Munoz eyes big win vs Carneiro to earn Manila fight

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino-American fighter Mark Munoz is excited on the prospect of headlining the Ultimate Fighting Championship's first ever fight night in Manila.

But that will all depend on Munoz, who will fight Roan Carneiro at UFC 168 on February 28, in Los Angeles, California. 

The "Filipino Wrecking Machine", who traces his roots in Pasay City (father) and Sta. Ana, Manila (mother), could not hide his excitement of possibly fighting in front of his family and countrymen in an interview with the UFC official website.   

"I was ecstatic," Munoz said. "I called or texted everyone of my family members and I'm like, 'hey, get ready; you guys need to be in the Philippines.' It's been a long time coming and a dream come true."

Munoz though isn't looking past Carneiro. 

"He's (Carneiro) a good fighter. It's very important for me to get a good finish. With this one, I need to a make a statement because this fight is gonna be indicative to where I am going in the [middleweight] division," Munoz said in an interview posted at his official website www.markmunozmma.com. 

Munoz has lost three of his last four fights and he badly needs a big win against Carneiro to get back on track. 

After racking up four straight wins to rise in his division, Munoz lost his title contender status to Chris Weidman in a second round knockout in 2012. He came back to win against Tim Boetsch via unanimous decision a year after but his comeback bid was derailed with back-to-back losses to his good friend and former sparring partner Lyoto Machida in 2013 and to Gerard Mousasi just last year. 

But despite those losses, a win against Carneiro will make Munoz dream come true. 

"Munoz is fighting in a fight coming up next month. It depends of course on how he performs. Our matchmakers will look at everything. Of course, his popularity is well established and strategically, our guys will be looking at key fighters who could help us make this a success," said UFC Asia Executive Vice President and General Manager Ken Berger told local reporters last month during the official announcement of the UFC Fight Night in Manila. 

If he comes unscathed in his next fight, the Mall of Asia Arena will explode on May 16 with Munoz and possibly, another Filipino UFC fighter Mark Eddiva seeing action. 

"It's going to be a frenzy," said Munoz, who is also fluent in Filipino. 

Mark Munoz did the once popular Harlem Shake with his Filipino fans in the Mall of Asia during his UFC Media Tour in 2013. 

"They're (Filipinos) so excited and this has been a long time coming for them. I think they get behind fighters that are in their culture and are part of their tradition and of the same blood. For me, that's what I'm about. Even though I grew up in the United States, I grew up very, very Filipino. From the culture to the dress to the language, that's what I represent," said Munoz, who donated all the proceeds of his 2013 UFC tour here to victims of Typhoon "Pablo".

Ticket details to the May 16 event is still up in the air but UFC and its local partner SM Entertainment, Corp. promised to make another announcement next month pending the outcome of Munoz fight against Carneiro.