Stars Align for Andre Muniz

Few middleweights—if any—are on more of a roll in the Ultimate Fighting Championship than Andre Muniz, who finds himself knocking at the door to the Top 10 at 185 pounds.

The Tata Fight Team representative will ride a nine-fight winning streak into his UFC Fight Night 220 co-headliner opposite former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brendan Allen on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Muniz, 33, has not suffered a defeat since being knocked out by Azamat Murzakanov at a regional event in Europe more than six years ago. To what does he credit his success?

“I think it’s the sum of various factors,” Muniz told Sherdog.com. “I’m dedicated to my training sessions, physical preparation and diet. After I got into the UFC, I took advantage of the big names they matched me up against. I remain at the ready, along with my team. We keep evolving, studying our next opponents and assembling the best strategies.”

Muniz, a two-time winner on Dana White’s Contender Series, owns a perfect 5-0 record in the UFC. He last competed at UFC 276, where he took a three-round unanimous decision from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 finalist Uriah Hall on July 2. It followed three consecutive armbar submissions of Bartosz Fabinski, Ronaldo Souza and Eryk Anders. Muniz continues to cling to the one-fight-at-a-time approach that has served him well.

“I have a tough opponent in front of me right now, so I can’t think of any future possibilities beyond that,” he said. “I need to remain focused on beating my next opponent in any way possible. Then I can think about my next fight. It depends on where and when the UFC wants to put me.”

Allen figures to provide a stern test. The Kill Cliff Fight Club export has rattled off three straight victories and holds an 8-2 record—only Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis have beaten him—across his 10 outings inside the Octagon. Allen last competed on Oct. 1, when he dispatched Krzysztof Jotko with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 211 encounter. He has delivered more than half (11) of his 20 professional wins by submission.

“Allen is very tough and very experienced within the organization,” Muniz said. “He’s already faced great names. He’s very difficult to beat. My coaches and I have been studying his game. It’s going to be a great fight. We’re putting in the work to make sure I score yet another victory. I know he’s also a grappler, but we’ll still look for ways to get him down and win by submission.”

Muniz views it as the start of a productive 2023 campaign.

“Right now, I want to keep winning, making my name in the organization and climbing up the rankings,” he said. “We’ll look to add even more knowledge during my training camps to ensure even more victories.”