Former UFC middleweight Mark Munoz “happy” in retirement, but admits he has the itch to fight again

Former UFC middleweight Mark Munoz says that he is “happy” in retirement, but also admits that he sometimes gets the itch to fight again.

Munoz fought in the UFC from 2009 to 2015, racking up a 9-6 overall record in the Octagon. After losing three straight fights by stoppage to Lyoto Machida, Gegard Mousasi, and Roan Carneiro, Munoz defeated Luke Barnatt by unanimous decision in the final fight of his career in May 2015. The fight took place in Munoz’s native Philippines, and it was the perfect opportunity to retire in front of his family coming off of a win.

Five years later, though, and Munoz admits that he still gets the itch to fight again. Taking to his Twitter during a Q&A with fans on Wednesday, Munoz explained that, while he’s happily retired, a recent training session with UFC light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint-Preux made him wonder if he’s still good enough to compete with the best.

Yes, I do lol Recently, Ovince St. Preux came in and wanted to train with us for a couple weeks. I did really well with him and thought 'Wow, if I can do this to OSP, I might have a couple of good fights left in me.' So yes, I do get the edge. But now that I'm coaching, I'm happy https://t.co/bV2PPqiUga

— Mark Muñoz (@mark_munoz) November 5, 2020

Yes, I do lol Recently, Ovince St. Preux came in and wanted to train with us for a couple weeks. I did really well with him and thought ‘Wow, if I can do this to OSP, I might have a couple of good fights left in me.’ So yes, I do get the edge. But now that I’m coaching, I’m happy

Munoz (14-6) was one of the top middleweights in the world for a period of five years. After winning three fights on the regional circuit in 2007 to open up his MMA career, Munoz won two fights in the WEC before being brought over to the UFC. After losing via head kick KO to Matt Hamill in his UFC debut in 2008, Munoz moved down from light heavyweight to middleweight, where he ended up having plenty of success.

During a UFC middleweight run that saw him rack up a 9-5 record, Munoz picked up wins over the likes over Demian Maia, Chris Leben, Aaron Simpson, CB Dollaway, and Tim Boetsch. At age 42, it’s hard to envision a comeback from Munoz considering he has been away from active competition for so long. And remember, there is a reason to retired in the first place. After suffering a brutal KO loss to Chris Weidman, Munoz just never looked the same and made the right call to step away when he did. But in a sport where retirements rarely last for the athletes, don’t be shocked if he does fight again.

Do you want to see Mark Munoz fight again?