Muñoz all primed up for shot at UFC crown

MANILA, Philippines - After beating Chris “The Crippler” Leben at UFC 138 in England over the weekend, Fil-Am Mark Muñoz wants no less than a shot at the championship.

“I paid my dues in this weight class and I think I deserve a title shot,” said the 33-year-old Muñoz, moments after stopping the bloodied Leben with his grounding and pounding.

“Anderson Silva is by far the best, pound for pound, in the world. I give him all the respect and honor, but right now I think I deserve a title shot. I consider him a friend. Right now I would love to get a title shot,” he added.

The victory improved Munoz’s record to 12-2-0 (win-loss-draw).

But a crack at the crown against a fighter who owns an impressive 29-4-0 mark, including 14 straight wins since joining the UFC five years ago, may be premature since the UFC has penciled a re-match between the Brazilian and No. 1 middleweight contender Chael Sonnen.

That leaves Muñoz, a two-time All-American wrestler fighting out of Vallejo, California, with no other option but to take on other contenders, perhaps Sonnen himself or Vitor Belfort.

Muñoz could also fight the winner of the match pitting two legitimate title contenders – Michael “The Count” Bisping or Jayson “Mayhem” Miller – in The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale on Dec. 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Or he could slug it out with Brian Stann or the legendary Wanderlei “The Axe Murder” Silva, who are both in the UFC’s list of middleweight title contenders.

Another possibility is a rematch with Japanese Yushin Okami, who dealt Muñoz one of his two losses in the octagon in the UFC Live in August last year.

That turned out to be Muñoz’s last defeat as he strung up four straight victories over Aaron Simpson at UFC 123 last year, CB Dolloway at UFC Versus last March 3, Demian Maia at UFC 131 last June 11 and Leben.

However, Muñoz is not in the list of contenders posted at UFC’s official website www.ufc.com.

But after that impressive win against Leben, UFC is sure to take a second look at the Fil-Am fighter.