Columbus Junction's Nunez remains unbeaten

When the judges in Memorial Auditorium declared Pedro Nunez the winner by unanimous decision, the middleweight fighter upped his amateur mixed martial arts record to a perfect 4-0.

Nunez, from Columbus Junction, trains under Lowell?s Gabe Lemley at Mt. Pleasant?s American Bulldog Gym, and fought in the Extreme Challenge 223 MMA event in Burlington on Saturday night.

?To be undefeated feels pretty good, but I know I have a target on my back,? Nunez said.

The next person gunning for him is Tony VanZant (1-1), who will be Nunez?s opponent in the Extreme Challenge middleweight title fight in Quincy, Ill., on Feb. 16.

But if Nunez can stretch his spotless record for one more fight, he will be able to claim the belt.

He got his fourth straight win on Saturday night against Jeremiah Nelson (7-7) of Washington. The scores were close, but Nunez was confident the whole time.

?I knew after the first and second rounds, from all the takedowns I had, that I would score pretty high,? he said.

Nunez has fought in three other Extreme Challenge events. He won his first fight on March 30, 2012, also by unanimous decision. He won by decision on July 7 and then got a technical knockout in the first round of his fight on Aug. 11.