Bantamweights Aoriqileng and Johnny Munoz Jr. faced off on the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 80.
With identical records in the UFC at 2-3, this fight could be an important turning point in the careers of both Aoriqileng and Johnny Munoz Jr. The winner would have a healthy .500 record in a stacked division while the loser would have twice as many losses as wins, putting them in danger of having to fight outside the UFC in the near future.
The fight started with a slow feeling out process. The first big moment came when Munoz landed a right hand that staggered Aoriqileng. Instead of swarming with punches he followed up with a takedown that he completed against the fence. Munoz was unable to hold Aori down, but controlled him with a body lock when he stood up. Johnny then dragged Aoriqileng back down from the rear body-lock before getting both hooks in to fully take the back. Munoz worked to attack the rear-naked choke as Aori fought the hands. Aori scrambled out of the position in the closing seconds of the round and dropped down one big right hand right at the bell.
Aori came out and landed a right hand that made Munoz uncomfortable, who dropped down for a bad takedown attempt. Aoriqileng pressured forward even harder then and a messy takedown got him on top in the full guard of Munoz. Johnny tried to create angles to get an armbar from the bottom but Aoriqileng got out of the first attempt. Munoz stayed with it though and he got another, better attempt, but Aori once again stayed heavy on top and escaped. Aori stood up then went right back in to drop a hammerfist before standing up again. The referee stood Munoz up after that but he ate a right hand from Aoriqileng that hurt him momentarily. The last minute of the round was mostly spent in the clinch with Aori on the outside.
The final round started with the bout likely tied 19-19. The start of the round saw Aori land a good right hand, after which Munoz failed a takedown attempt and got stuck in the clinch. Two minutes into the round Munoz hit the mat when Aoriqileng landed another good right hand, but he let him up. Munoz was falling over himself trying to get the fight to the mat. He failed his takedowns and halfway through the round Aori got on top in full guard. Munoz tried to invert on a leg lock and he successfully entangled their legs but the position stalled with him not near a submission. Aori found room to hammerfist the side of his head from the awkward position. Eventually they scrambled out and got stuck in the clinch. Munoz failed one last throw right at the bell.
When the judges read the scorecards it was Aoriqileng who got the nod from the judges by unanimous decision, with each judge scoring it 29-28, presumably giving Aori the final two rounds.
Official Result: Aoriqileng def. Johnny Munoz Jr. by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
