“The Young Punisher” might not be as young anymore, but he wants to show he still has plenty of punishment left to give.
Brazil’s Pedro Munhoz (20-8, 2 NC) will be returning to the Octagon on March 9 at UFC 299 against Kyler Phillips (11-2) in a significant bantamweight matchup. This is just the second fight reported for this event, one that does not officially have a location or venue on the books. The fight card will be headlined by a 135-pound championship rematch between Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera. News of this Munhoz-Phillips tilt broke courtesy of Phillips’ management team of Iridium Sports.
Munhoz has struggled the last few years, with just two wins since 2020 over Jimmie Rivera and Chris Gutierrez. In that three-year stretch, he has lost decisions to Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz and Marlon Vera in a veritable murderer’s row of bantamweight opposition. Before this rough patch, Munhoz registered victories over the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font and Bryan Caraway as he became a tenured member of the top 15 in his weight class. He still has not lost by stoppage, with all eight defeats by way of decision.
In the same span of time during Munhoz’ relative downslide, Phillips has engaged in his entire UFC run. “The Matrix” first showed up in February 2020, snagging a decision over Gabriel Silva. The Arizonan went on to win four of his next five, with a contentious majority decision loss against Raulian Paiva his lone blemish. Phillips has appeared in the Octagon just once in 2022 and only one time in 2023 as well, winning both matchups against Marcelo Rojo and Raoni Barcelos, respectively.
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