Mark Muñoz wants to help elevate Filipino MMA fighters

MANILA, Philippines — Retired fighter Mark Muñoz is determined to help out the Philippine mixed martial arts community the best way he knows how — by teaching the Filipino fighters how to wrestle at an elite level.

Before embarking on an MMA career, Muñoz was an NCAA Division 1 champion for Oklahoma State. His wrestling background helped him carve out an eight-year stint in the sport, including a six-year run in the UFC.

Speaking on “The Hit List” podcast presented by SMART, Muñoz stated his belief that a wrestling background is something that Filipino MMA fighters need in order to make their mark in the Octagon.

“I think the common thing that everyone says with MMA is wrestling,” Muñoz stated. “Wrestling is the ultimate neutralizer.”

“If you don’t have a good understanding of wrestling, you’re gonna have a really hard time becoming … being ranked in the world, or even be a champion,” he explained. “If you look at all the champions now, or the ones that are ranked in the world, a lot of them have (a) background in wrestling.”

None of the homegrown Filipino fighters who have tried their luck in the UFC reached the heights that Muñoz did. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” was close to the top of the middleweight rankings before a massive loss to Chris Leben in July 2012 dashed his hopes of a title shot.

He lost three of his next four fights, before outpointing Luke Barnatt in his retirement fight at UFC Fight Night Manila in May 2015. He ended his career with a 14-6 record.

Muñoz believes that a wrestling base will help Filipino fighters emulate his success in the UFC — and hopefully, surpass him.

“I feel that that’s something that the Philippines needs,” he said. “And I’m the guy to do that for them. I need to make sure I spend time in the Philippines to be able to do that.”

Wrestling, says Muñoz, is the one hole in the Filipinos’ game as they are already well-versed in striking and jiu jitsu.

“I wouldn’t say dedicate (their training to wrestling). I would say make it a big part of their training,” he said. “Being able to know what to do and when to do it when the position presents itself inside the fight.”

“I think for them to understand and know what to do in those positions is greatly gonna help them be successful. I think that’s the only thing that’s missing in Philippine martial arts,” he added. “We have striking, we have jiu jitsu.”
“I think we just need the wrestling.”

Now 42 years old, Muñoz is focused on his career as a wrestling coach. He his hopeful that he can bring his expertise and skills to the Philippines at some point in the near future, to elevate the already talented Filipino fighters and make them even better.

“I just feel that Filipinos in general have that combat mentality. That’s already inside of them,” said Muñoz.

“There’s a lot of good talents in the Philippines and I want to come, I wanna be there and help them in wrestling, in MMA wrestling, in ground and pound — in everything that was my specialty in MMA.”