Mark’s injury seemed so sudden, but the injuries to his elbow go as far back as his days in the WEC.  Mark was ready for some time off to take care of his elbow after the Leben fight, but as luck would have it, he would get a call from Joe Silva to fight against Chael Sonnen for “The Contenders Bout” on UFC on FOX.  The winner of this fight would get the opportunity to fight for the middleweight championship.  Mark had been training and fighting to get to this point.  The offer was difficult to refuse.  Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com has more…

Munoz (12-2) had already mentally prepared himself for surgery following his last fight, a TKO stoppage of Chris Leben at last November’s UFC 138. The victory was his fourth straight, and seventh in his last eight fights. But just as Munoz began to make plans to go on the shelf, Silva was diagnosed with an injury of his own, leaving Sonnen with no opponent for early 2012. When Munoz got the call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva for a chance to fight Sonnen for top contender status, he instantly decided to go for it.

That’s the same as it had been for Munoz for a while. He said the initial injury that began his elbow problems took place in his first WEC fight, way back in June 2008. But the fights and opportunities came so fast and furious, he could never find the appropriate time to address the issue.

“It’s been a problem a long time but I never got it fixed,” he said. “Over time, it kept hurting, but I’d fight through it, because I was sparring well and grappling well. But now the loose bodies there make it so I can’t even move my arm. It locks up every time.”

After the surgery where a doctor removed 24 bone spurs, Mark hopes to fight again as soon as late April or early May, saying he’s hoping to get on the “fast track” to coming back. As such, he said he’s already working on increasing his physical therapy frequency from three sessions a week to five.

*This blog post is a section of an article on Mark’s inury and surgery. To read the entire article go to Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com.

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