Vocational Ambitions

Andre Muniz believes in setting goals and striving to reach them.

The surging Brazilian will try to hasten his move up the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ladder when he takes on two-time Ring of Combat titleholder Uriah Hall as part of the UFC 276 undercard on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Muniz, 32, finds himself on a career-best eight-fight winning streak, with aspirations for more.

“I know it’s going to be a hard path,” he told Sherdog.com. “I dream about getting into the division’s Top 10. I want to make my mark. I’m looking forward to beating yet another great fighter. I know it won’t be easy. It’s one step at a time. It’s no use dreaming about what’s ahead if I don’t get past Hall. I’m focused on July 2 only. After that, we’ll see what’s next.”

Muniz, who has not tasted defeat in nearly six years, owns a perfect 4-0 record inside the Octagon. He rose to true prominence in 2021, when his armbar on two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Ronaldo Souza broke bones and resulted in a technical submission at UFC 262. Muniz has no intention of surrendering his momentum.

“There have been some incredibly special moments throughout my career,” he said. “I have always worked hard to face the best fighters in Brazil. For a long time, I was ranked number one in the country. I kept improving and eventually earned my way into the UFC. I put in a lot of hard work to be able to be victorious [at this level].”

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Otavio Duarte, Muniz knows where his strengths reside. The Tata Fight Team representative has secured 15 of his 22 pro victories by submission.

“I come from jiu-jitsu,” Muniz said. “I like competing in it, I continue to train in it and I have been able to successfully put that into practice inside the UFC—repeatedly.”

Hall, meanwhile, remains something of an enigma. “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist has struggled to establish consistency throughout his career, though he can author breathtaking highlights at any given moment. Hall last competed in the UFC on ESPN 28 main event, where his four-fight winning streak grinded to a halt in a unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland on July 31. The 37-year-old Jamaica native has never lost via submission.

“I respect him a lot, as well as his style, but I’m living my moment now,” Muniz said. “I have my own trajectory. I don’t think he is likely to be a champion in our weight class anymore. The opposite is true for me. I want to be champion, and my next step is to beat him. I know it’s going to be difficult. He’s very experienced and skilled. He has great striking and he’s able to switch stances, but I feel highly confident in my jiu-jitsu, in my game and in my trainers. It is no secret that I’ll look to submit him.”

Muniz concedes he needs to be more active in order to draw attention to himself. He has not competed more than twice in a calendar year since 2015 for a variety of reasons, many of which were out of his control. Muniz last appeared in December, when he submitted Eryk Anders with an armbar in the first round of their UFC 269 pairing.

“I fought very little due to the [coronavirus] pandemic, and then there were some cancelations,” he said. “Our previous booking [with Hall] was canceled two weeks prior. It was bad. I traveled from my hometown in Montes Claros, [Brazil], went to Rio de Janeiro, spent my own money for a three-month camp and didn’t get anything in return. God knows what He does. The important thing is now I’m booked again, and I’ll be getting paid.”

Muniz expect to shine against a willing dance partner.

“We’re going to have a war,” he said. “I’ll look for submissions from start to finish. I’ll look to shock the world again and secure my spot in the Top 10, on my way to the championship belt.”