The world of mixed martial arts has gotten several high-level fighters from Brazil. Alex Pereira, Anderson Silva, and Jose Aldo are just a few to name. But now, there is one more name that’s on the rise. And that name belongs to Andre ‘Sergipano’ Muniz. The middleweight fighter has been making waves with his performance in the UFC. But there are still a few things that MMA fans have wondered about ‘Sergipano’.

Today, let’s take a deep dive and find out all about the UFC middleweight contender’s origin story. And Brazil has already given us multiple legends. 

Exploring the Brazilian origin of Andre Muniz

Muniz was born in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais on February 17, 1990. Like many teenagers, the Brazilian was pretty active. And this was the beginning of his journey in the realm of martial arts. Due to his active nature, his mother signed him up for Jiu-Jitsu classes. She hoped that  BJJ could get him calmer and more disciplined. And that was the right decision! 

Muniz found his love for martial arts and began decided to delve deeper into it. He went on to sign himself up in Muay Thai and began learning the new martial art style. Needless to say, he was head over heels for the Thai fighting techniques. It didn’t take him long to trace his steps into the competitive mats. He was still a white belt when he fought his first competition. Well, he was just 15 years old by then. But when he hit the age of 19, he got introduced to MMA and got his trainer to get him a fight at Minas Gerais Regional in 2009. It ended up with a win for ‘Sergipano’. That was when he decided to make a career in sanctioned fighting and worked as a security guard at nightclubs before finally becoming a professional mixed martial artist. 

Soon after that, the Brazilian mixed martial artist began dreaming of competing under the banner of the UFC. Talking to the UFC, ‘Sergipano’ said, “Fighting in the UFC means that everything I went through and worked on in my life made sense. It will be wonderful to get inside that Octagon.” Well, he did get a chance to show his fighting skills inside the Octagon and impress the fight fans. 

So, how has the Brazilian middleweight contender fared at the Ultimate Fighting Championship? Is he close to the title picture? Well, let’s see what the BJJ black belt and Biletti Combat title holder have achieved in the Octagon.

Early life and career of UFC star

Muniz’s fighting career began with a lot of traveling between Rio de Janeiro and Montes Claros to train with fighters like Thiago Santos and Luis Henrique at the Tata Fight Team. He even got some additional income by working as a personal trainer. He began with WOCS, then travelled to Biletti Combat and then X-Fight MMA, before finally claiming a win at Dana White’s Contender Series 2018. Muniz won his DWCS fight only to find his way to DWC 2019 and win with a first-round submission win. 

Impressed with the Brazilian’s skills, the UFC head honcho gave him a contract and let him fight Antonio Arroyo in his debut. Muniz tore through the fight with a win and went on a 9-fight win streak before facing Brendan Allen in 2023. That was the first time Muniz faced a loss in the Octagon. And that came via a rear naked choke in the third round. He went on to fight Paul Craig after 4 months and was defeated yet again. 4 more months later, Muniz faced Jun Yong Park and came out of the 2-fight losing streak with a split decision win. 

Now, the fighter with 24 wins and 6 defeats was set to land against Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Fight Night 250. However, fate seemed to have different plans, as he faced issues with his visa and was forced to pull out of the match. This was the second time Muniz vs. Aliskerov was canceled. But we can certainly hope to witness the showdown between the two in the next UFC event. And soon, he can enter the top 15 rankings and maybe get a shot at the title. Till then, we need to wait and watch how his story progresses. 

What do you think of Muniz’s MMA journey? Do you think he can get to the title picture in the coming couple of years? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.