Andre Muniz let loose with some big words ahead of his UFC 262 fight with Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, claiming to be a better grappler than the Brazilian jiu jitsu legend. Muniz backed up those words with actions, using an armbar to break Souza's arm in a shocking result at Toyota Center in Houston to close the prelim card.
Souza showed off some early ground and pound in the first round of the fight, seeming to deliver a response to the pre-fight talk from Muniz. Muniz was quick to respond with a pair of his own takedowns, putting Souza on the defensive.
After the second takedown, Muniz attempted to take Souza's back, but was too high on the back and Souza was able to shrug him over the top.
Unfortunately for Souza, his arm was stuck in a bad position and Muniz was able to transition to an armbar, torquing until an audible snap brought the fight to a sudden end. Replays confirmed that Souza's arm had snapped and he was taken to the back for medical attention immediately after the fight.
"I've been a fan of Jacare since I was a kid," Muniz said after the fight. "He's my idol. I hope he's good. ... I heard it snap. I let go, not only out of respect, I'm from jiu jitsu and I knew it could hurt even more if I didn't let it go."
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This is the second straight UFC pay-per-view event to feature a broken limb, with Chris Weidman suffering a horrific leg break during his UFC 261 fight with Uriah Hall. Weidman was among those expressing his sympathies for Souza after the injury occurred.
"It's unbelievable. When I accepted this fight, I think nobody really believed or bet I would win it this way," Muniz said. "I think I wouldn't even have bet on that, but I worked really hard. I've been away from my home, from my daughters for practically four months. I missed my daughters' birthdays, I left everything behind to focus on my training. I had to work on my jiu-jitsu twice as hard for this one because I knew I'd face one of the highest levels of jiu-jitsu in MMA and I had to be ready.
"I'm a huge fan of Jacare. I've followed his career for a long time so it hasn't really hit me yet that I beat him. It's unbelievable what I did today. I didn't want to break his arm, but unfortunately that was the situation, I knew he wouldn't tap. I'm really happy with this win. I hope I get a bonus! I just did something that nobody has done before. I submitted a legend. I think I deserve it."