My UFC Manila Experience

The UFC finally made it's way to Manila. Let's get it on!

The world's most popular mixed martial arts promotion had finally made it's way to the country and not only did it deliver but it provided Filipino fight fans with an experience of a lifetime.

From pillar to post, the UFC and its various sponsors provided many opportunities to meet and greet the fighters and UFC ambassadors that they flew in to promote the event.

It was such a great experience getting to watch our own local and fil-am fighters lock horns with international fighters, but most of all the win by the retiring "Filipino Wrecking Machine" Mark Munoz really brought the house down. Oh, and just watching Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar fight had me breathing hard.

Kudos to all the fighters and you gave us all great fights.

Here's a run down of my UFC experience from fight week to the fights themselves.

Meet and Greet with Bryan Caraway and Miesha Tate at Solaire Resort and Casino

Meet and Greet with UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson and
UFC Manila ring girl Red Dela Cruz at Watch Republic 

Attended the weigh-ins

With my wife and bro at the weigh-ins

Mighty Mouse and Miesha Tate doing a Q&A before the weigh-ins

Fight Night "Let's Get It On!"

Thank you Solaire Resort and Casino and Watch Republic for the opportunity to meet and greet the fighters and for bringing us a great UFC experience.

Great job and thank you UFC for coming to Manila!

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.

#UFCManila: What We Know So Far

Last January 29, sports and online media was set abuzz with the announcement that an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) card was to be held in the Philippines. While the fights for the card was not announced along with the event, the excitement in the county was immediately palpable as fans began to speculate who the featured fighters would be.

Would the "Filipino Wrecking Machine" Mark Munoz be competing on the card despite being booked in a February 28th fight with Roan Carneiro? How many Pinoy fighters will be featured on the card? Who is the broadcast team that will call the action? Will Bruce Buffer be the announcer?

Fast forward 2 weeks, and we have some really exciting answers.


The Answer vs The California Kid

For the main, event,  Frankie "The Answer" Edgar (18-4-1) takes on the "The California Kid" Urijah Faber (32-7-0). Edgar, the former UFC Lightweight Champion, last fought in Novemeber, when he put away Cub Swanson in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs.Swanson. Winning via neck crank at 4:58 of the fifth round, Edgar's victory earned the record of latest submission in a UFC fight, and on top of the victory got him a performance bonus for the night.

Faber on the other hand, was last seen gracing the Octagon last December, earning a submission victory over Francisco "Cisco" Rivera. The victory put "The California Kid" in a tie with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for most total submission finishes for a fighter in the combined history of the UFC, Strikeforce, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), and Pride Fighting Championship (Pride FC).

With Edgar currently a featherweight contender, and Faber having been the long time Featherweight Champion of the WEC, the Fight Night Manila main event has the makings of a mixed-martial arts Featherweight version of "The Thrilla in Manila".



The Usual Suspects


It wouldn't be an MMA event in the Philippines without Pinoy fighters on the card. Not surprisingly, the first to make it to the May fight card is a fighter from Team Lakay, arguably the best fight camp the country. Team Lakay's Roldan Sangcha-an (4-1-0) is scheduled to face Guam-based Jon "The Heat" Delos Reyes (7-4-0), whose also happens to be Filipino. Delos Reyes was last seen in the Octagon last September, falling to Kyoji Horiguchi via TKO.

Sangcha-an on the other hand, made his UFC debut last June, dropping a decision to Richie Vaculik at UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt. With both fighters looking to turn their fortunes around, Manila looks to be the perfect venue for one to finally get a UFC win. Fans can expect a total war to be waged between the Mountain Province-based local hero and the Guam-raised Filipino as they scrap for that highly coveted W.

UFC: Fight Night Manila will also be the return of Jon "Super Saiyan" Tuck (8-2-0) to the Philippine fight scene. He was last seen in the country competing at Pacific Xtreme Combat 28 in 2011, knocking out Tristan Arenal in the first round. Tuck's success has been a little inconsistent in the big dance however, as he's alternated wins and losses in his four UFC fights. With the return to familiar stomping grounds, Tuck will look to get back on the win column.

It wont be easy however, as he is slated to face Tae Hyun Bang. While not having fought in six months, Bang (17-8-0), is coming off an impressive knock out of Kajan Johnson at UFC 174. With the long lay-off, it can be expected that he will be raring to repeat his previous success.


The complete list of fights for UFC Fight Night Manila (so far):

Frankie Edgar vs Urijah Faber (5 Round featherweight bout)

Bang Tae-Hyun vs Jon Tuck (lightweight bout)

Roldan Sangcha-an vs Jon Delos Reyes (flyweight bout)

Zhang LiPeng vs Kajan Johnson (lightweight bout)

Nolan Ticman vs Yao ZhiKui (flyweight bout)

Roger Zapata vs Li JingJiang (welterweight bout)


For the moment, Mark Munoz is not slated on to be the card, but he did mention in an interview that after he's through with his February 28th bout in Los Angeles, he'd like a ticket to the dance in Manila.

While it will be a little longer before it's known if "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" will or will not be part of what is already a great card for UFC Manila in May, fans can be happy with the reports that part-Filipina ring girl Arianny Celeste may also be working the event.

UFC Fight Night Manila is scheduled for May 16, 2015 and will take place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. For tickets, visit SMTickets.com. For updates on the event, visit UFC.com and BallsChannel.tv.

All photos property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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.

Mark Muñoz Recovery Ahead of Schedule and Back to Full Training

Mark Muñoz is back on track in his quest for the UFC Middleweight Championship held with an iron grip by Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

In his tweet from last Feb. 28, 2012, The Filipino Wrecking Machine enthusiastically declared to the MMA world the following good news "Gr8 news given by Dr Kvitne @kerlanjobe! I could start training!!!!!! I'm back!!!! 1 month ahead of schedule! Yeah boyeeeeee!!!"

Muñoz was disappointed when his fight versus Chael Sonnen, originally scheduled for last Jan. 28 at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago, was dropped due to his elbow injury. Still, he maintained a positive attitude throughout his ordeal. He even came to visit the Philippines last February in part of his injury.

The US national champion wrestler revealed during his press conference in Metro Manila, Philippines on Feb. 19, “For me, this [injury] has been a blessing in disguise…it’s given me an opportunity to rest. I’m feeling a lot better and I’m coming back as Mark Munoz 2.0, The Filipino Wrecking Machine upgraded.”

He also shared that he’s been doing some light training, training around the injury.

Significantly this time, though, it appears that he can increase his training back to how ti should be, as his elbow is fast healing and recovering—if it isn't 100% yet.

Muñoz believes that despite the injury that routed of his scheduled bout against Sonnen, destiny remain kind and he believes he'll get his chance at the middleweight title before this year ends. (The title will be defended by Silva against Sonnen this coming June in UFC 147.)


Muñoz was also asked “You really believe you’ll fight for the title within this year—not by next year—even if you were sidelined by that elbow injury and would be ready to fight only by June?"

“This year,” He replied without hesitation and with unwavering conviction.

A half year still remains after Silva vs. Sonnen takes place, and whoever will be holding the much-coveted title when the dust clears after UFC 147 in Sau Paulo, Brazil will have enough time left to entertain a upgraded, and more efficient Filipino Wrecking Machine.

Mark Munoz hosts MMA Clinic at the Gold's Gym in Libis in the Philippines

Mark "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" made his way to the Philippines last February 18, 2012 to corner his fighter Raja Shippen for his fight at PXC 29 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Along with cornering his fighter, Munoz was also in his home country to trace his roots and also wants to share his knowledge of fighting MMA to the Filipinos.

Mark Munoz, a UFC fighter with a 12-2-0 record over his stints in the WEC and UFC is currently ranked among the top 10 middleweights of the world and is very close to a title shot with UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson "The Spider" Silva, held a training clinic for about 3 hours showing his top notch technique and also instilling the virtues of what it takes to become a world class fighter. He shared some of his favorite moves and gave a chance for the fans and media to chat with him, take pictures and sign autographs.

Check out Mark Munoz during the clinic, with some of the pictures and videos below.

Here are some videos of Mark during the training sessions and applying a D'Arce choke.

Hope you guys like the posts and thank you Mark for visiting the Philippines and sharing your knowledge, time and effort. It was a really great clinic and looking forward to your next visit.

The PXC 29 Xperience

Feb. 18, 2012, it was a great night of fights at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City Philippines as the premier MMA prmotion in the region Pacific Xtreme Combat brought to us PXC 29.

It was a wonderful event with the crowning of the first pure bred Filipino fighter of the PXC as Ale Cali won the flyweight title in the main event, and a number one contender was also named for the 135 lbs. division as Crisanto Pitpitunge was hailed next in line for the title.

A midst the fights, of course there was PXC ring-girl Abby Poblador to spice things up, some Filipino celebrities looking to take part in the action and most of all the appearance of Mark "The Filipino Wrecking Machine Munoz" who attended the event corning his fighter Raja Shippen.

Below are a couple of picture of one of the best MMA events in the Philippines this year (I'm sure there are more to come). By the way please forgive me for my shabby camera work.

I hope you like some of the pictures I took, and for all Pinoy MMA fans out there, watch out for the next PXC event this year, I'm sure you will have a great time watching.

AKTV holds press conference for upcoming PXC 29

AKTV the PXC's media partner today held a press conference for the upcoming PXC 29 set on February 18, 2012 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines.

The Main Event fighters grace the press conference along with PXC promoter EJ Calvo.

The main card fighters were there to answer the questions from the press. Filipino fighters Ale Cali and Harris Sarmiento are set to face face Jesse Taitano and Raja Shippen.

‎"Malupit ang jiu jutsu at ground game training ko para paghandaan ang laban" (My jiujitsu and ground game training was very intense in getting ready for this fight)-Ale Cali

Harris Sarmiento will fight Raja Shippen at a lower weight in 145 lbs from 155 lbs as announced in the press conference.

Experienced MMA fighter, Jesse Taitano(middle) who hails from Guam will fight Ale Cali for the vacant 125 lbs PXC Flyweight Title, while Raja Shippen (right) will face Harris Sarmiento and will have Mark 'The Filipino Wrecking Machine' Munoz in his corner.

UFC Fighter 'Mark Munoz although is Filipino, has never gone to Philippines...' Says Ej Calvo(middle), the promoter of PXC. Mark Munoz will be present in PXC 29 to be in Raja Shippen's corner as Raja Shippen faces Harris Sarmiento.

PXC 29 will be held on February 18, 2012 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines. Gates open at 6:00 PM and tickets are available at all SM Ticket outlets. The is a free San Mig Strong Ice for all tickets.

Mark Munoz to hold a MMA/Self Defense Clinic

Mark "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Munoz is set not only to grace the upcoming PXC 29 event in the Philippines on February 18, 2012 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, but also he is set to hold a clinic the following day at the Gold's Gym Activity Center in Libis, Quezon City.

Sources say that the clinic will be held on February 19, 2012 6:00pm - 9:00pm Manila Time. There limited slots for the clinic and last day for registration is pegged on February 16, 2012. For more information about the clinic those interested can call (02) 519-8984, and just say you are inquiring about the clinic.

This is a great venue not only get to interact with one of the best middleweight fighters in the UFC today but also get a chance to also learn MMA from him. I myself am personally looking forward to this event.