Pedro Munhoz was a sizeable underdog against Cody Garbrandt at UFC 235 on Saturday night, but he walked away from the Octagon the victor thanks to a highlight-reel knockout.
Munhoz remained calm against “No Love,” even when the former UFC bantamweight champ rocked him badly with punches. Garbrandt clocked the Brazilian with clean punches to the face, but was never able to put him away, let alone off his feet. Munhoz weathered the storm, believed in his resolve and eventually greased Garbrandt with lethal punches of his own.
Munhoz put Garbrandt away with only nine seconds left in the opening round, but he said he knew it was going to happen in what was by far the biggest fight of his career up to now.
“I have been watching a lot of Cody’s fights, studying him, so I knew this would be the perfect match up for me,” Munhoz said after his conquest. “I’ve never been dropped in a fight or in practice, I believe in my chin more than anything. I knew I was capable of taking his shots and then giving my shots back. I was 100 percent sure that if I could connect with his chin that I could knock him out.”
And he did.
Garbrandt became reckless inside the throes of battle and when he himself was dazed by punches from “The Young Punisher,” he threw caution to the wind and threw haymakers. Naturally, Garbrandt wasn’t thinking clearly and left himself open to be countered and eventually knocked out.
After the fight, Munhoz’s attention quickly shifted away from his sensational triumph to what he desires, which is a chance to win the UFC bantamweight title. However, things at 135 pounds aren’t crystal clear and Munhoz doesn’t have the patience of Job.
“With all the interim titles going around right now, I think that would be perfect for bantamweight with how slow it is moving at the top now,” he said. “[Henry] Cejudo might come up or [current champion] T.J. [Dillashaw] might want to go back down again, so I don’t want to wait. Give me a title shot right now.”