Mark Munoz had a daunting puzzle to solve at UFC 123. He was basically facing a carbon copy of himself in Aaron Simpson. So it was no surprise to see the former NCAA wrestlers nullify each other on the grappling front. Munoz showed off a more impressive arsenal in the striking game and a little more in the stamina department in the final round to take a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all cards.
Munoz, an NCAA champ out of Oklahoma State, was a half-second behind in the first round. He got tagged on the feet and kept getting his leg kicks caught. In the second, Munoz did more with his stand up work, including a beautiful swinging elbow that landed coming out of a clinch, and he really nailed Simpson with a head kick.
Simpson, an two-time All-American at Arizona State, has struggled in recent fights with his conditioning. He thought he had solved those woes by a paying closer attention to his diet before the fight. Simpson looked better but he was definitely the less fresh fighter in the final round.
He scored a takedown just 25 seconds into the third but then got easily reversed by Munoz. With hip control, Munoz got off some excellent punches to the head. The rest of the round was spent primarily in clinch position along the cage. They slugged away at each other, but it was Munoz who landed the heavier shots.
Munoz (9-2, 4-2 UFC) is now 4-1 down at middleweight with his only loss coming against future title challenger Yushin Okami. After a 3-0 start wth the promotion, Simpson (7-2, 3-2 UFC) has dropped two straight.
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