Mark Munoz looking to move into "upper echelon" with win over Kendall Grove
by Jacob Camargo on April 07, 2010

"A win over Kendall would definitely put me in that upper echelon of fighters. I’m just taking it day by day and improving. I want to be a new and improved fighter every time I fight and I’ve never turned away from a fight so whoever the UFC puts in front of me, I’ll welcome it with open arms. For me, I just want to get that belt and I’m going to work hard to accomplish what I set out to do. With the help of these guys around me, I believe I can do that. I feel that [UFC 112] is the biggest card, It’s going to be a wonderful experience and I’m very confident I can get there where I want to be."-Mark Munoz

The former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion from Oklahoma State University and rising UFC middleweight Mark Munoz talks about how a possible win over TUF 3 winner Kendall Grove could vault him into the upper echelon of the UFC middleweight rankings. The bout takes place on the PPV-televised main card of this Saturday's UFC 112 event in Abu Dhabi.

A win over Grove would certainly move Munoz up the latter in the middlewight division, and would likely earn him a more high profile fight, however, the accomplished collegiate wrestler would still be likely be a fight or two away from a match up with a top ranked UFC middleweight such as Yushin Okami, Nate Marquardt, Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen. A win for Munoz would more likely position him for a fight against the winner of the UFC 114 middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Dan Miller or another match up of that caliber.

Its hard for Munoz not improve on a daily basis as he trains with the likes of Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, and the Nogueira brothers. In preparation for Grove, he also trained with Strkeforce light-heavyweight title contender Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, top-ten ranked heavyweight Fabricio Werdum, Renato "Babalu Sobral" and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

Munoz has put together a two-fight winning streak since making the drop down to the middleweight division, notching a split decision win over Nick Catone at UFC 102 and most recently scored a first round submission (punches) win over Ryan Jensen at UFC 108 in January. The move to middleweight was prompted after he suffered his first career loss via a brutal head kick in his Octagon debut against Matt Hamill at UFC 96 last March.

Prior to joining the UFC, Munoz went 2-0 with the organization's sister promotion, the WEC, scoring stoppage wins over Chuck Grigsby and Ricardo Barros.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 112 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!

 |  (18) Comments The Hitman: I like what he is saying, but if you want to get into top contenders he will have to beat Grove in a big way IMO. He isn't quite ready for the top fighters at 185 IMO. Give him a few more gatekeepers IwishIwasMMA: this just in... grove is not in that echelon. TVolkert: I like Munoz, but Grove isn't one of those top teir fighters at 185, he's too hit or miss when it comes to the Grove that will show up. Often times he looks like a guy that could at least compete with the top guys and than the next he looks like he doesn't even belong. Streaky fighter. ashka: What I want to say in response to this is not allowed to go in the MMA news section. But given I don't think this is particularly newsworthy (no offence to your skills meant, Jacob), I'm going to go out on a limb with the risk of my post getting deleted and my account banned. :D In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say the mods should make this sticky. I'll even consider posting a semi-nude pic to enforce this. I'm sure I have said this before, but I don't consider Kendall a great fighter. He's OK, and he has some skills, but he's not this miraculous echelon for Munoz to aspire to. We all know this. But as long as he wins every second or third fight, he'll be sticking around for you guys to bag out and me to rape visually. Yes, he's one of my favourite fighters, along with Josh Koscheck and Patrick Cote. I like these guys because they have decent skills and for whatever reason, they caught my attention and I love to follow them. I remember my love of Kos started in TUF when he and Diego killed whatever dumb challenge they were doing that involved running and ball skills. I like Diego because he's freaky. I liked Mac Danzig for the same reasons. The wierdness, or the arrogance or attitude or whatever it is has motivated me to follow these fighters who are never going to be more than mediocre. It's what TUF is all about, no? I'm adding Joe Stevenson to that list nowdays because he bought me a mocha frappocino from Starbucks. :p Just because I like these guys doesn't mean I think they are the best fighters and so of course I'm not going to back them if they are genuinely overfaced in the Octagon. That said, I'm still picking Grove over Munoz. Yes, you can say Munoz is a more well rounded fighter than a wrestler like Rosholt, but I think Kendall's size is always a disadvantage for these kind of guys. He'll try the big knees and the stretchy submisions, and he'll clinch to avoid having his dubious chin tested. I think this is an OK match up and I'm looking forward to it. thug4less: I guess I have to play Nataalia. News Sections, boys. :D ashka: Iwish, when you are in the position to make deals, come back and tell me your offer. :p Hang on, I'm confused. You guys tell me side boob is hot, but semi-nude is boring?
HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
Alves def. Kampmann via TKO/KO
Alves def. Kampmann via submission
Alves def. Kampmann via decision
Kampmann def. Alves via TKO/KO
Kampmann def. Alves via submission
Kampmann def. Alves via decision
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!