Andre Muniz

Early Life and Career

André Muniz was born on February 17, 1990, in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. As a teenager, Muniz was a very active child, which made his mother sign him up for Jiu-Jitsu classes to see if it could calm him down and make him more disciplined. This decision proved to be a life-changing one for Muniz, who fell in love with martial arts and started practicing Muay Thai as well.

At the age of 15, Muniz participated in his first competition, a white belt championship in Montes Claros. It was the start of a long and successful career in martial arts, which began in earnest at the age of 19 when he asked his teacher to schedule a fight for him in MMA.

After graduating from Faculdades Unidas do Norte de Minas with a bachelor's degree in physical education with honors, Muniz started his career traveling back and forth between his hometown and Rio de Janeiro. He trained with the likes of Thiago Santos and Luis Henrique at Tata Fight Team and earned extra money on the side as a personal trainer to make ends meet in between fights.

Muniz's early MMA career was a successful one, starting off with a decision win over former PRIDE star and WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho at the Bitetti Combat 19 event on February 6, 2014. He then went on to win 10 out of the next 11 bouts between 2014 and 2018, culminating in being offered a chance on Dana White's Contender Series.

Andre Muniz’s Career in Dana White’s Contender Series

After his impressive performances in regional MMA events, Muniz was invited to Dana White's Contender Series Brazil 2 in 2018. Although he won the fight against Bruno Assis by unanimous decision, he was not given a contract to compete in the UFC.

However, Muniz did not give up on his dream of making it to the UFC, and almost a year later, he returned to DWCS to face Taylor Johnson at Dana White's Contender Series 23. Muniz put on an impressive display, finishing Johnson in the first round with a rear-naked choke, earning him a UFC contract.

Andre Muniz’s Career in UFC

Muniz made his UFC debut on November 16, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré, where he defeated Antônio Arroyo via unanimous decision. He followed that up with a first-round submission victory over Bartosz Fabiński on September 5, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai.

In his third UFC fight, Muniz was scheduled to face Andrew Sanchez at UFC 257 on January 23, 2021, but withdrew from the bout due to undisclosed reasons. He returned to the octagon on May 15, 2021, at UFC 262, where he submitted Ronaldo Souza with a technical armbar in the first round.

Muniz continued his winning streak on December 11, 2021, at UFC 269, where he replaced an injured Dricus Du Plessis and submitted Eryk Anders with an armbar in the first round. He then defeated Uriah Hall via unanimous decision on July 2, 2022, at UFC 276.

Currently, Muniz is ranked #11 in the UFC middleweight rankings and is scheduled to face Brendan Allen on February 25, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 220.

Andre Muniz Record

Andre Muniz’s Most Popular Fights

Andre Muniz vs. Ronaldo Souza

At UFC 262, Andre Muniz faced Ronaldo Souza, a multiple-time Jiu-Jitsu World Champion. In the first round, Muniz broke Souza's arm with an armbar, becoming the first person to submit Souza in the process. This feat was widely recognized as the Submission of the Year by both the MMA media and the UFC.