The gym plays home to a number of pugilistic peers calling the UFC home including one of the key players in Miller’s newfound mindset – Mark Munoz.

“Probably the most important part of this training camp has been Mark Munoz, the nicest guy in MMA. Also, one of the toughest men on Earth at 185 pounds. Mark’s been very helpful in this camp because he’s a former wrestling teammate of Dollaway and also KO’d him in thirty seconds,” said Miller in a Fighter Diary produced by the UFC. “Me and Mark and face-punch friends. Sometimes when we spar we basically fight. It’s hard to find a guy I can spar with that intensity.”

Turning to his bout with Dollaway, Miller made it clear he sees the big picture. Win and he’ll live to fight inside the Octagon another day; lose and he’ll be likely be looking for employment elsewhere.

“I say it’s the most important fight of my life but that’s some cliché bullsh*t I think every fighter says every time they fight. The only difference is this time it’s true,” admitted Miller.

Miller-Dollaway can be seen as part of the FX-bound preliminary card with other match-ups including Jamie Varner-Edson Barboza and Dan Hardy-Duane Ludwig.

You can watch the full Fighter Diary below where Miller also outlines the benefit of having Krzysztof Soszynski handling his diet:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Munoz recently spoke about the situation where he made it clear he isn’t happy about the notion of Lombard leap-frogging him on the contendership ladder.

“Shoot, I got respect for that guy. He’s a good fighter…but, at the same time, I’ve been in this organization for over two years and I’ve been earning my stripes. He needs to do the same,” said Munoz in an interview with All Elbows. “So this fight against Brian Stann, should he win it, I don’t think he deserves a title shot. I don’t. Just being honest. Just being real.”

“I’ve gone to the point where I was on the brink of fighting for a title-shot when I fought Yushin (Okami). I lost that fight, and now I’m on a four-fight winning streak. So now I think I deserve that fight should I win against Chris Weidman,” Munoz concluded.

The 34-year old’s stumble against Okami is his only loss at middleweight and involved a Split Decision. Since then he’s beaten Aaron Simpson, C.B. Dollaway, Demian Maia, and Chris Leben. His next bout takes place in June at UFC on Fuel 4 where he’ll face Weidman. By comparison, Lombard has emerged with his hand raised in 24 of his last 25 fights with the only exception involving a Draw.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/BELLATOR

Following Tuesday’s edition of UFC Tonight, Munoz and Weidman can officially begin preparing for each other, as the two were confirmed as the main event for UFC on Fuel 4. The event takes place July 11 at a location still to be determined.

Jon Fitch vs. Aaron Simpson is also planned for the card, as is a fight between Brandon Vera-James Te Huna.

Munoz (12-2) has been out of action since an injury in training forced him to finally have his elbow examined. Doctors found several bone fragments in his elbow, knocking him out of a planned #1 contender match with Chael Sonnen. He has won four straight inside the Octagon since a Split Decision loss to Yushin Okami in 2010, Munoz’s only defeat at 185 pounds.

Munoz’s injury resulted in Weidman (8-0)  taking a fight with Demian Maia on less than two weeks’  notice, as Maia’s original opponent – Michael Bisping – took the place of Munoz. Weidman won the match, earning his fourth UFC victory.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

“Yeah,” responded Munoz when asked about the unbeaten Weidman being his next opponent in a conversation with MMAInterviews. “Is it announced? I don’t think it’s announced. It’s not announced. There’s a lot of rumors floating around but, for me, I just want somebody that’s gonna get me a title-shot.”

“Personally I’ve done everything I can to get a title-shot and I’m gonna keep campaigning for that,” Munoz continued, turning talk to divisional gold rather than any specific adversary. “And I’m not a guy that’s gonna talk a lot of trash. I’m not like that. I let my actions take control inside the Octagon. I’m not gonna compromise who I am as a person to be able to get what I want, although I need to be more vocal…and I will, but at the same time I’m gonna let my fights do the talking.”

Another thing Munoz refuses to give into is drug use to gain a competitive edge on peers despite the increasing popularity of testosterone replacement therapy, especially by fighters similar in age to the 34-year old Californian.

“I think anything that’s synthetic that you put in your body is cheating…That stuff jacks you up when you’re done…I’m a family man, I have kids, I have a wife and I want to be there for them at the end. I think when you take PEDs or anything like that, it cuts your life short.”

“When it becomes like that, it’s almost hedonistic. It’s not a sport anymore. It becomes more than a sport and it shouldn’t be like that. There’s more important things in your life than that….I can stand in front of you 100-percent saying that I’ve never taken a drug in my life. And I’m going to keep doing that, and I’m going to win like that,” Munoz concluded.

Currently Munoz is still healing up from elbow surgery but expects to be back in late summer, mentioning a particular interest in the UFC on FOX card tentatively planned for 4 in Los Angeles.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Apparently, “The Count” has never seen Munoz as much of a threat, a point he relayed while appearing as a guest on a recent edition of ESPN’s UFC Podcast.

“I have never really looked at Mark Munoz and thought he looked like a particularly dangerous opponent,” Bisping said. “His ground and pound looks good, his wrestling doesn’t look all that dangerous, his stand up is suspect, and he’s got a weak chin. I think Tim Boetsch is probably a harder fight.”

Bisping,w ho has won four of his last five fights and feels like he is on the cusp of being a title-contender once again, also revealed he turned down a bout with Cung Le at the event. Le will instead meet Rich Franklin instead on the same card.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Fast-forward to January 2012 and a bout against Chael Sonnen on FOX with top contendership on the line. With less than two weeks to go Munoz aggravated the same elbow he’d originally hurt in mid-2008, a nagging injury he’d simply gritted his teeth through during the preceding period. Unfortunately, this time around things were different and Munoz had to withdraw from the enormous opportunity he’d been given.

Munoz recently discussed the injury as a guest on MMAWeekly Radio where he detailed the procedure and revealed an unfortunate setback keeping him on the sidelines a month or two longer than originally expected.

“I’ve been dealing with this injury for quite some time, since my first WEC fight, and I continue to injure it with each fight and in training too, so there’s just been some complications and some bone spurs that have developed throughout that time,” began Munoz before going into his recent surgery to correct the problem.

“They shaved off the bone spurs that were still along my elbow and then the chips that were all inside my joints they vacuumed out. It was pretty nasty. They took out about 24 pieces and about five of them were half to an inch in diameter. It was pretty nasty what they pulled out.”

In terms of a timetable for a return to the ring, Munoz said he still can’t put any pressure on the joint and is at the mercy of the healing process for now.

“The doctors are saying four to six weeks before I can put any stress on it,” said Munoz. “They said that before they had the surgery that it would be May when I came back, after they had the surgery they’re saying late June, July. That’s what they’re saying now. It puts me on the shelf a little longer.”

The 34-year old “Filipino Wrecking Machine” is currently on a four-fight winning streak with his last fight coming in November when he earned a TKO stoppage over Chris Leben.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/FAIRTEX

Dana White tweeted the news earlier today.

UPDATE: It has since been confirmed unbeaten grappler Chris Weidman will step up and fill in for Bisping against Maia.

Bisping will be looking to add to his four-fight win streak, which includes victories over Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jorge Rivera, and Jason Miller. The British middleweight is 8-2 at 185, with his only two losses coming against MMA legends Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson.

Sonnen returned from a year long suspension due to a failed drug test following his UFC 117 bout for the middleweight strap this past October and made things look easy against Brian Stann, submitting him in the second round with an arm triangle. The Oregon native has won four of his last five bouts.

UFC on FOX 2 is scheduled for January 28 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The night will be headlined by another #1 contenders bout as former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans will face the undefeated Phil Davis, with the winner earning a shot against current 205 king Jon Jones.

*PHOTO CREDIT – UFC*

Of course that doesn’t mean White’s reverence for the match-up’s marketability has changed any as he made clear on a recent episode of UFC Tonight.

“If we can get Chael Sonnen versus Anderson Silva that will probably be held in Brazil in a stadium,” said White. “Everyone in the world will want to watch that.”

A transcription of the UFC executive’s quotes was provided by MMAFighting.

While the venues may have changed it appears the organization’s intentions of filling a stadium with Sonnen-Silva as bait to surpass the 55,000+ in attendance at UFC 129. White has made mention of wanting to put upwards of 100,000 fans in the seats in Brazil, mentioning the overwhelming popularity of the UFC in Brazil relating to their return to Rio this past August.

Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has also mentioned his interest in defending his title against Alistair Overeem in Brazil as well, a perfect compliment to Silva-Sonnen II when it comes to potentially selling out a soccer stadium in the South American hub.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Originally hoping for another crack at Anderson Silva and the middleweight title following his victory over Brian Stann at UFC 136, Sonnen will need to win at least one more bout before he has the chance to go five rounds with the champ again. After being away from the action for over a year due to a drug suspension following his first fight with Silva, the Oregon native reminded the MMA world that he can back up his mouth with his skills as he dominated Stann with his wrestling in the first round and then submitted the former Marine with an arm triangle choke in the second round. Never one to shy away from the microphone, Sonnen challenged Silva in his post-fight interview, wanting to fight him on Super Bowl weekend in a “loser leaves town” bout.

With “The Spider” being sidelined due to an injury, Sonnen will have to go through one of the champ’s former sparring partners and another man who called out the middleweight king in his last bout. Winner of four straight bouts, Munoz turned in his most impressive performance to date at UFC 138 when he stopped Chris Leben at the end of the second round with an onslaught of ground and pound. Along with Leben, Munoz has defeated Demain Maia, C.B. Dollaway, and Aaron Simpson during his win streak.

The winner of the bout will most likely challenge Silva for the middleweight strap in mid-2012.

UFC on FOX 2 is scheduled for January 28 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The night will be headlined by another #1 contender’s bout as former champion Rashad Evans takes on the undefeated Phil Davis in a light heavyweight showdown.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Munoz vs. Leben will be the main event of the night, and will become the first non-title fight five-round affair. The match could also go a long way in determining a future contender to UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

For Munoz, he just enjoys the thrill of fighting. After claiming an NCAA Division I wrestling championship while at Oklahoma State University, Munoz ventured into the MMA world as a relative newcomer to the sport.

“I do work extremely hard,” said Munoz, in a recent interview with the UFC’s website. “When I have something in my sights I basically put blinders on like race horses. I don’t let anything hold me back. A lot of my training partners say, ‘You over train, Munoz.’ But I feel like if you’re not over-training, then you’re not training.”

Munoz has rebounded from a tough loss to Yushin Okami, defeating Aaron Simpson, C.B. Dollaway, and Demian Maia to set himself up for this pivotal clash against Leben.

“I’m a fan of Chris Leben. I like how that dude fights. He is so exciting and our fight is going to be doubly exciting,” Munoz said. “I throw bombs and he throws bombs. I like being in the first five-round non-title fight, I love it. But a fight’s a fight. I don’t think this is going to go five rounds, but I definitely will be prepared if it goes five rounds.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Now, Munoz will take his talents to England where a meeting with Chris Leben in the main event of UFC 138 will take place. In conjunction with the change in headliners, their bout is scheduled for five rounds and goes down November 5 from Birmingham.

Riding a three-fight winning streak, Munoz (11-2) knows that a victory over Leben will place him right back into contention for a shot at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. He seemed to be well on his way to becoming a top challenger last year, but a Split Decision loss to Yushin Okami ultimately kept him from achieving his goal.

“I felt like I’ve learned a lot from that fight against Okami,” said Munoz, in a recent interview with Tatame. “You know, I was just a wrestler when I fought Okami, but now I’ve improved a lot of stand-up and jiu-jitsu and all my game, and I feel that I’m ready. I feel that I’m prepared now, I feel that my game as evolved and now I’m a totally different fighter.”

Leben, who is 22-7 and has won four of his last five bouts, is an opponent who has the same desires as Munoz in terms of wanting to be a champion. In his last fight, “The Crippler” knocked out Wanderlei Silva just 27 seconds into their meeting.

“The fight against Leben will definitely get my closer to where I wanna be,” Munoz said. “(Anderson) is a good friend of mine. (Fighting him) won’t change our friendship at all. I definitely gotta talk to him about that, but hopefully he’ll be retired by then, we’ll see. I’ll always be friends with Anderson and hopefully it doesn’t change the relationship we have. For me, it won’t change at all.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

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

The 14-2 Maia has been out of action since a December decision over Kendall Grove at the Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale. Eight of the Brazilian’s overall wins have come as the result of a tap-out. The performance against Grove brought the submission savant’s record in the Octagon to 8-2 including victories over Dan Miller and Chael Sonnen.

In Munoz he will face a foe who has found success five of the last six times he’s fought with the one exception being a Split Decision to Yushin Okami. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” most recently rendered C.B. Dollaway defenseless from strikes less than a minute into their March 3 bout at UFC Live 3.

UFC 131 is headlined by Brock Lesnar’s return to the ring in hopes of earning a rematch against current heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez later this year with hard-hitting fellow contender Junior dos Santos standing in his way. The card also features Ken Florian debuting at featherweight against 16-1 Diego Nunes, Shane Carwin against a yet-to-be-named opponent, and rising star Dustin Poirier taking on talented grappler Rani Yahya.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

An Intimate Look at Josh Koscheck’s Training/Life (FIGHT! Magazine)

Greg Jackson Talks About Nate Marquardt’s Recent Win Over Rousimar Palhares (MMAScraps.com)

WEC Officials Comment on Donald Cerrone’s Inflammatory Comments (MMAConvert.com)

A Japanese Trailer for EA Sports MMA (MiddleEasy.com)

TUF 12 Contestant Talks Comparisons to Mike Tyson (MMAFighting.com)

Dustin Hazelett fighting Mark Bocek at UFC 124 (CagePotato.com)

Kevin James, a.k.a. “Paul Blart”, Starring in MMA-Related Movie (Versus.com)

Aaron Simpson Fighting Mark Munoz at UFC 123 (WatchKalibRun.com)

UFC Lightweight Jim Miller Talks About his Present and Future (Heavy.com)

MMAWeekly.com is reporting that the bout was confirmed to them on Sunday by sources close to the fight.

Munoz,  an All-American wrestler who had made two successful appearances in the WEC, is coming off a loss to fellow wrestler Matt Hamill at UFC 96. Hamill landed a head kick to Munoz about four minutes into the first round and sent the Philippine fighter crashing to the canvas where he laid motionless for a few moments. At 6 feet tall fighting as a middleweight is probably the best move for him and cutting weight should not be a problem for him what so ever.

Catone finally made his debut in the UFC at Fight Night 17 where he defeated Derek Downey via second round submission. He was scheduled to fight The Ultimate Fighter season 8 winner Amir Sadollah on two separate occasions but Sadollah was forced to pull out each time. Catone made a quick return to the octagon at Fight Night 18 less than two months later where he was submitted in the second round by Tim Credeur.

UFC 102 is starting to shape up nicely with Randy Couture facing Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera in a battle of former UFC heavyweight champions. Also scheduled for the card is the return of Chris Leben from suspension as he will battle WEC veteran Jake Rosholt, Junior dos Santos takes on Justin McCully in a match-up of heavyweights and Chael Sonnen will face Wilson Gouveia. Couture, Sonnen and Leben have ties to the area as they have all at one time trained with Team Quest, in fact Sonnen still trains there and should attract a lot of local fans. There has been rumblings of Anderson Silva defending his middleweight championship against an unnamed opponent but nothing is set in stone.

We will commence our special series with a look at the UFC 96 light heavyweight main card fight between two former amateur wrestling standouts.

Matt Hamill (5-2) vs. Mark Munoz (5-0)

A former NCAA wrestling champion in 1999 at 197 pounds while competing at Oklahoma State, Munoz is one of the brightest light heavyweight prospects in all of MMA.

Currently training under Urijah Faber out of Faber’s Ultimate Fitness gym in Sacramento, UFC 96 will mark the Filipino-American’s UFC debut.

Munoz is making the move to the Octagon after going 2-0 for Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting. As high as Munoz’s upside is though, one has to wonder if he might not have benefitted by the WEC keeping its 205 pound division in business for a little longer.

While he’s an amazing athlete, five fights as a pro is not an ideal amount to have when making your UFC debut. Fortunately, UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva has found a great matchup for him in Hamill.

Hamill does a lot of the same things that Munoz does, except that Munoz does them better. Munoz also is a better tactical fighter and should have a signfiicant cardio advantage.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure where this fight will be contested but whether the majority of the bout takes place on the ground or on the mat, I see Munoz winning wherever the fight goes.

Final Prediction: Munoz via unanimous decision.

The news is courtesy of a report on MMA Weekly.

Munoz had been scheduled to fight Steve Steinbess at WEC 36 on Sept. 10 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. but was forced to pull off the card due to injury. WEC 36 would ultimately be postponed until Nov. 5 due to Hurricane Ike, but Munoz was never booked for the re-scheduled event.

Zuffa will be disbanding its middleweight and light heavyweight divisions upon the completion of WEC 37 with Munoz expected to be transferred to the UFC regardless of whether he wins or loses.

WEC 37, which will air live on VERSUS, is slated to be headlined by WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defending his title vs. Manny Tapia.

The news was revealed earlier in a report by MMAWeekly.com.

According to MMA Weekly, the former Oklahoma State competitor if off the card vs. Steve Steinbeiss due to an undisclosed injury.

Steinbess, who trains out of Trevor and Todd Lally’s Arizona Combat Sports, could remain on the card against a new opponent.

The WEC’s Sept. 10 event, to be televised on VERSUS starting at 9 p.m. ET, will feature two title fights involving WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber taking on Mike Thomas Brown and WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho squaring off against Chael Sonnen. Former NCAA champions Jake Rosholt and Johny Hendricks are scheduled to make their debuts as well.

Mezger revealed to interviewer Ariel Helwani that the IFL and HDNet have reached an accord that includes an agreement to televise the promotion’s World Grand Prix finals on Dec. 29 along with 2008 events.

Mezger left the impression that HDNet would be the sole carrier of the IFL’s WGP finals.

However, when contacted by FiveOuncesOfPain.com (www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com), the IFL offered a position that differed from Mezger’s comments.

“We are looking at several TV and new media opportunities right now and expect to have an announcement in the next week about December 29,” IFL Senior Vice President of Communications Joe Favorito said in a statement to FiveOuncesOfPain.com. “There has been interest among several entities and we are right now evaluating which one is best for the fans, the sport and the event itself. Nothing is confirmed.”

Mezger stated during the JarryPark.com interview that an official announcement about the IFL and HDNet relationship is due to be made on Monday.

He also confirmed a story first reported this morning by FiveOuncesOfPain.com contributing writer Adam Morgan, who stated that Sean Salmon is out of a co-main event against Jason “Mayhem” Miller scheduled for HDNet Fights’ next card on Dec. 15. He will be replaced by Tim Kennedy, who holds a previous win over Miller.

Kennedy is scheduled to fight on the undercard of the IFL’s WGP finals on Dec. 29 but we have learned that his involvement on the HDNet Fights card on Dec. 15 comes with the IFL’s consent. As of now, he is still scheduled to fight on Dec. 29 but a backup plan is being devised.

Mezger’s interview is very informative and I highly recommend everyone check it out. There’s tons of great audio content on JarryPark.com, a site that I visit regularly.

Involved on the call were HDNet Fights president Andrew Simon, HDNet Fights matchmaker Guy Mezger, along with fighters Sean Salmon and Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who will be fighting each other in a clash of middleweight during the show’s co-main event. The other main event will feature Frank Trigg vs. Edwin Dewees.

Here’s a recap of the conference call:

- The rumors of Randy Couture joining the promotion were brought up. Mezger wasn’t real comfortable with the topic and said he wanted to focus on talking about the card. He said that if there was a way to get Couture on board at HDNet Fights that it would be “awesome.”

- Miller and Trigg have signed three-fight contracts that are non-exclusive. However, there are some restrictions when it comes to their exclusivity, such as they don’t want fighters that they’ve signed to multi-fight deals competing a month before they’re supposed to fight for HDNet Fights.

- 22-24 shows are planned for 2008. The number of shows will include live HDNet Fights cards as well as cards presented by their partners, such as the IFO and Ring of Combat. The plan is for HDNet Fights to hold their cards in Dallas during the next 12 months in order to build a fanbase and them start doing shows around the country. Pay-per-view is also an option they are looking at for the future. Also, titles could be introduced once they fill out their divisions and gain some traction.

- Mezger revealed during the conference call that their next show after the Dec. 15 event will be in February. Team Takedown standout and Masters of the Cage light heavyweight champion Jake Rosholt will be debuting for the promotion on that card. Mezger was asked if there was interest in the other three members of Team Takedown (Johny Hendricks, Shane Roller, and Eric Bradley) and he indicated that there was. He was very complementary to the team’s management and the fighters they’ve signed.

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