UFC Fight Night 77 – Prelim Spotlight: Munhoz vs. Rivera
by Daniel Tom
on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015
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Pedro Munhoz (12-1)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’6″ Age: 29 Weight: 135 lbs Reach: 65″
- Last Fight: Submission win / Jerrod Sanders (10-4-14)
- Camp: Blackhouse/Kings MMA (California)
- Stance/Striking Style: Orthodox / Muay Thai
- Risk Management: Good
- Overall Fight Grade: B
Supplemental info:
+ RFA Bantamweight Champion
+ 2x No-Gi Brazil Champion
+ 6x BJJ state champ (Brazil)
+ BJJ Black Belt
+ 4 first round finishes
+ 6 Submission wins(75%)
+ Good base/balance on top
+ Looks for Double-legs against cage
+ Strong body kicks & teeps
+ Powerful leg & head kicks
+ Accurate in close elbows
+ Excellent Guillotine(4 finishes)
+ Dangerous leg-lock transitions
+ Improved defense/head movement
+/-Will go to shell defense
+ Good in the scramble
Jimmie Rivera (17-1)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’4″ Age: 26 Weight: 135 lbs Reach: 68.5″
- Last Fight: KO win / Marcus Brimage (7-18-15)
- Camp: Team Tiger Schulmann (New Jersey)
- Stance/Striking Style: Orthodox / Kickboxing
- Risk Management: Good
- Overall Fight Grade: B
Supplemental info:
+ Ring of Combat Champion
+ King of the Cage Champion
+ Cage Fury Fighting Champion
+ 3rd degree Black Black(Tiger Schulmann)
+ 2 first round finishes
+ KO power/heavy hands
+ Mixes in body work well
^ Right hand-left hook
+ Effective right leg kick
+ Good distance management
+ Tight striking defense
+ Strong Cage/Clinch Pressure
+ Shows strong top-game/G&P
+ Consistent 2-3 punch combos
+ Catches & counters kicks well
? Questionable overall ground game
Summary:
This next “Fight of the Night” candidate is one the closest stylistic matches of the evening as Pedro Munhoz meets Jimmie Rivera. Though different in styles, both men are aggressive forward moving strikers which should create for fun momentum swings. Rivera shows a disciplined kickboxing game favoring his hands, where as Munhoz is a Muay Thai stylist who leans more on kicks. Pedro has an excellent variety of leg/head kicks and body teeps. He likes to march forward with said attacks looking to get into clinch range where he has accurate in-close elbows.
Since training under Rafael Cordeiro (Kings MMA) he has shown fight-to-fight improvements in his striking, and I believe he has more weapons standing. that said, I expect distance control & defense being the difference on the feet. Despite showing much improved head movement, Pedro will still often revert to a shell defense. This traditionally opens up body shots, uppercuts, and rogue hooks in which Rivera wields plenty. Not to mention Jimmie’s propensity to throw these punches off kick-catch counters, Munhoz will have to be most careful here.
As far as distance management goes, Rivera shows a natural ability to stay just outside range while maintaining a constant offensive threat. This coupled with Jimmi’s forward pressure & pace could make it a difficult night for Pedro, especially if he doesn’t hurt Rivera/dictate the clinch. Though extensive ground footage on Jimmie is hard to come by(making him hard to value overall) the obvious on paper advantage goes to Munhoz given his ground base. If he can get on top he’ll be especially dangerous as he’s shown hard to shake off & dangerous in the transitions(hunting Guillotines/subs).
That being said, the clinch will also be the “Key Junction” in this fight. Both men show good TD defense, but the question will be if Rivera’s is good enough to stop Munhoz. Pedro has worked a lot on his wrestling with Kenny Johnson at Blackhouse, but given Rivera’s shown solid base, he’ll need more than his patent double-leg off the fence. This is a very hard match to pick with both men showing little weaknesses. However, I feel Rivera’s overall pressure, pace, and volume will make a slight difference. I’d caution plays here and instead sit back and “crack one open” in what is my official pick for Fight of the Night.
