‘I Don’t Know How the Rankings Work’- Pedro Munhoz Expresses Anguish Over UFC Rankings After Win Over Jimmie Rivera at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Gane

Published 02/27/2021, 11:23 PM EST

‘The Young Punisher’ Pedro Munhoz earned a decision win on UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Gane against Jimmie Rivera and leveled the scores with his opponent almost six years after their first bout. Munhoz implied a smart game plan this term as he chopped on Rivera’s calves heavily from the first round of the fight.

Rivera also landed some significant shots, including calf kicks of his own, but it was not enough to deny the eighth-ranked Munhoz. His spot among the UFC bantamweights may have come as a surprise, and the fighter addressed it in his post-fight chat with Paul Felder.

Munhoz said, “Number eight right now, I have beaten guys ahead of me in the rankings. I don’t know how the rankings work. But they cannot right now. A lot of people are saying that T.J. Dillashaw is coming back. He’s a hell of a fight. For me, that will be a pleasure sharing the octagon with him, so I’m ready to welcome him back.”

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‘The Young Punisher’, Munhoz was on a 3-fight win streak when he fought Aljamain Sterling at UFC 238. He was coming off two spectacular finishes against Cody Garbrandt and Bryan Caraway. Subsequently, he suffered a decision loss to ‘Funkmaster’ and another very controversial decision setback against Frankie Edgar.

Pedro Munhoz has been the victim of some close decisions

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In his UFC run, Munhoz has lost 3 out of his 5 fights by split decision. John Dodson, Jimmie Rivera, and Frankie Edgar bettered him in those three, but many can argue ‘The Young Punisher’ could easily have won those fights. Raphael Assuncao is the other fighter to beat Munhoz.

Munhoz certainly deserves to be ranked higher than no.8, but the presence of impressive and world-class talent could be the sole factor as to why ‘The Young Punisher’ is languishing at the back end of the top-10.

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With T.J. Dillashaw coming back to the division, things are only going to get more interesting. But, with that victory over Rivera, Munhoz has done all he could to improve his spot at 135 pounds and can expect to rise in the rankings.

What did you make of Pedro Munhoz’s comments? How did you rate his performance tonight?

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Written by:

Apratim Banerjee is an MMA author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters.

‘I Don’t Know How the Rankings Work’- Pedro Munhoz Expresses Anguish Over UFC Rankings After Win Over Jimmie Rivera at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Gane

Pedro Munhoz has been the victim of some close decisions

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