earned his moniker from his buddies at the local barber shop, is so named because of his hard-hitting and energetic style and will get his chance to prove these attributes on the Facebook prelims. Cage Junkies caught up with the young British prospect in the midst of being followed for an extensive and in depth feature for FHM UK. Decked in casual sports attire with his now familiar jauntily-angled mohawk, Young spoke about where his head was at following on from his debut loss.

“As I see it now there’s no option other than to win. I took a short notice fight against a fight ranked sixth in the world (Poirier). It was a really hard fight but I went the distance with a guy ranked sixth. In my head that’s a confidence booster.”

“I just feel like I’ve got all the tools. I’ve got to the UFC training out of a normal gym in London, with average guys but for this fight I’ve spent time in America. I’ve been to Canada with Mark Hominick, Sam Stout and Chris Horodecki. I went down to American Top Team with Gleison TIbau, Mike Brown, Thiago Alves and Hector Lombard. Every one of these guys is high level and I’ve never trained like this for a fight before. You’re going to see a different fighter.”

Jason Young defeats Jordan Miller at UCMMA 3 (via Mirror.co.uk)

It would be easy to think that such a paradigm shift in training partners and regimen could be an overhwleming adjustment for the young Featherweight, but Young has grown in confidence from the training camp.

“I’m a better fighter. I’m more wary. I’m thinking how I’m going to win these fights instead of just trying to bang someone’s head off. So now I want to get takedowns and be known as a more well rounded fighter.”

“I looked at the program yesterday and it said “Jason - 100% striker”. I thought to myself, we’re gonna change this, I’m gonna show people. I promise that.”

In concocting a gameplan that extends beyond a display of his favoured Muay Thai style, Shotgun has been persistently putting in hours on the mat, honing his BJJ and straight wrestling.

“Even my back hurts now” explained Young. “I’ve never wrestled so much in my life! I really rate Omigawa but it doesn’t matter who’s in front of me. He switches his stance a lot and he’s a very unorthodox fighter, but I’ve got a 4 or 5 inch reach advantage. He boxes well but he doesn’t throw any leg kicks and my striking is crisp. I’ve got knees and elbows too.”

Gameplanning for a fight is one think but when Young was quizzed about his aspirations beyond Saturday night it was clear he wasn’t overlooking his opponent.

“I’ll just get this fight out of the way, with a win, and if the UFC give me another top fight then that’s my job. This is what I love to do.”

The Weekend Weather Forecast: UFC 138

Leben vs Munoz

If I could sum up my sentiments about UFC 138 in a single statement it would be this: a weak card doesn’t mean poor fights. The UFC’s return to the UK shores is drawing a lot of criticism from limeys like myself - but - when it comes down to it we can all be sure that Birmingham’s LG Arena will be electric. Packed with thousands of Mixed Martial Arts fanatics who paid to see the sport they love, played out at the highest level, it will be noisy and it will be glorious.

The storyline of Leben/Munoz just about ties in with the shuffling around in the upper echelons of the decision. Munoz has proved his grappling to be top drawer stuff with recent wins over decent wrestlers Dolloway and Simpson before his tough battle with an ultra elite BJJ blackbelt in the form of Demian Maia.

But with the Crippler… we don’t even have a win streak to speak of. With a single win in recent months against an ageing Wanderlai Silva, he formerly lost in devastating fashion to Brian Stann. And that particular American hero just got dealt his own “red, white and blue ass whooping” from the P4P King of Trash Talk, Chael Sonnen.

Confused?

Well, in short this isn’t a game changing fight and it’s unlikely to be a memorable stand up exchange with Munoz looking for takedowns and effective use of his wrestling.

Munoz’s smart gameplanning with clinch this bout, leaving a frustrated brawler in his wake, possibly summoning a finish at some point in the third.

Pickett vs Barão

“One Punch” Pickett finally gets to fight in the UFC after a very respectable WEC run, including that notable win over Demetrious Johnson. Barao has already racked up one win in the Octagon against Cole Escovedo, but failed to make a lasting impression in the eyes of the fans.

With two well rounded and frantic Bantamweights getting their opportunity to shine, this should be one of the more entertaining fights of the whole night.

I see Brad Pickett transitioning effectively between his solid striking game and clinch-work. If he doesn’t manage a TKO by the end of the 2nd then a unanimous decision should be in the bag.

Alves vs Abedi

Casual fans can be forgiven for being unfamiliar with the career of Papy Abedi. And at 33 his UFC debut hasn’t come soon enough - but is he being thrown to a very hungry wolf?

Thiago Alves is a big Welterweight and he knows how to throw his weight around when it comes to Muay Thai. As an awesome striker Alves has only faltered in the past 8 years against decent wrestlers - most recently Fitch, Story and of course GSP at UFC 100.

Please God can we have a full on kickboxing war? At least in loving memory of K1. These guys are more than capable of showcasing high level MMA striking and Abedi may be in for a surprise with zero losses to date.

I’ve got Thiago Alves kneeing and shinning his way to a brutal TKO in the 1st or 2nd with both guys uncorking early on. Accompanied by an arena full of giddy and delighted Brits.