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!

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.

#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.

Another Team Lakay Standout Set to Make Octagon Debut

On June 28th, another exceptional Pinoy fighter will be making his debut in mixed martial art's biggest stage. Roldan Sangcha-an, a mixed martial artist from the famed Team Lakay, will have his first fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, taking on former TUF contestant Richie Vaculik in a three-round featherweight affair. The fight will be part of the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 43: "Marquardt vs Te Huna", which will be held at the Vector Arena in Auckland New Zealand.

Roldan Sangcha-an

With a record of 4-0 as a pro, all victories of which came by way of stoppage, Sangcha-an was slated to fight for the Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) Featherweight title. That fight would eventually fall through, as Sangcha-an's opponent would have to withdraw after suffering an injury in training.

Tale of the Tape. Photo property of the UFC.

True to the adage good things come to those who wait and all things happen for a reason, Sangcha-an is now set to grace the Octagon for the very first time, and the third Team Lakay fighter to do so.

He takes on Richie "Vas" Vaculik (9-2), a former contestant of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, the season of the hit series in which Australian fighters were pit against those of England. During the show, Vaculik competed as a lightweight, but has since moved to the flyweight division, dropping his sole UFC bout to Justin Scoggins via TKO.

UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt

Catch all the action of UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt on June 28, 6:30pm Manila time, only on Balls Channel.

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.

SHOWDOWN FOR THE UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BELT THIS SUNDAY

An immovable object meets an unstoppable force this Sunday (April 27) as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones looks to extend his reign against the powerhouse that is Glover Teixeira in UFC 172: Jones vs Teixeira. Jones leads the UFC's current champions for most consecutive title defenses at seven. Overall, the 26-year-old has won 10 straight bouts in the UFC and is voted as the pound-for-pound king in the official UFC rankings. His stranglehold on the title will be challenged by the the Brazilian Teixeira who has not lost since 2005 and has won all five of his fights in the UFC. Will Jones successfully defend his light heavyweight belt or will Teixeira break through the immovable Jones? Find out in UFC 172: Jones vs. Teixeira on Balls Channel this Sunday (April 27) at 10:30 AM. That same day, fight fans will witness the UFC's first broadcast on ABS-CBN channel 2 at 11:30 PM with a special 2-hour edition of the fight.

ABS-CBN Sports+Action will replay the UFC 172 on Monday (April 28) at 10 PM.

Who's looking forward to this UFC Light Heavyweight slug-fest?

There is no charge for Awesomeness: The UFC Macau Experience

As most people viewing Balls Channel here in the Philippines know, I was one of the winners selected for the UFC Macau Ultimate Fan Experience. It was an online contest where on just had to answer a simple question and get a chance to fly to Macau and watch a UFC event live. The news itself that I won was overwhelming, but it would not compare to what was in-store for  me and my brother when we finally arrived in Macau.

Balls Channel Ultimate Fan Experience Macau

At the NAIA terminal 2 we met up with the representatives from Balls Channel and Boom Gonzales the host of Game Day. (Side note, hanging out with Boom was awesome, it was really great hanging with a guy who you could talk about any sport with).



Arrived at Cotai Central where the Holiday Inn was located.



Bumped into Chuck "The Iceman" Liddel at the food court. 

Upon arriving at the Macau Airport at around 10 in the morning, we we're greeted by our tour guide and brought to the Holiday Inn at the Cotai Central. We weren't able to do an early check-in so we decided to get some lunch instead. Then, when we were looking for some grub at the foodcourt we bump into the legendary "Iceman" Chuck Lidell.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to check-in and freshen up a bit before attending the autograph signing and the weigh-ins for the fights.



Chuck signing my UFC Encyclopedia

  

With the "California Kid".

Kenny "Kenflo" Florian at the weigh-ins.

Me and my bro with Uriah Faber.

At the weigh-ins, we were treated not only to the entire weigh-in program, but also we were brought backstage to check out the OCTAGON and take more pictures.

  

With Chuck inside the Octagon

It was a great first day in Macau, and even though we were a bit sleepy due to the trip the "MMA High" kept us strong and awake as we really wanted to take the entire experience in and make the most of our time there.



Stuff I got signed the first day

On the second day we went on a tour of Macau. We were brought to the well know tourist spots in Macau, like the Macau tower, the Golden Lotus Square, St. Paul Ruins, and the Ama Temple among other places. It was also, our chance to buy "pasalubong" at our tour guide led us to the place where we could buy such items. We even bumped into Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres during our visit to the St. Paul Ruins.





  

With the group at the Golden Lotus Square



  

Checking out the Macau Tower

  

With Bruce Leeroy



 Me and my bro at the Ama Temple



 After the tour, we once again retreated to our hotel rooms to rest and relax so we can be ready to watch the fight later that evening. Then finally, it was time to catch the fights.

It's Time!!!



Fight time has arrived and all I can say is it was just how I imaged it plus more. From hearing Bruce Buffer live to hearing the roar of the crowd and the thunderous leg kicks, it was overwhelming and at time is still could not believe I was there. My brother and I were both rooting for Rich Franklin as he has been one of our favorite fighters ever since we started watching the UFC and MMA, so you would have seen our behest when he was knocked out by Cung Le in the first round.



With my bro at the fight.



With Game Day host Boom Gonzales





With the Balls channel pips and the other winners.



The winner Jon Tuck, been watching him in the PXC.

After the fights, there was an after party, we went by and checked it out but there wasn't much going on during that time, so instead my brother and I headed to the Cotai Arena entrance where the fights took place and saw if we could by chance meet some of the fighters, which we actually did as we got some pictures with the fighters and I was also able to get Dong Jung Kim, Tiago Silva and Alex Caceres to sign my UFC Encyclopedia. We also saw the ring girls and Bruce Buffer but unfortunately the were in too much of a hurry to indulge us. We waited until 3am in what might be a chance to see Rich Franklin but concluded that he must have been brought to the hospital due to the devistating knock out he suffered in the main event.

The Stun Gun

With Jon Tuck

The next day we had a free day and spent most of the day at the Venecian hoping to still bump into some fighters, (still hoping to bump into Rich Franklin and possbily Jon Fitch as he cornered Riki Fukuda) but to no avail.



Just making the most out of our trip.



The entire experience was amazing and I cannot begin to express how much it means to me that I was one of the ultimate fans that Balls Channel to go to through this journey. I really soaked it all up and wouldn't have traded anything for it. So again, thank you Balls Channel, you've made an impression in me in a very big way, more power to you and you've not only brought the UFC to the Philippines but continue to bring much more.