Munoz plans on giving Grove a talking to at UFC 112

The first time you speak with Mark Munoz, you’re a bit thrown. As hulking and fearsome in the Octagon as the UFC middleweight is, he is remarkably soft spoken and even-keeled outside of it.

He answers the typical questions politely, and on a variety of topics his tone is remarkably calm. His opponent at UFC 112 Kendall Grove?

“I like Kendall. I have a lot of respect for him.”

The team that fills out his latest training camp at his own brand new Reign Training Center?

“I’ve pretty much kept the same guys [as before] but there have been a few additions.”

This is the man in first gear.

But Munoz has a thoughtful and scientific mind. Dig a bit deeper in the right direction, and he animates slightly. Two fights ago, he dropped twenty pounds to fight at 185-pounds. Since then, he’s changed up his strength and conditioning regimen under the guidance of Todd Norman.

“I feel like a beast at 185,” Munoz laughs. “It is all about functional strength. Todd Norman has really chiseled out my body and made me more athletic as far as footwork, speed and agility. It’s almost like cheating when I step into the cage.”

Munoz is smiling now. He doesn’t seem to be bragging, just genuinely excited at what he can do in the Octagon as a result of his work.

Munoz fights next on April 10th on the UFC’s first ever card in Abu Dhabi. He’s currently riding a two-fight win streak and is favored over his Hawaiian opponent.

Makes sense. Grove is a dangerous kickboxer and has excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but with Munoz’ wrestling pedigree (2001 Division I NCAA national champion), he should be able to control where the fight goes, and his ground striking is brutal.

Grove has been working hard on his wrestling, but “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” is confident that the skill gap there cannot be closed that quickly.

“The thing about wrestling is that it takes years and years to actually get to know a certain type of technique,” Munoz says.

Another thing about wrestling is that its high-level practitioners get used to dealing with unbelievable pressure. Munoz makes no effort to deny that the fight with Grove is crucially important because the winner will take a huge step closer to becoming a bona fide title contender.

But don’t expect the former Oklahoma State wrestler to be overwhelmed. He has all those national and international tournaments to thank for that.

“For me to be able to compete at the top levels of wrestling, it’s like a pressure cooker, man. If you lose one match, that ruins your dreams of becoming a national champion, which everyone dreams to become. There’s so much pressure, especially when I wrestled at Oklahoma State, to win because of the expectations. ‘Oh, you’re an Oklahoma State wrestler, you should win.’ And the Coach expects you to win; if you don’t win he’s going to find someone to take your spot,” Munoz recounts.

Many former top wrestlers simply cannot ever get as nervous for an MMA fight as they did as young wrestlers. Munoz’ Masters degree in sports psychology from the University of California-Davis certainly doesn’t hurt his ability to stay calm and perform well, either.

“I do a lot of psychological exercises in my head; visualizing and positive self-talk,” he explains. “I make sure I convince myself that I belong here. ‘I’ve trained my butt off, I’m prepared, I’ve trained my butt off in all these positions, I’m going to win this fight.’”

Munoz is the favorite, but he knows that his opponent isn’t simply going to cower in the face of his impressive resume. And while he may have the applicable advanced degree, the wrestling skills and strength, Grove, 6’6, has a heck of reach advantage, heart, and he flat out loves to scrap.

Munoz calmly explains his technical and strategic approach to overcoming Grove’s reach and skill. “It’s both speed and timing. I’ve been going with a lot of boxers and kickboxers. He’s really tall so he’s going to want to keep me away. He’s going to want to keep me away as much as possible with straight kicks, by establishing his jab and working his angles. If I was a tall fighter, I’d fight tall too,” Munoz says.

“I’ve been learning to approach the game with a Mike Tyson type of pressure, slipping and parrying and catching kicks and looking for takedowns.”

Munoz and his team have dissected Grove and have prepared with scientific rigor. He enjoys talking tactics and technique, it is clear. This is his second gear – He is cerebral and he livens when analyzing fights.

But there is a third gear, evident when he’s smashing opponents in the ring. Watch Munoz’ WEC debut TKO win over Chuck Grigsby. Mere tacticians don’t hit like that.

Munoz knows he’ll beat Kendall Grove. He’s done the work, has the right strategy and physical characteristics. But in the end, it will come down to something else. Something more primal.

In the end, the Quiet Man believes it’s about volume. And he plans on being loud.

“I liken it to a conversation,” he says. “We’re both trying to talk and the person that talks the loudest gets heard. I want him listening to me. I’m going to be talking the whole time. I’m going to run the conversation.”

Article Written by: Elias Cepeda

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