Mark Munoz has very hard with Team Blackhouse to make most of this chance. (photo courtesy of footcandlesproductions.com)
Mark Muñoz is never one to forget where he — or his family — came from and what it took for him to get where he is now. He is one of a few professional Filipino-American athletes, and was the first Filipino-American to win a NCAA Division I national title in wrestling.
Mark has used that experience to influence other Filipino-Americans to follow their dreams.
“I’ve got a lot of support from the Filipino community,” said Muñoz. “I’m definitely a walking testamony for other Filipino-Americans out there that if you want to get into wrestling or anything that you want to do just go ahead and do it. You’ve just got to put in the work and have the right mentality.”
He’ll use that support from his family, friends and Filipino community to overcome the obstacle that is Nick Catone, today at UFC 102.
Both relatively equal in experience — Muñoz is 5-1 and Catone is 7-1.
Muñoz recently relocated to the Southern California area to train with Team Blackhouse. His new training partners consist: fellow Filipino-American Brandon Vera, “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal, Jason Lambert, Michael Guymon and various others.
Drawing from their accumulative experience, Mark has been training day-to-day to better his skills. He works stand up with some of the best in the game, and hosts his own wrestling team — West Coast Wrestling.
He’s only been competing in mixed martial arts for a little over a year, but thanks to his previous accolades he said he feels more than ready to handle all the challenges that will come.
“I’ve been wrestling since I was 13 years old,” Muñoz said. “I’ve been training (in) all aspects of MMA. I’ve got great training partners and I’m part of a new team now with Blackhouse Gym. I’m a wrestler, that’s my style. I’ve been doing boxing with Able Nuñez in Calsbad (Calif) and doing Muay Thai with Billy Scheibe in Carlsbad also. … I’m prepared in all aspects.”
Muñoz is looking forward to matching up against Catone. They are both from a wrestling background, but the unpredictability of the sport means the fight may remain standing or become a ground battle.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of ground fighting,” Muñoz predicted. “But then again, when two wrestlers collide you tend to see a stand-up war. We’ll see. I’m definitely prepared if it goes stand up, and I’m definitely prepared if it goes to the ground. Expect sparks to fly.”
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