Count Filipino-American Mark Muñoz in the growing list of people who blames Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the scrapping of his much-hyped bout with Manny Pacquiao, a fight that was likely to go down as the richest in boxing history.

The 31-year-old Muñoz, one of the few Filipinos making waves in the mixed martial arts scene, was disappointed when he first heard of the cancellation of the fight initially set on March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was called off the other day.

“I think Mayweather is just making excuses. I think he’s scared,” Muñoz, a former US All-America wrestler, said in a teleconference at the ABS-CBN compound on Saturday.

Known inside the octagon as “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” Muñoz has made a lot of heads turn when he stopped Ryan Jensen in the first round of Ultimate Fighting Challenge (UFC)108 Evans vs. Silva at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas last week.

Muñoz’s victory was so impressive that he forced Jensen into submission with a ground attack 2:30 into the opening round.

“I think Mayweather is finding a way to cancel it right now,” the 6-foot Muñoz said. “I don’t like how the fight is being carried out right now.”

Muñoz, who loves Filipino dishes like “kare-kare” and “dinuguan,” was not shy to admit he’s a big fan of Pacquiao.

In fact, he defended the boxing star in his decision not to give into the demand of the Mayweather camp that an Olympic-style of (random) drug testing be included in the fight contract.

“I don’t agree with that because there is already a kind of testing that went on for years in boxing, so why order something new?”

A father of three, Muñoz had met Pacquiao when he tried to improve on his standing skills under the watchful eyes of Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s mentor, in Los Angeles a few years ago.

He said Pacquiao’s personality was likeable and that he wants to imitate him.

“He’s very compassionate to people and very passionate at what he does. I definitely want to be the Manny Pacquiao of MMA,” said Muñoz, who also speaks Tagalog and was born to Filipino parents in Japan.

Just like Pacquiao, getting to the top of his sport is not impossible for Muñoz, who is taking up a master degree in Sports Psychology.

Muñoz’s recent victory actually made it two in a row for him since he went down from light heavyweight to middleweight class.

Muñoz won his first UFC bout with a split decision over Nick Catone in UFC102 Couture vs Nogeuira last Aug. 29 before this rousing victory over Jensen, who fell to his fifth defeat against 15 wins.

Muñoz’s close buddy light heavyweight contender Brandon “The Truth” Vera and nurse-turned-fighter Philipp Nover are among the few Filipinos competing in the most popular mixed martial arts league in the world.

Muñoz, who plans to go to the Philippines anytime soon, however, won’t be fighting in six months due to an injured right hand he suffered during his recent bout.

“To all my Filipino fans, maraming maraming salamat po. I appreciate the support. I will prepare for big fights next year for all of you,” he said.