Under Armour Philippines Hosts Brandon "The Truth" Vera Meet and Greet Event for Filipino MMA Fans

As a big fan of mixed martial arts as well as sporting brand Under Armour, it was a no-brainer to attend the Brandon Vera Meet and Greet event at the UA brand house in Bonifacio Global City.

Fil-Am mixed martial arts competitor Brandon "The Truth" Vera recently paid a visit to the Under Armour brand house in Bonifacio Global City for a meet and greet activity with fans, and to promote his upcoming fight at ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions.

  

Scheduled on December 11th and to be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Spirit of Champions' main event is a five-round heavyweight bout between Vera (13-7) and Paul "Typhoon" Cheng (5-1) of Taipei, Taiwan. The winner will emerge as ONE's inaugural world heavyweight champion.

ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions Main Event

At the time of the meet and greet event at Under Armour, Vera was still slated to face "Chopper" Chi Lewis Parry (6-0), an undefeated U.K.-based mixed martial artist who ignited a war of words with The Truth over social media several months ago. It eventually led to the booking of a fight between the two, but due to the reported failure of Chopper to submit medical requirements, Cheng has been slated to replace him on a week's notice.

Hosting the meet and greet event was regarded sports host and commentator Anthony Suntay, who introduced The Truth to the crowd outside the UA Store. From there, Brandon addressed his fans, sharing how he sees his supporters in the Philippines as family, and is intent on putting on a show for all of them and hopefully win the title on December 11th.

After providing a little more detail regarding his upcoming bout, Brandon gamely signed ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions posters for fans in attendance, and true to his statement regarding family, taking photos with fans as if he was one of their own.

  

  

Brandon Vera is one of two Filipino mixed martial artists currently servings as UA brand ambassadors. The other is Mark "Mugen" Striegl, who happens to also be competing in the co-main event of the December 11 fight card. 

   

Local personalities representing the brand include Gretchen Ho, and the previously mentioned Anthony Suntay.

Notable Under Armour ambassadors also include current NBA MVP Stephen Curry, movie star and former World Wresting Entertainment (WWE) Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre.

To learn more about Under Armour,visit www.underarmour.com.ph.

For more on the upcoming ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions card, visit www.onefc.com. Tickets can be purchased at SMTickets.com.

ONE Championship Announces Events for the Remainder of 2015. Will the Manila Card Be Where Eric Kelly Fights Again?

 ©ONE Championship

Two day prior to their Kingdom of Warriors card held in Yangon, Myanmar last July 18, mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship announced the dates of six upcoming events which will fill out the remainder of 2015. Shows have been booked to take place in Shanghai, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, and the promotion’s base of Singapore.

Pinoy fight fans can look forward to ONE closing out the year as they always do on December 11^th, where the promotion will once again hold a card in Manila.

While the Singapore-based promotion is known to prominently feature homegrown fighters of the country they are currently holding an even in, the recently announced schedule now begs the question, is this where we see the return of Pinoy fighter Eric “The Natural” Kelly?

Eric Kelly declared the victor versus Rob Lisita at "War of Dragons."
 ©ONE Championship.

Kelly was last seen gracing the ONE cage July of last year, at ONE's "War of Dragoons" event, where he took on “Rutless” Rob Lisita and earned an impressive come-from-behind victory against the elite Australian mixed martial artist. In the fight, Kelly submitted Lisita after a brutal war, where he effectively earned a performance bonus, and what was then a guaranteed title shot for the ONE Featherweight title.

Unfortunately, the injured nose Kelly sustained in the fight against Lisita prevented him from being medically cleared to challenge then-champion Koji Oishi later that August. By the time he was ready to contend, a new champion had emerged in Jadamba Narantungalag, who originally replaced the injured Kelly as contender months before.

Slated to be the title bout for the December 2014 “Warriors Way” card of ONE in Manila, Kelly's shot did not push through due to a failure in contract negotiations. Reports have indicated that Kelly was unsatisfied with the low fight purse offered, which was reported to be significantly lower than that of other top fighters.

Due to the impasse, Kelly had remained inactive in MMA, and it was then thought that his contract with ONE had expired in March. However, it seems it was merely put on hold, and numerous news outlets have reported in this past week that the fighter is eager to finish the said contract.

It has yet to be determined if it will be finished via a buyout or termination, or if Kelly will compete in whichever number of fights remain. Most fight fans in the Philippines would unquestionably want to see Kelly compete again, especially if it were in the December 2015 card of ONE Championship.

For now however, we wait, and hope that “The Natural” finds himself in the best situation possible, both from a financial and competitive standpoint.

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.

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.

URCC Set to Make Big Time Return This October

Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), the Philippines' first and longest running professional mixed martial arts promotion, is set to make its long anticipated return with a huge card scheduled for October 23rd. URCC: Takeover, the promotion's 25th event, will take place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena and will feature some of the best and brightest in the local and international MMA scene.

URCC: Takeover. October 23rd at the SM-MOA Arena.

The upcoming card will be the big event debut of URCC's new cage. Since its inception, the promotion had opted to utilize a ring similar to that of boxing during their contests. With most international MMA promotions using cages however, the URCC finally decided to have a cage designed for use during their own bouts. This was decided not to merely keep up with the trend however, as the URCC is known to willingly let their world-class fighters compete internationally, and having a cage is aimed to make it easier for them to acclimate when crossing over.

The URCC cage is also intended for the promotion's goals of strengthening its own international presence, and was unveiled last July during a relaunch party at Republiq at the Newport Mall in Pasay City. Giving fans a preview of URCC bouts inside the cage, three fights were held during the said event.

For October's card, the new cage will be the battleground for what is currently listed as 10 bouts, headlined by a contest between Deftac Philippines' Red Romero (7-5) and Malaysia's Jian Kay Chee (4-5), who trains out of T-Rex / Cross Muay Thai. The main event will be for the URCC Featherweight Title, which Romero looks to defend for the first time.

Other names expected to see competition on the card include local favorites Alvin Ramirez, Angelito Marungay, and Calor Baduria,and many others. With the aforementioned Pinoy fighters known to always make contests exiting, it is no surprise they are some of the many who have played a hand in the URCC's longevity.

For more information on URCC's upcoming big event and to know where to purchase tickets, make sure to visit their site, URCC-MMA.com, and liking their official Facebook page, Facebook.com/URCCMMA.ph.

Pinoy Fighters Kelly and Donayre Looking to Roar Back in ONE FC's Next Malaysia Event

ONE Fighting Championship, recognized as Asia's largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization, is living up to it's billing by once again holding a large fight card in the region. On October 17, the organization returns to Kuala Lumpur's Stadium Putra for ONE FC: Roar of Lions.

The event will be headlined by a featherweight bout between undefeated Marat Gafurov and hard-hitting "Ruthless" Rob Lisita. In the co-main event, Pinoy fighter Edward Kelly squares off against Malaysia's own Ev Ting.

ONE FC: Roar of Tigers

The younger brother of Featherweight contender Eric Kelly, Edward (5-1) made his ONE FC debut last December in an unfortunate loss to Brazilian Herbert Burns. While that bout resulted in the sole defeat of his career, the fighter training out of MuayFit Puchong in Malaysia and Lakay Central Gym in Baguio City, Philippines is approaching his upcoming bout with a great sense of urgency as he'll have his hands full with Ev Ting.

Edward Kelly vs. Ev Ting

The likely home crowd favorite, Ting sports a current record of 7-2, and is riding a wave of momentum. He won his last bout in devastating fashion, earning a TKO victory over Yuji Shimada in the first round of their ONE FC: Era of Champions bout last June.

Vaughn Donayre vs. Peter Davis

Also on the ONE FC: Roar of Lions card, Pinoy fighter Vaughn "The Spawn" Donayre will be looking for a quick turnaround by squaring off against Malaysian MMA star Peter Davis. A Cebu-native currently based in Dubai, Donayre made his debut for the promotion just last August, suffering a submission lose to Mohammed Walid. The former mechanical engineer aims for his first win in ONE FC by taking on Peter Davis.

Sporting a pro record of 8-3, Davis has won his last two bouts. His latest came by way of TKO over Olivier Coste at ONE FC: War of Nations last March. Considered the face of MMA in Malaysia, the Wuji Chuan exponent and part-time actor and model will look to extend his momentum and expand his celebrity by earning a win against "The Spawn." Donayre on the other hand, will look to be true to his reputation by putting up exciting fights and always looking for the finish, and will likely be looking to put away Davis the instant he has the opportunity.

Catch ONE FC: Roar of Tigers live on October 17 at  Kuala Lumpur's Stadium Putra. The  event is also available for purchase and live viewing at www.ONEFC.com.