Muniz ready to see who has ‘the best jiu-jitsu in the division’ against Allen

Andre Muniz defeated Uriah Hall in July 2022. | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Middleweight grapplers Andre Muniz and Brendan Allen are scheduled to meet on February 25.

The UFC Vegas 70 co-main event has a lot at stake, at least for the two men involved in the fight. In a battle of middleweight grapplers, Andre Muniz and Brendan Allen will go at it to see who is arguably the best ground fighter in the weight class.

In a conversation with MMA Junkie, Muniz explained that it was Allen who called him out for the challenge, but Andre was happy to welcome it. Now that the pair is just days away from fight night, the Brazilian hopes his opponent can keep his word in the Octagon.

“Not too long ago, he posed a challenge to me, a ground challenge, to see who would win on the ground,” Muniz told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I hope that he stands by his word and let’s take this to the ground to see who’s got the best jiu-jitsu in the division.”

Away from the Octagon ever since July 2022, Muniz feels ready to shake off the rust and put on an impressive performace. Though Andre recognizes Allen’s skills, the Brazilian intends to score a memorable win in order to keep climbing the rankings.

“Brendan is a great athlete,” Muniz said. “He’s coming off a good winning stretch in the promotion., but I mean, I’m going to go out Saturday and do my job. I feel very prepared, very ready to go and invade the top of the rankings.”

Still undefeated in the UFC, Muniz (23-4) is on a five-fight winning streak in the Octagon, with wins over Uriah Hall, Eryk Anders, Ronaldo Souza, Bartosz Fabinski and Antonio Arroyo. Overall, the 33-year-old’s has 14 wins by way of submission on his record, three of them in the UFC. The Brazilian’s last loss took place in October 2016, when he got knocked out by Azamat Murzakanov.

Now, Muniz is scheduled to take on Allen at UFC Vegas 70’s co-main event, on February 25, at the UFC Apex. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann.