“The Young Punisher,” Pedro Munhoz, may not be as young as before, but he aims to prove that he can still dish out significant punishment. The Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, holding a record of (20-8, 2 NC), is set to return to the Octagon on March 9 at UFC 299. His opponent will be Kyler Phillips (11-2) in what is considered to be a noteworthy bantamweight matchup. This fight is the second one reported for this event, the location and venue for which are yet to be confirmed. The main event features a rematch between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera for the 135-pound championship. Phillips’ management team, Iridium Sports, announced the Munhoz-Phillips match.
In the past few years, Munhoz has been having a rough time, with only two wins since 2020 against Jimmie Rivera and Chris Gutierrez. He has suffered a series of losses against formidable bantamweight competitors including Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, and Marlon Vera over a three-year period. However, before this challenging phase, he boasted victories against the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font, and Bryan Caraway. He was a recognized member of the top 15 fighters in his weight class. Notably, all his losses were via decision, and he never lost by stoppage.
On the other hand, Phillips has had a dynamic UFC career during Munhoz’s slump. Known as “The Matrix,” he started his career in the UFC in February 2020 with a decision victory over Gabriel Silva. The Arizona-based fighter had four wins out of his next five fights, with a controversial majority decision loss to Raulian Paiva being his only setback. Despite appearing just once in the Octagon in 2022, and only once in 2023, Phillips emerged victorious on both instances against Marcelo Rojo and Raoni Barcelos, respectively.