Pinoy Pride: Munoz pummels Boetsch in UFC 162

MANILA, Philippines – Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz returned to the octagon stronger than ever pounding Tim “The Bararian” Boetsch on his way to victory via unanimous decision in UFC 162 Sunday (Manila Time) at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Munoz exorcised the demons of his recent loss to Chris Weidman to score the decisive victory.

The judges scored the fight 30-26, 30-27 and 29-28 all in favor of Munoz, whose father came from Pasay City while his mother grew up in Sta. Ana, Manila.

“Maraming salamat sa suporta. Sa mga kababayan ko sa Pilipinas, mahal ko kayo! Kaya natin ‘to,” Munoz beamed during the post-fight interview.

One year removed from the elbow surgery, the brutal loss he suffered at the hands of Weidman and the bout with depression that came after, Munoz purged all those ghosts in this match.  

“I really went through a depression I never thought I would,” Munoz said after the fight. “I’m living proof of what you can do with determination, will and desire.”

It was exactly the same things he preached when he visited the country last March.

Munoz, who went from 261 lbs to 199 lbs in this fight, showed a lot of energy and stamina to pummel Boestch with “Donkey Kong” body blows.

He was in control throughout the match save for the early moments in the first round when Boetsch slammed Munoz to the ground. 

Munoz quickly recovered and dominated Boestch from that point. FightMetric stats showed Munoz dominance as he outlanded Boetsch, 160-50, and connected powerful strikes to the head, body down to his knees and nearly even finished him with a rear naked choke.     

Munoz seized the opportunity to win when he scored a takedown midway to the second round.  Boetsch failed to recover and received punishing blows until the final round. 

Munoz got back on track in the middleweight division improving his win-loss record to 13-3 while Boestche absorbed his sixth loss in 16 matches.