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.

Despite Defeat, Pinoy Fighter Mark Eddiva Makes Entire Country Proud with UFC Fight of the Night Honors

UFC Fight Night: Maldonado vs. Miocic

On May 31, 2014 (June 1 Manila time), the Ultimate Fighting Championship held two events that provided 22 total mixed martial arts bouts for fans all over the world. As the first event, UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi drew to a close in Berlin, Germany, UFC Fight Night: Maldonado vs. Miocic began. The  latter event, which also served as the finale of the third installment of the Brazil edition of The Ultimate Fighter series, was held in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

 

Souza vs. Ediva fight metrics.

In the event's preliminary card, Pinoy fighter Mark Eddiva squared off against the host country's own Edimilson "Kevin" Souza. The bout began with the two fighters making a flurry of exchanges, with the Brazilian landing the more solid shots. The second round opened up a little differently, as Eddiva began hitting leg kicks to the suddenly tentative Souza. The Team Lakay standout hit "Kevin" with a handful of kicks to the legs and liver area, and at one point caught the Brazilian's own attempt at a kick and countered with a straight right hand.

As the second round was winding down however, Eddiva got caught with a straight right to the cheek. This was immediately followed by an overhand right from Souza, which caught Eddiva on the back of the head as he turned away during the action. He wound up caught against the cage and taking shots from the Brazilian striker, but still refused to go down. A final shot to the body eventually caused Eddiva to temporarily drop his guard, which unfortunately the referee felt was enough to call for the end of the fight.

Despite the loss, the Pinoy fighter's impressive showing in the hard fought battle earned him and his opponent Fight of the Night honors, which is given to the most exciting fight on the card. While the defeat will still be part of Eddiva's record, his performance earned him a signifcant bonus from the UFC, and likely opens up the door for a future fight in the promotion because chances are it will once again be battle that is very exciting to watch.

UFC Weekend: An Important Time for Philippine Mixed Martial Arts

On June 1^st Manila time, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to stage two separate fight cards on the same day. One will be the promotion’s first ever event in Berlin, Germany, and the other is the 42^nd edition of the promotion's Fight Night series being hosted in Sao Paolo, Brazil.



“The Filipino Wrecking Machine” in Berlin

Photo courtesy of Mark Munoz's official Facebook page. Property of the UFC.

The Germany card will be headlined by a 5-round affair between Mark Munoz (13-4) and Gegard Mousasi (34-43-2). Just a win away from title contention two years ago, “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” looks to get himself back in the mix with a victory over the former Strikeforce middleweight champion.
Going 1-2 in his last three bouts, it is crucial for Munoz to obtain a win over “the Armenian Assassin”, not only to shore up his record, but more importantly to further stake his claim as a title contender. While Munoz may have not sustained as much damage in MMA as he started at the peak age of 29, he's now 36 years old, and time is always of the essence when it comes to title opportunities in any sport.
When the cage door closes for the main event in Berlin, “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” gets a chance to make his kababayans proud by displaying his skill and work ethic, and earning a signature win over a decorated opponent.



Eddiva Fights Once Again in Opponent Territory

Photo courtesy of the Team Lakay official Facebook page. Property of the UFC.

The stakes will be high in Brazil, as Mark Eddiva (6-0) out of Team Lakay takes on the host country’s own Kevin Souza (14-3). Apart from putting his own undefeated streak on the line, Eddiva’s bout against the feared Brazilian striker (13 of 14 wins via KO) will possibly be what sets the stage for having more Filipino mixed martial artists competing in the biggest MMA promotion of all.
As recently as just over a year ago, Filipinos were greatly anticipating when a home-grown fighter would compete in the UFC. Eventually, Eddiva’s Team Lakay teammate, Dave “The Scarecrow” Galera, would be the first to grace the octagon. A few months later, Eddiva would become the second, making his promotional debut by defeating heavily favored Chinese fighter Jumabieke Teurxun at UFC Fight Night 28 in Macau .
With a Pinoy fighter competing in the big show now a reality, it is presently up to Eddiva to continue pushing the bar for homegrown Filipinos in the UFC. Come June 1^st, he has the opportunity to show even more of what Filipino mixed martial artists are capable of by earning what would once again be considered an upset win in opponent territory.



Catch UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi on June 1st (MNL) at 3:30am and 6:00pm, and
UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Maldonado also on June 1st at 10:30am, both aired locally on Balls Channel.