MANILA, Philippines – Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Muñoz, one of the rising stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was inducted into the California State Wrestling Hall of Fame Saturday in Sacramento (Sunday in Manila).

According to UFC.com, Muñoz said he was “humbled and honored” by the induction.

The Filipino-American Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter was joined by his family and friends at the banquet held at The Crowne Plaza along Date Avenue.

Muñoz, who has 8 wins and 1 loss, scored his most recent victory last month in UFC 112: Invincible at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He defeated Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove via technical knockout (TKO) at 2:50 of Round 2. His TKO triumph even earned him the Fight of the Night honor.

When he learned of his inclusion in the California State Wrestling Hall of Fame last year, Muñoz said on his website, “I feel very blessed and humbled to be honored in such a way. Thank you for all of you that have shown your love and support on the road of this achievement!!”

From coaching to fighting

Prior to competing in the UFC, the 32-year-old Fil-Am fighting out of Vallejo, California was a wrestling coach at the University of California-Davis.

He started training for fighting in 2007 and counts wrestling and Muay Thai as his strengths.

He was a 2001 NCAA Division I national champion wrestler and a two-time NCAA All-American, both for Oklahoma State.

The Oklahoma State graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science said his heroes are his parents, Randy Couture, John Smith, and Jesus Christ.

Aside from Muñoz, other inductees into the 2010 California State Wrestling Hall of Fame were Ron Baldwin, Dan Eckley, Rod Hedlund, Dennis Helms, Shon Lewis and Dave Rottenberg. 
            
The 2010 Lifetime Service Award, meantime, was given to Jerry Aikman, Dave Borges, Bob Brooks, Dave Canclini, Chuck Chandler, Dave Foster, Suzanne Hedlund, Jim Lofthus, Gary Rovig, Bert Van Duzer and Greg Zavala.