Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

OHIO—While one Fil-Am proclaimed a comeback, another had a disappointing start.

Fil-Am Brandon Vera knocked out his opponent Patt White. Meanwhile, Mark "The Philippine Wrecking Machine" Muñoz was knocked out against Matt Hamill during the undercard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship 96 held in Columbus, Ohio last Saturday, March 7.

Muñoz making his UFC debut faced off against UFC veteran Hamill. It was the first fight in the UFC for the 30-year-old Muñoz, who had won his previous battles in UFC’s sister organization, the World Extreme Cagefighting.

From the very start, it appeared that Muñoz had opening round jitters. Hamill took the fight to him, continuously stalking and backing the smaller Muñoz into the octagon corners. With a five-inch reach advantage, Hamill used a blistering left jab to fluster the Fil-Am from Vallejo, CA. Munoz tried to use his wrestling to his advantage but Hamill defended Muñoz’s takedown attempts well, making it a stand up brawl.

Midway through the first round, Hamill continued to pound Muñoz with left jabs. With Muñoz back towards the octagon, Hamill threw a vicious right kick to Muñoz’s head, instantly knocking the latter out.

Replays showed that Hamill’s shin connected dead-on around Muñoz’s left temple. As Muñoz was falling, his head hit his right knee before he slumped down on the corner of the octagon. Medical officials immediately brought out a stretcher and cared for Muñoz, who according to his sister Rheanne, was okay afterwards.

"He walked out on his own," said Rheanne to this reporter. "We will keep you posted."

An arranged Asian Journal post-fight interview with Muñoz was cancelled.

With the loss, Muñoz record falls to 5-1. Hamill’s record improves to 8-2.