WOW Pinoy

Mark Muñoz - Professional Mixed Martial Arts

FilAm Mark Muñoz won his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut for the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) organization by knocking out veteran fighter Chuck Grigsby at the Arco Arena in Sacramento last June 1.

"All the training, running and conditioning I’ve done, it’s worth it," said Muñoz after the fight. "I went out there [and] I wanted to execute my game plan. I wanted to force my game on him and that’s exactly what I did."

Fighting in front of his hometown crowd, the 6’0" Bay Area resident appeared to be in a serious disadvantage when he stood next to the 6’6" Grigsby.

Early in the first round, Grigsby kept his distance from Muñoz and used his seven-inch reach advantage. Wearing the native Philippine flag colors of red, white and blue, Muñoz quickly countered by trying to take Grigsby to the ground to negate the tremendous size advantage. Muñoz’s attempts were futile at first, as the lanky Grigsby defended the takedowns well.

As the round progressed, Grigsby continued to strike well and landed a right uppercut to the head of Muñoz. Muñoz persisted through the strikes. He eventually found a small opening against Grigsby.

During the middle of the round, Muñoz lunged forward, grabbed Grigsby’s right thigh, pinned him to a corner of the octagon and threw him down to the ground. From there the former NCAA wrestling champion took over. Muñoz worked around his opponent’s defensive guard and landed a few blows on Grigsby’s head. As Grigsby tried to escape, Muñoz finished him off with more punishing overhand rights.

Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight with 45 seconds remaining in round one.

"I’ve been working on my ground and pound," Muñoz told the Asian Journal. "I knew when I put him down on the ground I had the advantage. That’s where I wanted to take it."

Muñoz said that Grigsby’s height and sizeable reach advantage made the fight difficult.

"[Early on] I was trying to figure out his range, reach and just his style," he said. "He had a lot of range. He kept throwing his jab keeping me at bay. I just wanted to get in the inside."

Muñoz admits he wasn’t too satisfied with his performance and promises to do a better job next time around.

"It was my first time in the WEC," he said. "I feel like the monkey is off my back. I lived up to my expectations and now, I want to get better from here on out."

Most importantly, he dedicated his first win in the WEC to his parents and family.

"I told them I wanted to represent my race and all the Filipinos out there," said Muñoz. "I wanted to represent my people. I’m a full-blooded Filipino and proud of it."

With the win, Muñoz’s record improves to 4-0 (2 KO’s). Grigsby record falls to 13-4

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