Muñoz, Eddiva fight in Germany, Brazil UFC cards

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos Mark Muñoz and Mark Eddiva take on different foes in two separate Ultimate Fighting Championship cards today (Phl time) hoping for a victory and a chance to get in line for a potential title crack in their respective divisions.

Munoz, nicknamed “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” faces off with Dutch kickboxer Gegard Mousasi in a non-title middleweight, five-round bout, which will headline the UFC Fight Night Berlin in Germany.

Muñoz (13-4-0) weighed in at 186 pounds while Mousasi (34-4-2) tipped the scale at 185.

Eddiva  battles Brazilian Kevin Souza on the latter’s home turf in Sao Paulo, Brazil in one of the undercards of the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale.

Eddiva, a Southeast Asian Games wushu gold medalist, made an impressive UFC debut by beating a heavily favored Jumabieke Tuerxun of China in UFC Fight Pass in Macao, China last March 1 to remain undefeated in six mixed martial arts fights.

It will be interesting to see how Muñoz can cope up with a fighter that fought Loyoto “The Dragon” Machida via the full, five-round route with the latter ending up with a unanimous decision win in UFC Fight Night in Brazil last Feb. 15.

Muñoz was stalled in his title bid after he  lost to Machida in the first round via head kick in Manchester, England late last year.

Muñoz though had a ready plan for Mousasi.

“He (Mousasi) is awesome on his feet and versed on the ground as well,” Muñoz told ufc.com. “He has some shortcomings with wrestling that’s where it’s going to get complicated because I’m going out there and exploit his shortcomings in wrestling.”

Eddiva’s showdown with Souza (14-3-0) is a match between known strikers.

“This fight is challenging and exciting, knowing that Kevin is also a striker,” said Eddiva.