It's Official: "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Will Compete in UFC Fight Night Manila

© UFC

At the official on-sale event for UFC Fight Night Manila, it was announced that "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Mark Munoz (13-6) will compete at the May 16 event against "The Big Slow" Luke Barnatt (8-2). Munoz was last seen in the Octagon at UFC 184, where he unfortunately dropped a submission loss to UFC-returnee Roan Carneiro.

That would serve as the third straight defeat for Munoz, as he was also previously defeated by Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi. For many pundits it seemed like this would be it for the former Oklahoma State University wrestling standout.

The Filipino Wrecking Machine... doing some... well... wrecking. ©UFC

However. there is "Filipino" in "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" for a reason, and Mark would not go out until getting to fight for his fans and relatives in his homeland. With that said, we can all expect Mark Munoz to rely on his amateur wrestling work ethic and Filipino tenacity to pull out all the stops in getting this next win.

A win, apparently, that will be his last. It was also reported during the event that this will be Mark Munoz's final fight in the Octagon.

The warrior that he is, what could be his final win will not be easy to get. His opponent, Luke Barnatt, has also lost his last two, and a fight scheduled for April 4th with fellow The Ultimate Fighter alum Clint Hester was cancelled due to Hester suffering a foot injury.

Luke Barnatt. ©UFC

Standing at 6-feet-6-inches, Barnatt was introduced to taekwondo at age 15, but mostly competed in wrestling before training mixed martial arts. Prior to his recent two losses, Barnatt won eight straight, and on the heels of a fight cancellation, can be expected to wanting to play spoiler in Munoz's homeland retirement fight.

At the UFC Manila On-Sale Event / © Karl Vernon

***As a person who's had the honor and pleasuer of meeting Mark Munoz on three separate occasions, I wish nothing but the best for Mark in May and beyond. He's one off the most affable guys one can meet, always gracious to his fans despite how insanely popular he is. So thanks Mark, and I'll undoubtedly be rooting for you in everything you do.

UFC Fight Night Manila is scheduled for May 16 and will happen at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The main event is a five-round featherweight bout between Frankie "The Answer" Edgar and "The California Kid" Urijah Faber.

Happy International Women's Month: Pinay MMA to Feature Prominenty This March

Hot on the heels of Filipina-American mixed martial artist Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton making a successful return to boxing with a dominant performance over Yolanda Segura, a victory of which possibly sets her up for a future bout with IBF super bantamweight women's champion Yulihan Alejandra Luna Ávila, Filipina competitors look to further their success during this year's International Women's Month.

April Osenio Makes Professional MMA Debut

© ONE Championship

First up is the professional mixed martial arts debut of April Osenio at ONE Championship: Age of Champions. Osenio, an accomplished Wushu and grappling champion, will face Kirstie Gannaway in a three-round atomweight bout. While Osenio has yet to gain experience in the professional ranks, and Gannaway has only one pro-fight and victory under her belt, the bout proves interesting for a number of reasons.

First are the training teams the two fight out of. Osenio has been training for years under Team Lakay, considered by many to be the best MMA team in the Philippines. Notable team members include the long-time face of Philippine MMA Eduard "The Landslide" Folayang, first ever ONE Championship Featherweight Champion Honorio "The Rock" Banario, and rising Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Mark Eddiva.

Gannaway on the other hand, trains at Evolve MMA. Based in Singapore, it is one of Asia's most recognized gyms, and has been the sight of training camps for MMA luminaries like DREAM and ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki, ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, and former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. Evolve is also the current home Filipino-American fighter and new ONE Championship bantamweight Mark "Mugen" Striegl.

The other intriguing aspect is how Osenio came in as a replacement for Jujeath "Bad Girl" Nagaowa. The latter was Gannaway's original opponent but had to bow out due to injury. With Nagaowa an accomplished boxer turned MMA-pro, it will be interesting how Gannaway adjusted preparing for Nagaowa to Osenio. It will be similarly intriguing how much Osenio has learned from her highly touted coaches and teammates.

For more on April Osenio's pro debut and how to watch, visit ONEFC.com.


The Veloxity Movement Hosts Veloxity FC 1: Stigma

© Veloxity Movement

The Veloxity Movement, or VMove, a women empowerment organization using sports as a catalyst for social change, hosts its first MMA-centered event with Veloxity FC 1: Stigma.

Happening on March 15th at the Fishermall Activity Center in Quezon City, Stigma is an all-female MMA event. It will have participants from many of the Philippines top training facilities, including Team Lakay, Hybrid Yaw-Yan, Team Goatlocker, and Submission Sports Philippines, just to name a few.

The day before the all-female MMA event will be the Velocity Fit Fest. Also held at the Fishermall Activity Center, it will feature a self-defense demonstration and the official weigh-ins for the competitors in Stigma.

© Veloxity Movement

Veloxity Movement describes itself as an organization whose "core advocacy is to encourage active community participation and engagement towards ending violence against women and girls while creating positive changes to existing harmful athletic gender stereotypes and fostering safe athletic environments." They look to take the first steps towards that advocacy in Veloxity FC 1: Stigma, their first of what hopes to be many successful events.

To learn more about the Veloxity Movement, visit VeloxityWoman.com.

UFC Fight Night Manila: "Thrilla" Card Takes Shape

Since the announcement of the first ever UFC event in Manila, there had been plenty of speculation of which fights would round out the card headlined by Frankie "The Answer" Edgar taking on "The California Kid" Urijah Faber.

Which other UFC stars will grace the Octagon for this historic event? How many of our own fighters will get to showcase the finest in Filipino mixed martial arts?

The past week or so had been interesting, and provided a bevy of answers:

Team Lakay's Mark Eddiva to Compete at Home

© UFC / Getty Images

Mark Eddiva (6-1-0), one of the Philippine's most notable fighters competing out of Team Lakay, was announced as competitor in the event. He takes on Alex "The Spartan" White (10-2-0), a competitor fighting professionally since 2009. While White won his Octagon debut by KO in April of last year, his last two outings had him on the losing end. It can be expected that he would want to play Eddiva's spoiler this May so he can get back on track.

Eddiva on the hand, similarly won his promotional debut, earning the decision against Jumabieke Texerun at a UFC: Fight Night card almost a year ago. He earned "Fight of the Night" honors in his second bout last May, despite suffering a KO/TKO to Kevin Souza. With the home crowd behind him, Eddiva will surely be looking to put on a show and earn another Fight of the Night honor, but this time coupled with a W.


Fil-Am Phillipe Nover Makes His Return to the Octagon

© Phillipe Nover Facebook Fan Page

Former The Ultimate Fighter finalist Phillipe Nover (10-5-1) will be getting a second chance in the Octagon, with the timing perfect for UFC: Fight Night Manila. Last competing in the promotion in 2010, "Super" tore through the competition on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, He unfortunately dropped his final three bouts in the UFC, but has since won 5 out of 7 bouts and rightfully earned another shot in the big dance.

The now-featherweight takes on "The Korean Bulldozer," Yui Chul Nam (18-4-1), an exciting fighter who has won his last five bouts. Yui's most recent victory against Kazuki Tokudome last March was his promotional debut and was deemed Fight of the Night.


Lim Hyun-Gyu vs Neil Magny

©UFC

South Korean Lim Hyun-Gyu (13-4-1), a face familiar to Pinoy fight fans thanks to his time as a former Pacific Xtreme Combat champion, will face surging Neil Magny (14-3) in a welterweight bout.

Lim has won 3 out of his last 4 bouts, with the sole UFC loss to former Strikeforce Champion Tarec Saffiedine. Despite defeat, Lim put forth a memorable performance and the two men earned Fight of the Night at the Singapore Card.

Magny on the other hand, has been earning accolades of his own. He has won his last 6 bouts, 5 of which occured in 2014. He tied Roger "The Matador" Huerta for most UFC wins within a calendar year. His most recent win just was just last February, when he submitted Kiichi Kunimoto via rear-naked choke and earned Performance of the Night.


Mousasi vs. Philippou

©UFC

In what is most like the co-main event of the Manila card, Dutch kickboxer Gregard "The Dream Catcher" Mousasi will take on #12 ranked middleweight Constantinos "Costas" Philippou.

A former DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion and Middleweight Champion, and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Mousasi (36-5-2) last took the cage in January, toppling former Pride and Stikeforce Champion Dan Henderson in the first round and earning the TKO win.

Philippou (13-4-0) had been less active, last competing in May 2014, where he defeated Lorenz Larkin via KO.

©UFC

UFC Fight Night Manila will be headlined by a five-round featherweight bout between Frankie "The Answer" Edgar and "The California Kid" Urijah Faber, and is scheduled for May 15th and will be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

For more information, visit UFC.com and SMTickets.com.