Mark Munoz Looking to Play 'Whack-a-Mole' Against Demian Maia

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia - For most of Wednesday's open workout, Mark Munoz did exactly what you'd expect from a NCAA national champion wrestler preparing to face a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt at UFC 131.

He worked on top control, on ground-and-pound, on extricating himself from sticky situations on the mat. Not a bad idea when you're fighting submissions expert Demian Maia.

But then Munoz apparently decided to mix it up, and suddenly he was throwing his training partner in triangle chokes and armbars, as if he might actually be considering a submission win of his own. Was this some sort of trick?

"You saw that, huh?" an excited Munoz said once his workout concluded. "My jiu-jitsu is good. I'm here to prove a point, too. I have great jiu-jitsu guys in my gym, and they know my game is great. As of late, you guys haven't seen my jiu-jitsu game. That's something I do want to prove."




But seriously. This is Maia we're talking about there. There may be no better jiu-jitsu specialist anywhere in MMA's 185-pound division. Munoz can't seriously think he's going to lock that guy into a triangle choke, can he? Is he really thinking about trying an armbar if he looks up and finds Maia in his guard?

"Yeah, what if?" Munoz shrugged. "What if can happen."

One thing Maia probably isn't worried about is Munoz's jiu-jitsu game. The man may have been an All-America wrestler at Oklahoma State, but in MMA he only has one submission win to his credit, and it came as a result of punches. It would seem like his heavy hands - both standing and on the ground - are more of a concern. But Maia doesn't seem terribly worried about being overpowered on Saturday night.

"When I see wrestlers fight, they train a lot of boxing because they don't want to end up on bottom," Maia said. "I don't have this issue. I know he's very powerful when he's on top, but I'm okay with that. I don't think it's going to be just a stand-up fight."

Even if it is, however, Maia wouldn't necessarily run from that. Earlier in his career he rushed to get opponents to the mat because, as Maia put it, he was "really afraid" of standing and trading punches. Now he's more comfortable on the feet, even if his decision to contest more fights there has led to fewer submission wins lately.

"Now I'm more relaxed, so I think sometimes I don't put enough on the ground to submit [them]. I think it's just, I'm changing my style and it will come back," he said.

Which is not to say he's in any danger of becoming a knockout artist, however.

"I enjoy [striking], but it's dangerous," Maia said. "I enjoy it more in the training than in the fight."

Munoz, on the other hand, isn't at all shy about throwing leather. He even prepared with some unconventional training methods, thanks to training partner Mike Guymon, who introduced him to the arcade game Whack-a-Mole.

"You go to Chuck E. Cheese's and you get these padded paddles, and you see a mole pop up and you whack it," Munoz said. "...I was like, man, that's an awesome analogy. I'm going to take that. So I'm playing Whack-a-Mole on Saturday night."

He may be fighting one of the most skilled jiu-jitsu practitioners in all of MMA, but Munoz doesn't seem to feel that it will be such a hard adjustment to make after fighting so many fellow collegiate wrestlers in the UFC.

"I've been fighting all wrestlers, so this is a big change. I like change. It's great, because I know what Demian has and I know what I have. You know bombs are going to fly. That's just me. I'm going to throw bombs and more bombs. Bombs away. That's what's going to happen and Demian knows that. No disrespect to him. I have so much respect for him, but this is a business. I'm here to prove a point, and I think he's afraid of my power."

At least, Maia's probably more afraid of Munoz's power than his triangle choke. But then again, MMA is a sport where the crazy 'what ifs' happen from time to time. If Munoz can somehow make Maia tap, he'll never have to worry about anyone doubting his jiu-jitsu ever again.

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Junior dos Santos Looking to Exploit Shane Carwin's Lack of Cardio at UFC 131

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- MMA Fighting spoke to heavyweight Junior dos Santos on Wednesday about his UFC 131 fight against Shane Carwin, his newfound fame, his take on The Ultimate Fighter, how he expects the fight to play out and more.

 

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Brammo Building a Dealer Network ? Hires Jim Marcolina from Harley-Davidson

It seems like only two months ago that I wrote that the “Great Distribution Experiment is Over“, and that electric motorcycle companies Brammo and Zero Motorcycles need to get on-board with established motorcycle distribution methods. As I mentioned in what I’m sure many found to be a snooze fest of an article, there are of course drawbacks and flaws to the dealership model, but for early-stage cash-strapped companies like the ones in the E2V market, ...

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What you need to know from this week on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

With just days to got before the finale, the semifinals are contested on "The Ultimate Fighter." Who will fight for the shiny, breakable glass plaque? Read on for spoilers and a recap.

Awkward moment of the week: The house is still reeling from Tony Ferguson's drunken attacks on Charlie Rader. Chuck O'Neil, who will fight Ferguson, says that Ferguson has burned every bridge in the house.

Apology of the week: Ferguson apologized to his team, and said he didn't remember what he said. His team didn't accept it, and they have chosen not to be in his corner when he fights.

But first, a fight that doesn't have alcohol-fueled drama. (Side note: semi-final fights are three rounds long.)

Semifinal one of the week: Ramsey Nijem (Team dos Santos) vs. Chris Cope (Team Lesnar)

Round one: Nijem starts the fight more aggressively, jabbing Cope into the fence. Cope tries to avoid the takedown, but ends up eating some of Nijem's punches. Cope still gets taken down, but then gets back to his feet. Nijem maintains control against the fence, and even when Cope breaks away, Nijem is able to land strikes.

Round two: Cope starts the round with a leg kick, but is quickly taken down by Nijem. Cope gets back to his feet, but sustains strikes from Nijem as he stands. Nijem never lets up, moving Cope against the fence, then flooding with a barrage of punches and knees until Cope finally falls, and referee Steve Mazzagatti steps into to stop the fight.

Mispronunciation of the week: "And going to the finals! Ramsey Nay-Jim!" Mazzagatti said as he raised Nijem's hand.

Semifinal two of the week: Chuck O'Neil (Team Lesnar) vs. Tony Ferguson (Team Lesnar)

Round one: O'Neil starts strong, landing jabs that appear to shake Ferguson up. Ferguson has good movement, and finally starts landing strikes two minutes into the bout. He then starts using leg kicks, but O'Neil returns the favor. With two minutes left, Ferguson lands a snapping strikes and get O'Neil to back up. Ferguson finishes the round strong, landing a flurry of strikes, even knocking O'Neil down for a second.

Round two: Ferguson starts this round more aggressively, throwing punches and moving O'Neil back into the cage. Ferguson keeps up his footwork and head movement, but O'Neil still manages a few strikes. Ferguson responds and appears to shake up O'Neil with a few jabs. They exchange leg kicks, and then a Ferguson jab causes O'Neil's nose to bleed.

Round three: Ferguson comes out with leg kicks and body shots. O'Neil begins to hobble from the leg kicks. O'Neil's corner begs for him to throw a jab when Ferguson comes in for a kick, but he isn't able to. A straight right knocks O'Neil to the ground, where Ferguson tries to follow him to the ground but isn't able to because of O'Neil's kicks. Back on their feet and with O'Neil's nose bleeding profusely, Ferguson knocks O'Neil to the ground with a hard body shot. The fight is stopped.

And that's your final: Tony Ferguson (Team Lesnar) vs. Ramsey Nijem (Team dos Santos). That will air as a part of "The Ultimate Fighter" finale which runs this Saturday on Spike. Despite an unbalanced semifinal, both teams are represented.

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Ferguson video: TUF 13 bad guy found a brother in Lesnar

It took a while for someone to emerge as the villain on Season 13 of "The Ultimate Fighter," but when it happened the back lash was hellacious for Tony Ferguson. The entire house turned on Ferguson, after his drunken attack Charlie Rader. Ferguson trained by himself and reached the final. Brock Lesnar, who knows all about being a polarizing figure helped the prospect through the fire.

With a guarantee six-figure deal up for grabs, Ferguson faces Ramsey Nijem tomorrow at the Palms in Las Vegas.

"You see Brock as the villain, but I got to see Brock and the one thing is, I don't look at him that way," Ferguson told RawVegas. "Brock was not intimidating to me at all. I have a bigger uncle who was kind of like him. So it was easier to deal with him. He was awesome from the get-go."

Ferguson bonded with Lesnar so much that he decided to work with the Death Clutch Gym, the former UFC heavyweight champ's camp in Minnesota. He was honored because as he said Brock doesn't tolerate just anyone. In spite of his transgressions, Lesnar trusted Ferguson just like his family did when he had to tell them about the drunken episode on TUF.

"My friends and my family know me for who I am. I had to look at myself and ask that. Before this episode aired, I was having a panic attack ... like 'oh, my mom and dad are going to be seeing this. Oh crap.'  They re-assured me that they know who I am," said Ferguson.

The 25-year-old knows he's a work in progress, but much of the effort could be sidetracked if he doesn't get the job done in the Octagon.

"The biggest concern is that I want little kids to look up to me. So I know I have a lot of work to do, but the first thing that's in front of me is beating Ramsey," said Ferguson.

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