Following a year off because fights kept falling through, bantamweight Johnny Munoz was able to finally get back into the cage at UFC 265 on August 7 against Jamey Simmons.
No one would blame Munoz for feeling a bit off having been out for so long, but as he puts it, things fell right into place as he was able to pick up a second round submission win over Simmons.
“For me it was great in an arena with people in there,” Munoz told MMAWeekly.com. “I feel that’s where I thrive. I remember walking out and really feeling the moment. I felt great beforehand, but walking out was just extra reassurance that I belong right here.
“The fight started and I felt very like it was play time. Everything just clicked. My instincts were on point. When you over-think things in there you get tired or things don’t play out right, but when you’re just reacting everything is just flowing. I felt I performed well. Of course I’m always my harshest critic, and always thought I could do better, but I got the job done so I’m very happy with that.”
After having felt a bit disjointed having been out of fighting for so long, to return to active competition and have a solid performance helps motivate Munoz to keep working, keep improving, keep developing into the best version of himself possible.
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“To fight, win, gets momentum going and keeping that momentum going is a good feeling,” said Munoz. “Being able to do what I love and succeed in it makes me want to keep pushing and get better and showcase a better version of me every time I get in there.
“I feel like people never really saw what I capable of. I feel like I only showed half of what I’m good at. This fight I feel like I mixed it up and I feel like I relied on my skillset, like what I know what I can do in the gym, I really believe in it, that is what I was able to do.”
Munoz would like to close out 2021 with an additional fight if possible and build momentum for what he hopes will be a more active year in 2022.
“I want to get another fight in before year’s end,” Munoz said. “In November or December in would be pretty cool. I’ve just had one fight this year. I would have had more fights if fights hadn’t fell out, so I’d like to get one more before the year ends.
“Then next year I want to be more active. I’m hoping things get better with the Covid, things will be better next year. Things will be good this year if I can get one more in hopefully and then go from there.”
Johnny Munoz wants another fight this year after UFC 265 win