Tag: Pedro Munhoz

UFC 292 press conference faceoffs: Neil Magny vs. Ian Machado Garry gets personal

Check out the UFC 292 news conference faceoffs including the two title fights and Ian Garry vs. Neil Magny.

BOSTON – The UFC 292 pre-fight news conference took place Thursday at TD Garden, the same venue that hosts Saturday’s event.

Before the faceoffs of the co-main event strawweight title fight of champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] vs. challenger [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag], and the main event bantamweight title fight of [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag], the fighters from the other main card fights and the featured prelim came face-to-face.

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Among them, was brash Irish prospect [autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag], who remained intense with seasoned UFC veteran [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]. Bantamweight fighters [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] and [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag] squared off after contenders [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] and [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag].

The featured prelim, a middleweight bout between [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] and [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] provided a respectful and laid-back faceoff.

Check out the UFC 292 news conference faceoffs in the video and photo gallery above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Pedro Munhoz relishes opportunity to face Marlon Vera, expects ‘dog fight’ at UFC 292

A win over Marlon Vera could do wonders for the direction of Pedro Munhoz’s UFC career.

BOSTON – Technically speaking, [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] is fighting on short notice this Saturday. Henry Cejudo was Marlon Vera’s original opponent for UFC 292, but when Cejudo withdrew roughly six weeks ago, Munhoz got the call to step in.

Without hesitation, Munhoz (20-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) answered it, and now he’s got a big opportunity facing bantamweight title contender Vera (20-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) on a night that 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling puts his belt on the line against Sean O’Malley.

“It’s a lot of expectation going into the fight,” Munhoz told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday at UFC 292 media day.

Munhoz, 36, was a top bantamweight contender not so long ago after viciously knocking out former champ Cody Garbrandt in March 2019. But since that big victory, Munhoz has gone 2-4 with one no contest from an accidental eye poke in a fight with O’Malley.

But entering UFC 292, Munhoz is coming off a dominant, clean-sweep unanimous decision win over Chris Gutierrez this past April. A win over Vera could do wonders for the direction of Munhoz’s career.

“All my fights speak for themselves. It’s really important to also showcase that I’m still here and strong,” Munhoz said. “All my previous fights have spoken for themselves, and this is no different. It’s gonna be a lot of eyes on us. It’s a big card. The bantamweight title is gonna be on display that night. I believe an impressive victory over ‘Chito’ is gonna even push me forward towards the goal, so let’s see.”

Vera, who’s coming off a split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen in March, is as tough as they come in the bantamweight division, and Munhoz is expecting nothing short of a “dog fight.”

“Very durable guy. I don’t think he’s ever been finished in one of his fights. Myself, too, I’ve never been knocked out or finished,” Munhoz said. “We both like to go and exchange and bring some type of dog fight, which nowadays a lot of people try to play it more safe. ‘Chito’ and I, we don’t give a f*ck. We just go for war.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Video: ‘UFC 292: Sterling vs. O’Malley’ media day interviews

Before UFC 292 on Saturday, watch as the title-fight athletes, main card and prelim fighters speak to reporters at media day.

BOSTON – UFC 292, with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+, goes down Saturday at TD Garden.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the two championship fights, main card and preliminary lineup spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

UFC 292 pre-event facts: Do Aljamain Sterling’s stats confirm bantamweight GOAT status?

The best facts about UFC 292, which sees Aljamain Sterling bring a potentially GOAT-worthy resume into his title defense vs. Sean O’Malley.

The UFC returns to Boston for the seventh time in company history and the first time in nearly four years on Saturday with UFC 292, which takes place at TD Garden and has a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

A championship doubleheader takes center stage on the card. In the main event, [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will seek his fourth consecutive bantamweight title defense when he takes on [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), while the co-main event sees strawweight champ [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) look for the first defense of her second title reign against dangerous Brazilian challenger [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

For the numbers behind both title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 292.

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Pedro Munhoz wants a dogfight with Marlon Vera at UFC 292: ‘I like to get wild’

Pedro Munhoz expects Marlon Vera to lure him into the exact type of fight that he likes.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] expects [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] to lure him into the exact type of fight that he likes.

Munhoz (20-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) will step in for Henry Cejudo to face Vera (22-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston.

In his most recent outing in April, Munhoz snapped Chris Gutierrez’s eight-fight unbeaten streak with a unanimous decision win. “The Punisher” respects Vera, and anticipates an exciting battle.

“He’s good,” Munhoz told MMA Junkie Radio on Radio Row at UFC X during International Fight Week in Las Vegas. “I also know my strengths, my capability, and that’s going to be a hell of a fight.”

Munhoz has thrived in Fight of the Night wins over the likes of Jimmie Rivera and former champion Cody Garbrandt. He had to make adjustments against Gutierrez, but sees ‘Chito’ meeting him in the middle.

“I like to get wild,” Munhoz said. “If you get the chance to get wild, why not? Let it just be out there. A lot of the times that the fight went wild, it was the type of fight that I get big. So lately, a lot of the fighters that I fought were trying to avoid that, trying to fight on the back foot.

“The last fight against Gutierrez, I had to adapt a little bit of my strategy to fight a guy that I knew was not coming forward as much as ‘Chito’ will come. But I appreciate a little bit of a dog fight to be honest with you.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 3-9)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from July 3-9.

Marlon Vera set to fight Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292 after Henry Cejudo withdrawal

“Chito” Vera gets to keep his date in Boston after Henry Cejudo withdrew. He now faces Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292.

The UFC’s Boston bantamweight party is still looking strong as a replacement opponent for [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] has been found.

At UFC 292, “Chito” Vera will now face [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag], after his original opponent, former two-division UFC champ Henry Cejudo, pulled out of the fight due to injury. Vera’s management, Iridium Sports Agency announced the signing of the bout Friday.

The event which takes place at TD Garden in Boston, already has a few other key matchups, including the headliner which is a title fight in the division between champ Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.

Along with Munhoz (20-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) vs. Vera (22-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) at bantamweight will be Rob Font vs. Song Yadong and Cody Garbrandt vs. Mario Bautista.

Munhoz, 36, will enter on the heels of a unanimous decision win over Chris Gutierrez at UFC on ESPN 44 in April. He will look to keep the momentum going after the win ended a rough stretch of results that included a pair of losses to former champions Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz, and a no contest against Sean O’Malley due to an eye poke.

Vera, 30, saw a four-fight winning streak come to an end in his previous outing, a split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN 43. Prior to the setback, he defeated Davey Grant, Frankie Edgar, Rob Font, and Dominick Cruz.

With the addition, the UFC 292 lineup now includes:

  • Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley
  • Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos
  • Rob Font vs. Song Yadong
  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Marlon Vera
  • Brad Tavares vs. Chris Weidman
  • Mario Bautista vs. Cody Garbrandt
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Andre Petroski
  • Maryna Moroz vs. Karine Silva
  • Ian Machado Garry vs. Geoff Neal
  • Andrea Lee vs. Natalia Silva

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

UFC on ESPN 44 medical suspensions: Three fighters get 60 days after KO losses

The Missouri commission issued medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN 44, the longest of which went to fighters who were knocked out.

Three fighters face 60-day medical suspensions as a result of stoppage losses by strikes at UFC on ESPN 44.

The event took place this past Saturday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The event was overseen by the Missouri Division of Professional Regulation, which suspended 13 of 28 fighters from the card for medical reasons after their bouts, according to a list published Wednesday by the commission.

It’s important to note fighters can return sooner than the expiration date of their medical suspension should they receive proper medical clearance from a doctor. In addition, the commission does not list reasons for medical suspensions – just durations.

Scroll below to see the full list of UFC on ESPN 44 medical suspensions.

Pedro Munhoz feels validated by UFC on ESPN 44 win, confident he’s still ‘one of the best fighters in the division’

Beating Chris Gutierrez has Pedro Munhoz feeling good about himself coming out of UFC on ESPN 44.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] badly needed Saturday’s win bad, but it wasn’t to show the UFC brass or the fan base that he’s still got it. He wanted to prove to himself that he is who he thinks he is.

Munhoz (20-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) defeated rising contender [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] in a unanimous decision on the main card of UFC on ESPN 44, which took place at T-Mobile Center. The victory was Munhoz’s first in two years, as he was coming off a no contest against Sean O’Malley and prior to that had decision losses to Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo.

“One hundred percent (I proved to myself), and that’s the only person that I want to prove something to, myself,” Munhoz told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC on ESPN 44 post-fight news conference. “Not for the crowd. I respect them, and I like the crowd, but at the end of the day, the battle is between myself. So yeah, it was a good victory.”

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Despite being late into his career, the Brazilian believes his win over Gutierrez (19-4-2 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) proves he’s still among the best in the world. And beyond that, Munhoz feels he’s just getting better.

“Even though I’m 36, going to be 37, this year, I’m a veteran, I realized that I have been improving a lot every single fight,” Munhoz said. “A lot of the fighters they kind of get stuck, but at the bantamweight division, it’s such a competitive division that it requires us to always be developing and getting better.

“American Top Team, it’s a place that I improve every day. We have the best coaches, the best training partners, and that’s the reason why I’m still here nine years later competing for the UFC. I’m still competing with the best fighters in the world, and tonight I proved to myself that I’m one of the best fighters in the division.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

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UFC on ESPN 44 post-event facts: Max Holloway joins 20-win club, sets other records

Check out the numbers from UFC on ESPN 44, where Max Holloway hit more milestones – including being the first to land 3,000 octagon strikes.

The UFC returned to Missouri after six years Saturday at UFC on ESPN 44, and the card delivered with half the fights ending by stoppage.

One of the bouts to go the distance was the main event, where former champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) once again displayed his greatness in ending the winning streak of [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) with a unanimous decision. In the process, “Blessed” made more history to add to his one-of-a-kind octagon resume.

For more on the numbers to come out of the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 44.