KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Pedro Munhoz badly needed Saturday’s win bad, but it wasn’t to show the UFC brass or the fan base that he’s still got it. He wanted to prove to himself that he is who he thinks he is.
Munhoz (20-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) defeated rising contender Chris Gutierrez in a unanimous decision on the main card of UFC on ESPN 44, which took place at T-Mobile Center. The victory was Munhoz’s first in two years, as he was coming off a no contest against Sean O’Malley and prior to that had decision losses to Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo.
“One hundred percent (I proved to myself), and that’s the only person that I want to prove something to, myself,” Munhoz told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC on ESPN 44 post-fight news conference. “Not for the crowd. I respect them, and I like the crowd, but at the end of the day, the battle is between myself. So yeah, it was a good victory.”
Despite being late into his career, the Brazilian believes his win over Gutierrez (19-4-2 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) proves he’s still among the best in the world. And beyond that, Munhoz feels he’s just getting better.
“Even though I’m 36, going to be 37, this year, I’m a veteran, I realized that I have been improving a lot every single fight,” Munhoz said. “A lot of the fighters they kind of get stuck, but at the bantamweight division, it’s such a competitive division that it requires us to always be developing and getting better.
“American Top Team, it’s a place that I improve every day. We have the best coaches, the best training partners, and that’s the reason why I’m still here nine years later competing for the UFC. I’m still competing with the best fighters in the world, and tonight I proved to myself that I’m one of the best fighters in the division.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.
