UFC bantamweight Johnny Munoz Jr. returns to action at UFC Vegas 64 and is set to face Ukraine-born Liudvik Sholinian.
Munoz is (1-2) since joining the promotion in 2020, holding a victory over Jamey Simmons and tasting defeat to Nate Maness and Tony Gravely. In his most recent outing, Munoz was on the wrong end of a round one knockout to Gravely, which was the first time he had been stopped from his amateur career throughout his professional career.
That being said, the 29-year-old thinks it’s been a perfect time in-between fights to re-evaluate and let the brain recover. In a recent interview with Combat Sports UK, Munoz stated:
Johnny Munoz Jr. on Break In-between Fights
“I think it was the perfect time, andI mean, the last fight didn’t go as planned, so it’s good to just sit back, rethink a couple of things, and yeah, so now I think this was a good amount of time in-between that. I feel good. Very focussed, and everything.”
Liudvik Sholinian (9-2-1) stands in Munoz’s way on Nov.5 as he chases his second UFC victory. Sholinian hails from The Ultimate Fighter and made his official debut with the company last year. However, his welcoming didn’t go as anticipated, dropping a unanimous decision loss to Jack Shore.
Munoz is under no illusion that there are any easy fights in the UFC. He’s aware any man that stands in-front of him is going to be a challenge, and when breaking down Sholinian’s game with James Lynch, Munoz assured fans he’s not intimidated by his opponent’s wrestling credentials, saying:
Munoz on Sholinian’s Expectations
“I know he was on The Ultimate Fighter. He’s a tough dude. Everybody in the UFC is tough, man. They got here for a reason, so I’m expecting a tough fight. I know he’s a wrestler, wrestled in Ukraine or something like that, but fighting wrestlers, I don’t get intimated by that. I’ve got my jiu-jitsu background, and I also know how to wrestle too.”
In preparation, Munoz has been training alongside former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. In his time at the PI, he’s crossed paths with Sholinian and claims his sense of humour is somewhat dry after attempting to engage in some mental warfare before the pair clash.
Munoz said the following on the run-ins he’s had with his opponent:
“I’ve been seeing him around at the PI because I’ve been going to Vegas a lot to train with Brandon Moreno. So, I’ve been seeing my opponent a lot at the UFC Performance Institute. It’s a little weird, I guess, but I mean, I’m not the kinda guy who likes to start stuff unless they’ve got an issue with me. I just keep it cool with them and try to crack some jokes. His sense of humour is not all there, but I’ll crack him with some good shots on Nov.5 and see how his sense of humour is then.”
Interview with Johnny Munoz Jr.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
