Tag: Mark Munoz

Unfortunate circumstances: 15 unforeseen injuries that ended UFC main events

Injuries are part of the game in MMA, but there’s nothing worse than one ends a marquee UFC fight.

While the term “freak injury” might not be appropriate to use when discussing a sport that is inherently dangerous, 14 UFC main events have ended in unforeseen injuries – broken legs, separated shoulders, eye pokes, etc. – that don’t typically come in the sequence of MMA combat.

Scroll below to see a chronology of UFC main events that ended in that nature.

Note: Injuries sustained on a TKO due to strikes or tapout due to a submission are not included, nor are retirements on the stool due to extended fight damage or exhaustion. Laceration-based stoppages also are not included since they come as an intentional result of the opposition’s attack.

Ex-UFC fighter Mark Munoz issues statement after report of letting kids settle dispute through boxing

Mark Munoz’s statement read, in part, “With every ounce of who I am, I desire to be a positive influence on kids.”

Former UFC fighter [autotag]Mark Munoz[/autotag] has been placed on administrative leave and won’t have his contract renewed as a wrestling coach at a Southern California high school after a report that he allowed students to settle a dispute by boxing each other.

Munoz, 44, allegedly let two students fight each other with boxing gloves, according to a report by TMZ on Tuesday. The report, which cites “sources close to Munoz,” alleges that he wasn’t aware of the argument and thought the boxing match was more in “jovial” spirits than “violent.” One of the boys’ parents was outraged by the situation and informed the Fairmont Private Schools’ administration.

When contacted by MMA Junkie, Munoz issued a statement on the situation.

“With every ounce of who I am, I desire to be a positive influence on kids, to teach kids to be the very best wrestlers, to speak loudly against bullying, and to honor my Lord Jesus Christ,” Munhoz wrote. “There are thousands of wrestlers who I have coached that would affirm those truths from first-hand experience. Under no circumstance would I encourage kids to settle a dispute through fighting.”

MMA Junkie contacted Fairmont School, which is located in San Juan Capistrano, and was informed by an official that Munoz was placed on administrative leave through the end of the school year and would not return to his job. The school official didn’t provide further comment. Munoz, a retired UFC fighter, was hired as a wrestling coach in September 2020.

Munoz, a collegiate national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, fought professionally from 2007 to 2015, mostly under the UFC banner in which he competed 15 times. He was considered a legitimate title contender for a couple of years during his UFC run. He shared the octagon with fighters such as Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman, and Gegard Mousasi, and he defeated notables such as Chris Leben, Demian Maia, and C.B. Dolloway.

Munoz retired in 2015 after defeating Luke Barnatt by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 66 in the Philippines.

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Fight songs: The World MMA Awards’ top 10 spoof pop songs, ranked

We take a quick rundown of the World MMA Awards’ spoof pop videos in our special end-of-year top 10 list.

The legendary Bob Marley once uttered, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

However, if the following collection of tracks is anything to go by, some of MMA’s best have certainly tried to make an impact.

Each year, Fighters Only’s World MMA Awards have featured musical interludes featuring spoof pop videos starring some of the biggest stars of the sport as they poke fun at themselves for their peers’ entertainment during the annual black-tie get-together in Las Vegas.

The songs are all the brainchild of MMA-loving stand-up comedian Adam Hunter, who also has his own comedy special coming soon to UFC Fight Pass.

Here’s a sneak peek…

As a man who started out in hospital radio, spinning tunes for patients who couldn’t run away from my own eclectic musical tastes, who better from the Junkie team than yours truly to pick through the Top 10 list of spoof tracks from the World MMA Awards?

So, without further ado, let’s go straight into it as we run down the list, ordered by number of YouTube views. Enjoy!

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Combat Rewind, June 1: Mark Munoz goes ‘Donkey Kong’ in WEC

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

  • WEC 34: [autotag]Mark Munoz[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chuck Grigsby[/autotag] – June 1, 2008
  • TKO 29: [autotag]Jonathan Goulet[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Travis Axworthy[/autotag] – June 1, 2007
  • Pancrase – Shining 5: [autotag]Yukio Sakaguchi[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Masakazu Kuramochi[/autotag] – June 1, 2008
  • TKO 29: [autotag]Sarah Kaufman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Valerie Letourneau[/autotag] – June 1, 2007

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

Quintet Ultra: Team Strikeforce set out to be the ‘best looking team,’ make Mark Munoz gas

Thursday night at Quintet Ultra, five of Strikeforce’s most notable veterans will compete against teams representing the UFC, WEC and PRIDE.

LAS VEGAS – Strikeforce is back. Well, sort of.

Thursday night at Quintet Ultra, five of Strikeforce’s most notable veterans will compete against teams representing the UFC, WEC and PRIDE.

The openweight elimination challenge takes place at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Strikeforce’s team is comprised of lightweight champ (and team captain) [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag], welterweight champ [autotag]Jake Shields[/autotag], light heavyweight champ [autotag]Muhammed Lawal[/autotag], light heavyweight champ [autotag]Renato Sobral[/autotag] and lightweight [autotag]Gesias Cavalcante[/autotag].

Wednesday, the five Strikeforce alumni reunited for a media scrum with MMA Junkie. The Strikeforce group of five fighters declared themselves the “best looking team,” joked about having to go up against Team WEC’s [autotag]Mark Munoz[/autotag], and reminisced on how far they’ve come.

The tournament will first pair Strikeforce up with WEC. In the opening round, Cavalcante will face off with former UFC title challenger Chad Mendes.

Roster orders are selected by each team behind closed doors and submitted simultaneously. Not knowing the orders of other quintets, each team will have to stick to its order if members of its team get eliminated.

In addition to the team competition, Quintet Ultra will feature singles matches. Gordon Ryan meets Aleksei Oleinik, while Cynthia Calvillo – who replaces a previously announced Pearl Gonzalez – takes on Danielle Kelly. A prelims single match between Craig Jones and Fredson Paixao also is set.

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Quintet Ultra lineups set, include Sean O’Malley vs. Takanori Gomi, Chad Mendes vs. ‘JZ’ Cavalcante

The lineups are set for Thursday’s Quintet Ultra team grappling event, and the opening matchups include a few intriguing contests.

The lineups are set for Thursday’s Quintet Ultra team grappling event, and the opening matchups include a few intriguing contests.

Weigh-ins for the event took place Wednesday at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas, with each five-member team expected to weigh-in under 950 pounds combined. That didn’t prove an issue, with Team WEC registering 947.2 pounds, Team Strikeforce just behind at 946.6 pounds, Team UFC at 942.2 pounds and Team PRIDE the smallest at 936.6 pounds.

Featuring a unique 5-on-5 team grappling concept where the winning grappler of each match stays on the mat, Quintet Ultra takes place Thursday at the same venue and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

In the opening round of the tournament, Team UFC takes on Team PRIDE, while Team WEC vs. Team Strikeforce.

Team UFC will send out fast-rising bantamweight prospect [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] as their first representative, while Team PRIDE counters with former PRIDE lightweight champ [autotag]Takanori Gomi[/autotag].

On the other side of the bracket, Team WEC is starting with three-time UFC title challenger [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag], while Team Strikeforce opens with two-time K-1 HERO’s middleweight grand prix champion and former Titan FC lightweight champ [autotag]Gesias Cavalcante[/autotag], the man best known as “JZ.”

In each match, the winning grappler stays on to take on the next representative from the opposing team. In case of a draw, both fighters are eliminated.

The two winning teams from the opening round matchups meet in the finals to close out the night.

Full team orders include:

TEAM UFC

1. Sean O’Malley
2. [autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] (captain)
5. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]

vs.

TEAM PRIDE

1. Takanori Gomi
2. [autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Gregor Gracie[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Yves Edwards[/autotag]
5. [autotag]Kazushi Sakuraba[/autotag] (captain)

TEAM WEC

1. Chad Mendes (captain)
2. [autotag]Mark Munoz[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]
5. [autotag]James Krause[/autotag]

vs.

TEAM STRIKEFORCE

1. Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante
2. [autotag]Jake Shields[/autotag]
3. [autotag]Muhammed Lawal[/autotag]
4. [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag] (captain)
5. [autotag]Renato Sobral[/autotag]

Quintet Ultra: Full UFC, PRIDE, WEC, Strikeforce rosters revealed ahead of Thursday’s event

UFC vs. PRIDE vs. WEC vs. Strikeforce? The full rosters have been announced for Thursday’s event.

Who would have won a team battle between the UFC, PRIDE, WEC, and Strikeforce? Quintet is hopping in a time machine to take fans back to an era when this question could be answered.

On Thursday, one of the world’s most unique grappling tournaments will return with Quintet Ultra. The openweight elimination challenge takes place at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

The event will see four teams compromised of five fighters – each team tied to a respective promotion. On Monday, full rosters and first-round team pairings were announced, with Team UFC taking on Team PRIDE and Team WEC vs. Team Strikeforce.

The teams are as follows:

Team UFC

  • [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] (captain): former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, current UFC light heavyweight contender, WSOF veteran
  • [autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag]: former UFC light heavyweight title challenger
  • [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: Dana White’s Contender Series signee, undefeated UFC bantamweight
  • [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: 29-fight UFC veteran, current UFC lightweight
  • [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: current UFC lightweight/welterweight, second-degree black belt

Team PRIDE

  • [autotag]Kazushi Sakuraba[/autotag] (captain): UFC Hall of Famer, competed in 27 fights under the PRIDE banner, UFC Japan heavyweight tournament winner
  • [autotag]Takanori Gomi[/autotag]: PRIDE lightweight champion, Pride 2005 lightweight grand prix winner, UFC veteran
  • [autotag]Gregor Gracie[/autotag]: grappling world champion, ONE FC veteran, member of the storied Gracie family
  • [autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag]: former Bellator middleweight champion, Bellator Season 1 middleweight tournament winner, international judo federation gold medalist
  • [autotag]Yves Edwards[/autotag]: three-time PRIDE competitor, UFC and Strikeforce veteran, current PFL commentator

Team WEC

  • [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] (captain): two-time UFC featherweight title challenger, most knockouts in UFC featherweight history (tied with Conor McGregor), two-time NCAA Division 1 All American
  • [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]: former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, current UFC light heavyweight contender, most submission victories in UFC light heavyweight history (tied with Jon Jones)
  • [autotag]Mark Munoz[/autotag]: two-time WEC competitor, 15-time UFC competitor, two-time NCAA division 1 All American
  • [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: former UFC featherweight title challenger, former WEC title challenger, 11-time UFC/WEC bonus winner
  • [autotag]James Krause[/autotag]: two-time WEC competitor, current UFC welterweight, currently riding a six-fight win streak

Team Strikeforce

  • [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag]: WEC lightweight champion, Strikeforce lightweight champion, UFC lightweight title challenger
  • [autotag]Jake Shields[/autotag]: Strikeforce middleweight champion, Elite XC welterweight champion, former UFC welterweight title challenger
  • [autotag]Muhammed Lawal[/autotag]: Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Bellator 2013 “Summer Series” light heavyweight tournament champion, Bellator season 10 light heavyweight tournament finalist
  • [autotag]Gesias Cavalcante[/autotag]: two-time K-1 HERO’s middleweight grand prix champion, former Titan FC lightweight champion
  • [autotag]Renato Sobral[/autotag]: Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger

In addition to the team competition, Quintet Ultra will feature singles matches. [autotag]Gordon Ryan[/autotag] meets [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag], while Cynthia Calvillo takes on [autotag]Danielle Kelly[/autotag]. A prelims single match between [autotag]Craig Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Fredson Paixio[/autotag] also is set.

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