Mark Munoz Discusses Surgery, Recovery And Whether He's Still A Top Contender

Mark Munoz is currently recovering from the elbow surgery to remove bone fragments that kept him out of his fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC on Fox 2 this weekend. He appeared on Inside MMA, with his arm in a sling, to discuss the surgery and his return. Munoz said he had 24 total bone chips removed with the two largest each measuring nearly half an inch long. While obviously disappointed to be missing his fight, Munoz is trying to stay positive and hopes that he will be able to return to fighting even stronger than he was before because his elbow issue will now be resolved:

"I truly believe everything happens for a reason. It's a blessing in disguise. You know, what if this happened in a fight? We were just talking about that backstage. This is something that is a bump in the road but I'll be back for sure. I'll be back stronger."

Munoz says the doctors now feel he will make his return to fighting in June rather than in May, as was originally expected, based on what they saw during the surgery. Even though the layoff is longer now, Munoz is still looking forward to training with his improved right arm:

"I couldn't train on my right arm in two years. Hopefully now I can use my right arm more."

When asked if he still expected his next fight to be a #1 contender fight or if he'll drop down the ladder now that he's been out with an injury, Munoz answered:

"I really hope it doesn't drop me down. I've done all I can to get to where I'm at and, you know, I'm on a four fight winning streak and I feel like I've paid my dues and, unfortunately, this happened to me. I hope it doesn't drop me down."

Munoz did say that he would not like to fight for the middleweight title right away upon his return and that he'd like to get in another fight before that happened. But, he hopes they don't drop him down any further than that in the queue of contenders.

The video is below.