UFC middleweight contender Mark Munoz says he and Lyoto Machida were training together just two days prior to the UFC announcing they’d be fighting one another.
Munoz was scheduled to headline a UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 26 in Manchester, England against Michael Bisping, but his opponent was forced from the card due to a serious eye injury.
“I got the news that Bisping was out and that I was fighting Lyoto Machida all at the same time,” Munoz told Showdown Joe on UFC Central Radio on Sportsnet 590 The FAN. “I had to swallow it whole I guess. That was my only option.”
“Lyoto and I just trained (together) two days before that. It was very abrupt, very fast and now we’re fighting. We’re good friends and training partners and now we’re fighting.”
UFC Central Radio featuring UFC stars Mark Munoz and Sarah Kaufman
Munoz is known as one of the friendliest fighters in the UFC, but says that come fight night, his relationship with Machida won’t affect the way he performs.
“It’s something that we have to block. We have to put together a good performance,” Munoz said. “It’s a pretty tough pill to swallow but we’re professionals and we’re going to put 25 minutes aside and we’re going to put together a performance that people are going to remember and that’s something we talked about. We’re going to have dinner together (after the fight) and the winner buys.”
Machida (19-4) is a former light-heavyweight champion that will be making his 185-pound debut at the Phones 4u Arena. He was originally set to fight Tim Kennedy in November in an attempt to bounce back from a controversial decision loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163.
Munoz (13-3) is coming off a dominant decision win over Tim Boetsch at UFC 162 after a yearlong layoff. In that fight his wrestling was crucial and the 35-year-old knows it is his key to victory against Machida.
“I definitely want to put him where I’m strong and that’s me on top of him. He’s definitely somebody that’s hard to catch, but it’s not impossible and I know I can do it and I’ve done it,” Munoz explained.
“I need to force the fight to be a wrestling fight and I need him to be on the ground and for me to be on top of him. That’s how I win the fight.”
In his fight prior to his win over Boetsch, Munoz was TKO’d by current middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Munoz believes a win over Machida puts his name in contention for a crack at the 185-pound belt, so a rematch with Weidman is in the back of Munoz’s mind.
“I feel like I can definitely beat Chris Weidman. I fought him and he caught me with an elbow and I was not at my best,” Munoz stressed. “I wasn’t even at 50 per cent that night, so I definitely want that fight again and I guarantee it’s going to be a different outcome.
