UFC 138 is something of an unloved card. Ever since it was announced it has attracted derision from American online fans and outright hostility from those in Britain. But this reaction is wrong. In fact this is very much a card that any self-respecting MMA fan should go out of their way to watch. And the primary reason can be summed up in just five words:
Chris Leben versus Mark Munoz
‘The Crippler’ taking on ‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ is for many reasons a fight that could main event anywhere in the world. First and foremost it should be an excellent fight. Both Leben and Munoz are all action fighters, something that both recognized in the other when I spoke to them. “He has a style I like” said Leben. “I don’t have to worry about chasing him around the ring, we’re going to get in and bang it out”. Munoz agrees, saying that “you’re just going to see two rams colliding”. Breaking down Leben’s style, Munoz explained that “he brings the fight every single time. He’s really good at getting punched in the face but then punching back and knocking people out”. Indeed Munoz echoed Leben’s criticism of fighters fighting negatively to avoid losing rather than positively to win, saying that the strength of this fight was that “he fights to win and I fight to win”.
Chris Leben is of a course a larger than life personality and through his antics on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter one of the most important fighters in the organization’s history. “I look at where the UFC was before I was on that show. That show saved the UFC and I made that first season. I single handedly saved the UFC!” To Leben his success on TUF and his enduring popularity shows the importance of fighters letting their personality come through. “The thing about this sport is that we’re half professional athlete and half WWE wrestler. People like to see personalities in their athletes. Unlike other sports you can relate to the fighters, their personalities come across”. Mark Munoz may not be as well known as Chris Leben, but he’s confident that the UK fans that will see him live for the first time on Saturday are going to like what they’re going to see. “I’m a Filipino guy that packs power in both hands and looks to finish every split second of every fight. You’re going to see a lot of excitement in my fights and you’re going to see donkey king when I’m on top of somebody!”
The fight offers more than just excitement, with Leben vs. Munoz being a key fight at the very top of the middleweight division. As UFC UK President Marshal Zelaznik explained “these fighters are within striking distance of a championship match”. It’s something that Munoz believes he’s growing ever closer to, having put together a three fight winning streak that included a tough fought victory over former world title challenger Demian Maia. “With a win over Chris Leben, I should be fighting for a world title. I’m not here to be a mediocre fighter I’m here to be the best in my division. My job right now is to beat Chris Leben and make a statement”. Leben agrees that this fight should determine who next faces Anderson Silva. “Munoz is on a roll, I just knocked out ******* Wanderlei Silva, a legend, in twenty-seven seconds! This is the fight for number one contender – what more could you ask for”.
It would be fair to say that the two fighters have a very different relationship with the Middleweight Champion. Leben famously faced ‘The Spider’ in his UFC debut, and was demolished by the then unheralded Brazilian in such a spectacular style that it propelled Silva to a world title shot. Leben is convinced that he can make the most of a rematch should it come his way. “I fought Anderson five years ago. I was a different fighter at that time. It would be a completely different fight. Completely different!”
Munoz on the other hand has gotten to know Silva outside the cage. “I’ve trained with him extensively. I had a ‘Bruce Lee’ moment with Anderson…he held pads for me the first time I worked out with him and afterwards he sat me down in the middle of the cage and told me his philosophy of fighting and how I should be thinking when I go out there to fight. The guy is an unbelievable fighter but at the same time he’s an unbelievable person and friend to me”. Munoz admits that it would be hard to fight his friend, saying that “I guess we cross that bridge when we get to it”. Something that both Munoz and Silva assumed would never happen. “Anderson said that he’d be gone and retired by the time I was moving up the ranks but it’s been such a meteoric rise at the moment”.
UFC 138 may be lost in the shuffle of MMA’s bumper fall schedule but ignore the naysayers. In Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz it has an exciting, meaningful headliner between two of the most important fighters at 185Ibs. To add intrigue to the fight, it’s also the first ever five-round non-title fight. As Marshal Zelaznik put it to me, “If people are going to complain about that, I don’t know what to say other than close your mouth, open your eyes and ears, watch the fight and then come back and judge”.
