Pedro Munhoz prides himself on his whoever-whenever-wherever commitment and believes it sets him apart from other Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contenders.
The former Resurrection Fighting Alliance titleholder will face another stern test at 135 pounds when he takes on Chris Gutierrez in a featured UFC on ESPN 44 attraction this Saturday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas, City Missouri. Munhoz, who turns 37 in September, has not yet quenched his competitive thirst and does not intend to walk away from the sport until he does.
“I believe that I have a few years ahead of me before I’d even consider retirement,” Munhoz told Sherdog.com.
Intentions aside, his recent results leave a lot to be desired. Munhoz holds just one victory across his past six appearances, having gone 1-4 with one no contest since his March 2019 technical knockout of Cody Garbrandt. However, all four of those losses have come against current or former UFC champions: Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar and Aljamain Sterling.
“I’ve been doing very well despite having had some recent losses,” Munhoz said. “They were close fights against high-level athletes. I feel that with the type of training I’ve been doing lately and changes I’ve made from fight to fight, I keep on getting better. I face any opponent the organization puts in front of me. I’ve been in the Top 10 to Top 15 over the last four or five years. That’s why I don’t have easy fights. They’re all top fighters.”
Gutierrez figures to be another difficult hurdle to clear in perhaps the sport’s deepest division. The Factory X standout has rattled off four consecutive victories since his draw with Cody Durden two-plus years ago. Gutierrez last competed at UFC 281, where he cut down the aforementioned Edgar with a knee strike in the first round of their Nov. 12 pairing. It was the fourth first-round finish of his career.
“Chris is well-rounded,” Munhoz said. “He’s very experienced. He’s not too aggressive, but he has good tools and weapons which favor his style. I’m confident in facing him, another fighter in the Top 15. I’m bad news for any fighter in our weight class despite some of my recent results. I’m always getting better under my coaches. I’m feeling great with this booking.”
Munhoz has not fought since an accidental eye poke from the polarizing Sean O’Malley resulted in a no contest at UFC 276 on July 2. The stoppage was called 3:09 into Round 2.
“It took a couple of months until I could spar properly,” Munhoz said. “My eye injury took about three weeks to heal. I also dealt with some other injuries while training. There was a chance I could have fought earlier than now, but things fell through. I made good use of this time in healing up and learning new things. It was a good period.”
Training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, forced Munhoz to keep his head in the game while sidelined. He thinks the best part of his story will be told in the years ahead.
“I renewed my contract a few fights ago,” Munhoz said. “I’m 36—almost 37—but I believe my body still responds very well. That’s why I plan to keep on facing the best fighters in the organization. I give my very best every time. I get to do the thing I love, which is to fight. It’s something I’ve always done. In 2024, I’ll complete 10 years in the organization. I’ve conquered some things, and I have more to conquer. Time will tell. I’m 100% dedicated to giving my best and winning every bout. Some details had been missing before, as I faced great opponents. It’s how it goes in a high-performance sport. I still have far to go.”
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