Andre Muniz Volunteers to Replace Sean Strickland Against Jared Cannonier on Oct. 15

Estou pronto para dia 15 de outubro, @ufc mande o contrato MUNIZ x CANNONIER . I’m ready! Send me the contract 🙋‍♂️🖊📝 @danawhite @Mickmaynard2 🔥🔥🔥🔥👊🏻

— Andre Muniz (@andremunizufc) August 31, 2022

Top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Andre Muniz is looking for a fight.

On Wednesday, Sean Strickland withdrew his headlining match against Jared Cannonier (15-6) on UFC Fight Night 212 due to a finger infection. As a result, Cannonier was left without an opponent and he was reportedly pulled from the card altogether. If ranked middleweight Muniz (23-4) has anything to say about it, the Oct. 15 main event should be back on with him in the marquee position.

The Brazilian took to social media to campaign for the vacant spot not long after the news broke. He then spoke to Sherdog, where he gave his thoughts about Cannonier as a prospective opponent and where it would place him in the title picture.

“I’m ready, I’m training, I’m 97kg [213.8 pounds],” Muniz said excitedly, “so if the UFC just sends the contract [I would accept]. I believe that [beating the no. 2 middleweight] would [place me] among the top five, and I would be on the doorstep of the belt.”

Muniz got his start on the major stage from the Brazilian season of Dana White's Contender Series in 2018. There, he faced Bruno Assis, and claimed a decision win over his countryman nicknamed “Brunao.” It was not enough to earn him a spot on the roster, so he appeared again almost exactly one year later on the third season of DWCS, and he tapped Taylor Johnson in 106 seconds to get signed by the Las Vegas-based league.

Since then, Muniz has looked nothing short of spectacular. His promotional debut against Antonio Arroyo went his way on the scorecards, and “Sergipano” then rattled off three straight armbars over Bartosz Fabinski, Ronaldo Souza and Eryk Anders – of note, the technical submission of Souza marked the first time that “Jacare” had ever been submitted as a pro. A 2022 outing against Uriah Hall resulted in a unanimous nod in his favor to place him among the top-ranked competitors at 185 pounds. This is not enough for the 32-year-old out of Montes Claros, Brazil, as he holds a lofty goal.

“I want to be the first champion coming from the Contender Series,” the athlete from Tata Fight Team said confidently. Thus far, no competitor from DWCS has claimed a UFC title, with flyweight Alex Perez the first to get a crack at a belt, only to come up short to Deiveson Figueiredo.