Phl fighters featured in two UFC tilts

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipino fighters Mark Muñoz and Mark Eddiva set out for two separate Ultimate Fighting Championship fightcards on June 1, upbeat of their respective chances against tough rivals,

The US-based Muñoz will face off with Gegard Mousasi in a five-rounder in the main event of the UFC Fight Night in Germany, hoping to bounce back from a recent setback and get a crack at the middleweight title currently held by Chris Weidman.

Eddiva, representing Team Lakay, is seeking his second win against Brazilian Kevin Souza in UFC Fight Night in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the Octagon after shocking heavy favorite Jumabieke Tuerxun of China in The Ultimate Fighter China finale in Macau last March.

Muñoz is seeking to bounce back from a first round defeat at the hands of Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida in October last year in Manchester, England, his second in the last three fights. He earlier bowed to Weidman, who eventually won the middleweight crown after stunning win over Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

Muñoz, who has 13-4 (win-loss) record against Mousasi’s 34-4-2, said he’s in for a tough showdown.

“This is a great match up with Mousasi. He’s an unbelievable striker and he’s got great jiu jitsu. He poses a big problem for a lot of people,” Muñoz said recently in his website www.markMuñozmma.com. 

Eddiva, a Southeast Asian Games wushu gold medalist, left recently for Sao Paulo after training with Team Lakay’s Mark Sangiao and his new Iranian wrestling coach Ali Heydarabadi.

Eddiva has won his first six mixed martial arts fights, including that shock unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Tuerxun while Souza has an impressive 14-3 slate including a split decision over Felipe Arantes in September last year.

Muñoz and Eddiva are two of the growing number of Filipino fighters vying on the world’s biggest MMA stage.

Recently, Fil-Am Robbie Lawler knocked out Jake Ellenberger 1.54 into the third round of one of the main events of UFC 173 in Las Vegas, Nevada last Sunday for a  23-10 recsord and a potential title crack.