UFC on FUEL TV 4: July 11, 2012 San Jose, California Mark Munoz (-105) Profile: Munoz (12-2) is 7-1 in his last eight fights and 7-2 in the UFC, with his only loss as a middleweight during that stretch coming to Yushin Okami at UFC on Versus 2 on August 1, 2010. His other loss in the UFC came against Matt Hamill at light heavyweight at UFC 96 three years ago. Munoz is coming off a second-round TKO of Chris Leben at UFC 138 last November 5 and was scheduled to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2 on January 28 but had to withdraw due to an elbow injury. He is riding a four-fight winning streak overall since his last loss, beating Demian Maia at UFC 131 and Aaron Simpson at UFC 123 by unanimous decision and knocking out C.B. Dollaway at UFC on Versus 3 in addition to the victory over Leben. Chris Weidman (-125) Profile: Weidman (8-0) is 4-0 in the UFC and earned a unanimous decision win over Maia in his last fight at UFC on FOX 2. His other bouts in the UFC resulted in first-round submissions of Tom Lawlor at UFC 139 and Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 131 along with a unanimous decision victory against Alessio Sakara in his debut at UFC on Versus 3. Before that, Weidman competed in the Ring of Combat, where he registered the first four wins of his pro MMA career. He won the ROC middleweight title in just his third fight there with a first-round TKO of Uriah Hall on September 24, 2010. Opening Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made the unbeaten Weidman a small -125 favorite (bet $125 to win $100) against the more experienced Munoz, who is a -105 underdog in an essentially even fight. Munoz has five more fights in the UFC, but he is also seven years older than Weidman. The two fighters share one common opponent in Maia, and both grinded out wins against him in similar fashion. Weidman has been favored in all four of his UFC bouts according to the MMA odds without disappointing his backers so far, which is one of the reasons to justify him as the fighter who should win this matchup. Munoz is an accomplished college wrestler who has improved his striking, but Weidman has a slight edge as an up-and-coming fighter who appears ready to break through and become a top contender.
