Preview: UFC Fight Night 186 Main Card

Bantamweights

#9 | Jimmie Rivera (23-4, 7-3 UFC) vs. #8 | Pedro Munhoz (18-5, 8-5 UFC)

ODDS: Rivera (-145), Munhoz (+125)

This fight between Munhoz and Rivera is a bantamweight scrap that should have it all. Their first bout in 2015 was an absolute banger that saw Rivera walk away with a narrow victory, and the stakes have only heightened since, as both men look to put together a run to the 135-pound title. That first fight against Rivera was a rough bounce-back appearance for Munhoz, who was regarded as a top prospect but had his momentum halted due to some drug test issues. However, “The Young Punisher” rebounded well, winning seven of his next eight and announcing his arrival as a contender with a first-round knockout of former champion Cody Garbrandt. Munhoz’s approach is fairly straightforward, as the Brazilian continually marches ahead and throws wild counters in an attempt to either score a knockout or make his opponents uncomfortable. If his opponent panics and looks for a takedown, that is usually the end of the fight, thanks to Munhoz’s particularly lethal guillotine choke. That did well to move Munhoz up the ladder in exciting fashion, but things have gone sideways in his last two bouts against elite competition. Aljamain Sterling and Frankie Edgar were both effectively able to play matador, staying out of enough danger to pick off Munhoz and take advantage of his lack of defense. With two straight losses and a new wave of bantamweight talent coming, there is the danger that Munhoz may drop out of high-level relevance with a third straight defeat, making this rematch against Rivera particularly crucial.

Rivera’s victory over Munhoz was the 17th of what would turn out to be a 20-fight winning streak for “El Terror,” as the New Jersey native went undefeated for over eight years. While most successful regional fighters get picked up by a major promotion long before they are ready, Rivera’s status as a decision machine made him the exception that proves the rule. However, that additional time allowed Rivera to develop an effective striking game to complement his wrestling, so once he finally took the UFC call as an injury replacement, he was able to hit the ground running. Within two years of his UFC debut, Rivera’s counterstriking master classes against the likes of Munhoz, Urijah Faber and Thomas Almeida made him look like the next coming man at 135 pounds, which made his main event loss to Marlon Moraes a crushing disappointment. Moraes nailed Rivera with a head kick for a quick knockout that ended nearly a decade of success in just 33 seconds. That began a bit of a rough stretch for Rivera, as he looked unimpressive and tried to figure things out. Everything eventually came back together for a 2019 fight against current champion Petr Yan. Even in defeat, Rivera showed that his powerful counter-boxing can work wonders against the most elite of opponents. Rivera’s lone fight of 2020 saw him handle Cody Stamann, and another win here would help keep him ahead of the pack.

For all the improvements each fighter may have made, the base stylistic matchup remains the same. Munhoz is going to do his thing and charge forward to try to overwhelm his counterpart, forcing Rivera to eat damage but giving him all the openings in the world to club “The Young Punisher” in return. Neither man figures to be finished—Munhoz is ridiculously durable, and Rivera is not far behind and does not figure to get submitted—so much like their first fight, this should be 15 minutes of these two charging into each other for entertainingly violent exchanges. Rivera walked away with a win the first time, and if anything, he has become even sharper on the counter since. It will still be close and the type of fight that comes down to which man hits the one or two best punches of the bout, but the pick is Rivera via decision.

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