Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz headlining UFC’s return to the UK
Two of the middleweight division’s most explosive fighters will meet on November 5 in Birmingham, England at UFC 138 in what should serve as a fitting tribute to the country’s “Bonfire Night” given the pugilistic pyrotechnics sure to be on display in the Octagon come showtime. The holiday pays homage to a failed plot to blow up Parliament in 1605 and is often associated with one of the captured conspirators, Guy Fawkes.
Now Chris Leben and Mark Munoz will do their best to give the public a different reason to remember the fifth of November, as the UFC announced earlier today the two talented 185ers have agreed to face off at the event in headlining action.
A highly decorated amateur wrestler, Munoz actually has more strike-based stoppages than outpointings (6/5) including knockouts against Kendall Grove and C.B. Dollaway in the Octagon. He holds an overall record of 11-2 with wins in six of his last seven fights, including three straight, and has only lost once since dropping to 185 pounds (a Split Decision to Yushin Okami).
Leben was last seen delivering a 27-second knockout to Wanderlei Silva earlier this month at UFC 132 and should be more than happy to engage Munoz while standing if allowed to given his past performances in the UFC. In addition to Silva, “The Crippler” has TKO victories in the organization over Jorge Rivera, Aaron Simpson, Alessio Sakara, and Jorge Santiago.
Though UFC 138 is still in the development stages, the UFC also announced Leben vs. Munoz will be under the new five-round format for main events and that the show will be broadcast on Spike TV for fans in America.
PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
Brendhan Conlan is A VETERAN WRITER AND EDITOR AT FIVEOUNCESOFPAIN.COM BRINGING NEWS, INSIGHT, AND OPINION TO READERS ON A REGULAR BASIS. MAKE SURE TO CHECK HIM OUT ON TWITTER AT BRENCONLANMMA!
| All posts by Brendhan Conlan
I’m pullin for Leben of coarse but Munoz has been on a roll. I hope Leben is wrkn on his wrestling because I’m sure Mark wants to take this to the mat…
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Im pullin for leben hes a guy that goes in there to fight and probobly didnt have very much mma training til tuf. Different then a guy that grew up in martial arts and involved in point system tourny fights but never had to street fight then steps in the octigon. Leben turned his street fighting into a decent mma record and he stays with what works.
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I think this fight goes a bit like Leben vs Simpson. Munoz has shown that he can be hurt by Maia and Hamill, so if Leben connects he will ko Mark for sure. I call Leben by third round ko. Great match up.
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Leben by KO
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Oh man…if there’s anyone out here who thinks this isnt awesome…they should check their pulse.
Munoz by BRUTAL GNP tko….he’s gonna shoot take Leben down and UNLOAD.
But either guy clippin the other and puttin them down would shock me,
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What a great matchup!!-I think Leben will be dumb enough to play to Munoz strengths and still get the win!!
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Pullin’ for Leben here… Hope he gets a rematch with Stann down the road. He was on a roll before that and I think we might see a different result if they get together one more time.
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Leben by way of manhood
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