UFC Fight Night 186: Pedro Munhoz post-fight interview
UFC Fight Night 186: Pedro Munhoz post-fight interview
UFC Fight Night 186: Pedro Munhoz post-fight interview
Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
UFC Fight Night 186: Pedro Munhoz post-fight interview
UFC Fight Night 186: Pedro Munhoz post-fight interview
Pedro Munhoz’s calf kicks were the difference in his rematch with Jimmie Rivera at UFC Fight Night 186.
[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]’s calf kicks were the difference in a dominant win over [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] in their rematch at UFC Fight Night 186.
Munhoz’s offensive repertoire revolved primarily around punishing Rivera’s lead leg, and it gave him a convincing lead after just a few minutes all the way until the final bell for a unanimous decision by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 on Saturday night.
The bantamweight bout, which was a rematch of Rivera’s unanimous decision victory from November 2015, was part of the UFC Fight Night 186 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
“That was the second time we were able to do this battle inside the octagon,” Munhoz said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “We did it six years ago, and it was a war, and this time it was a war again.”
Both men came out firing to start off the bout, with Rivera (23-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) stinging Munhoz (18-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) with multiple shots. The Brazilian got some respect back with a clean blow of his own, but Rivera was relentless with his hands. Munhoz committed to the calf kicks, and the damage quickly accumulated, forcing Rivera to wince and collapse multiple times upon impact.
"My left leg is killing me, I don't know what to do with it."
Problems in the Rivera corner after one. #UFCVegas20 pic.twitter.com/NPNtSTAGYj
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 28, 2021
Rivera told his corner between rounds that his calf was toast and he “didn’t know what to do with it.” He came out punching to start Round 2, though, but needed to be cautious in taking further damage. They briefly spilled to the ground and traded heel hook attempts, but the fight quickly returned standing and Munhoz went back to battering the leg. Rivera essentially was disarmed due to the leg damage by late in the second round, and it allowed Munhoz to deliver a measured output and take complete control.
With all the momentum on Munhoz’s side going into Round 3, Rivera swung for the fences trying to make something big happen. Munhoz wasn’t there to be caught in a mistake, though, and he cruised to the final bell with more punches and kicks. Rivera found a late moment in landing a heavy shot in the final minute, but he couldn’t hurt Munhoz badly enough to pull off the stunning turnaround.
As a result, Munhoz snapped his two-fight losing skid and got his hand raised for the first time since a knockout of former UFC champ Cody Garbrandt in March 2019.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 186 results include:
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 186 main card, featuring Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane.
Rozenstruik vs. Gane |
Ankalaev vs. Krylov |
De La Rosa vs. Silva |
Munhoz vs. Rivera |
Hill vs. Yoder |
Caceres vs. Croom |
|
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 14-15 |
Gane (63%) |
Ankalaev (81%) |
Silva (52%) |
Munhoz (57%) |
Hill (78%) |
Caceres (72%) |
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 18-11 2020 Champion |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 18-11 |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 17-12 |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Munhoz |
Yoder |
Caceres |
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 16-13 2018 Champion |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 16-13 2017 Champion |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 16-13 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 15-14 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Croom |
Simon Head @simonhead 2021: 15-14 2019 Champion* |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Rivera |
Hill |
Croom |
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 15-14 2014 Champion |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 14-15 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 14-15 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 13-16 |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 11-18 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
(This story was updated at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, to reflect the addition of Angela Hill vs. Ashley Yoder to the main card.)
The UFC has a big heavyweight fight in the headlining spot for the second straight week.
UFC Fight Night 186 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) takes on the unbeaten [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC). The winner is expected to stay in the hunt for a title shot. Gane is the third biggest favorite on the card at -250 at BetMGM, but he’s only got an 8-5 picks lead from our 13 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is a prohibitive -350 favorite at light heavyweight against [autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag] (27-7 MMA, 8-5 UFC), and Ankalaev is our lone unanimous pick on the main card.
It’s a close fight from a betting perspective between [autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at women’s flyweight. Silva is a slight favorite at -145, and she’s got an 8-5 lead in the picks.
[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) meet in a crucial bantamweight rematch. They fought more than five years ago and Rivera won a split decision. Rivera is a -155 favorite this time around and has an 8-5 picks lead.
It’s not unanimous, but 4-1 favorite [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (12-9 MMA, 7-9 UFC) has a big picks lead over [autotag]Ashley Yoder[/autotag] (8-6 MMA, 3-6 UFC) in their women’s strawweight fight. Hill is the choice of all but one of our staff members.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (17-12 MMA, 12-10 UFC) meets [autotag]Kevin Croom[/autotag] (21-12 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a featherweight fight. Caceres is a 2-1 favorite and has a big 11-2 lead in our picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Gane (63 percent), Ankalaev (81 percent), Silva (52 percent), Munhoz (57 percent) and Caceres (72 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 186, which features a Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane main event.
The UFC returns again Saturday for another event as UFC Fight Night 186 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
February’s third heavyweight headliner tops the card. This time it’s contenders [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) who are set to clash in a matchup scheduled for five rounds.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 40 pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 186.
This is the third event the rematch has been scheduled to take place on.
Once again, the rematch between [autotag] Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] and [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] has a new date.
The bout between the two bantamweight contenders has been rescheduled for a second time and is now set for Feb. 27 at UFC Fight Night 186 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the rescheduling but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was the first to mention the rescheduling.
The rematch between Munhoz (18-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Rivera (23-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was originally scheduled for Jan. 30, then it was moved to UFC 258 on Feb. 13. The most recent switch was due to a positive COVID-19 test.
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In November 2015, Rivera defeated Munhoz in a back-and-forth battle at UFC Fight Night 77. Since then, Rivera has gone 5-3. He most recently snapped a two-fight losing skid with a unanimous decision win over Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN 13 in July.
After notching three straight wins, including a knockout over former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, Munhoz has dropped two in a row to current title challenger Aljamain Sterling and former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 186 lineup includes:
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The bantamweight fight will be rescheduled at the first available opportunity after a reported COVID positive.
UFC 258 is down a fight, and COVID-19 is the reported culprit.
A bantamweight bout between [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] and [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] has been pulled from the card due to a positive coronavirus test result by one of the competitors, who was not identified.
MMA Fighting initially reported the news Tuesday. Both UFC.com and UFC promotional partner ESPN have since yanked the bout from their UFC 258 lineup pages.
The bout is expected to rescheduled as soon as possible.
An 140-pound catchweight fight between Andre Ewell and Chris Gutierrez, which had been originally moved from UFC Fight Night 184 to the UFC 258 prelims, has now been bumped up to the main card.
UFC 258 will he be held Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will be headlined by welterweight champion Kamaru Usman’s title defense against Gilbert Burns.
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We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 258 in Las Vegas, featuring a welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 258 event in Las Vegas.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC 258 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC 258 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Make your picks for the five main card fights below.
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings before a busy February slate kicks into high gear.
After taking a week off, the UFC is back this Saturday with UFC Fight Night 184 to kick off a busy February that is sure to cause plenty of movement in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
Among the fights to watch:
For those keeping track, the month features three heavyweight main events featuring the Nos. 3 through 8 in our rankings. A lot is at stake among the big men in February.
Get caught up with all of the rankings in the dropdowns above.
Bantamweights Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera will run things back.
Bantamweights [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] and [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] are set to run it back.
They’ll meet at a UFC Fight Night event Jan. 30. A location and venue have not been announced, but the card is likely to stream on ESPN+.
Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie on Saturday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
In November 2015, Rivera (23-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) edged Munhoz in a back-and-forth battle at UFC Fight Night 77. Since then, Rivera has gone 5-3, most recently snapping a two-fight losing skid with a unanimous decision win over Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN 13 in July.
After notching three straight wins, including a knockout over former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, Munhoz (18-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) has dropped two in a row to current title challenger Aljamain Sterling and former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
The latest lineup for UFC’s Jan. 30 event includes:
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Pedro Munhoz has had some time for his loss to Frankie Edgar to marinate, and he’s not happy with the taste.
[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] has had some time for his loss to [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] to marinate, and he’s not happy with the taste.
Munhoz (18-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) lost a split decision to Edgar (24-8-1 MMA, 18-8-1 UFC) this past Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 15 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Edgar’s two winning scorecards gave him 48-47 totals. The dissenting third judge in Munhoz’s favor had the fight 49-46.
The fight was Edgar’s debut in the bantamweight division after several years at featherweight, a division in which he fought for a title, and years before that at lightweight, where he was a UFC champion. Edgar almost certainly is a future UFC Hall of Famer, but Munhoz on Monday said on Instagram his legendary status shouldn’t matter – and said he wants a rematch from UFC president Dana White.
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“I’ve always done my talking in the octagon but this needs to be said,” Munhoz posted. “I work too hard to get screwed by poor judges who have no training and even less accountability. Look at the stats and the damage. Look at the 17 of 20 media sites who agreed I won, 7 of which had it 49-46. Tell me how the deciding judge gave round 3 to Frankie. He’s a legend, but I won that fight and want a rematch now @danawhite”
Of the sites tracked by MMADecisions.com, seven had Munhoz winning 49-46 and 12 had him winning 48-47. Three sites gave the bout to Edgar at 48-47 and one gave it to him at 49-46.
The five-round bout won “Fight of the Night” honors, and Edgar was transported to the hospital after his win. Munhoz attended the post-event news conference, but he was bloodied up by Edgar in the fight.
The UFC’s official stats for the fight have Munhoz winning the overall striking battle 166-135. Edgar landed the fight’s only pair of takedowns. Leg strikes were the name of the game for Munhoz, who landed 44 of them – most to Edgar’s lead leg.
After wins in seven of eight fights, Munhoz now is on the first skid of his career with consecutive losses to Edgar and Aljamain Sterling. During his solid run of almost three years, his lone loss was a split call to former flyweight title challenger John Dodson, and his wins including a first-round knockout of former champion Cody Garbrandt in March 2019. Three of his five career losses have been split decisions, and he never has been finished.
Edgar needed a turnaround after losses in three of his past four featherweight fights. The setbacks came to Max Holloway in a title fight and former title challengers Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung. But in a new weight class, and with a win under his belt out of the gate, Edgar talked after the fight about wanting to get into title contention in his new division.
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