Although friends with both, UFC's Munoz closely watching Silva vs. Sonnen

Although doctors denied his request, Mark Munoz wanted to carry around the bone fragments removed from his elbow like chips in a casino. There were 24 in all.

That's where MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) found him and got an update on his return following an injury and subsequent surgery that scratched him from the recent UFC on FOX 2 card.

Munoz's doctor says he'll be able to return to the cage in late June or July, but he's planning on coming back before that.

"I told him I'm like the Wolverine," Munoz (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) said during an MMAjunkie.com Radio appearance this past week. "I'm going to come back sooner."

The UFC middleweight has dealt with the injury for two years, but in training for a fight with onetime title challenger (and current top contender) Chael Sonnen, it became more severe a week prior to the fight.

"It got to the point where with the onset of my injury, it dislodged from my bone and went into my joint space, and no matter if they pumped it up with cortisone, it was locking on me," Munoz said. "It was intense pain."

After a cortisone shot, Munoz got the bad news from a doctor in Los Angeles. Wanting to stay in the fight, he requested his elbow be treated with lidocaine, a numbing agent.

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