UFC broke new ground by taking its product to the Philippines for the first time. The card was fairly entertaining, the crowd was great and we saw two future Hall of Famers go five rounds in the main event
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar easily won a tactical battle over Urijah “The California Kid” Faber in the main event of UFC Fight Night Manila. UFC News has the official scorecards:
The scores make it seem like a lopsided affair, but every round was competitive.
Edgar’s speed, activity and diverse attack kept Faber on the defensive most of the fight. Faber is known primarily for his dynamic submission game, but Edgar wouldn’t allow himself to be caught in a compromising position at any point in the fight.
The bout was contested as more of a cat-and-mouse affair that favored the speedier Edgar. In order to win the fight, Faber needed to secure takedowns and transition to submission opportunities. Instead, Edgar was the one who scored four takedowns and landed 117 significant strikes to just 62 for Faber.
Edgar also spent 3:42 in dominant control.
This wasn’t just a bout between two of the most well-known and accomplished lighter weight fighters in mixed martial arts history. It was also crucial for the UFC featherweight title picture. Edgar is now in position to take on the winner of the Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor bout at UFC 189.
With the unanimous-decision win, Edgar emphatically made his statement to be the next challenger for the 145-pound crown. Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting captured Edgar’s post-fight quote and call out of UFC President Dana White:
Here’s a look at the rest of the results from the card.
Boring Beginnings
In a fight that won’t do much to sell the value of UFC Fight Pass, Yao Zhikui edged Nolan Ticman via split decision. There were more feints than strikes and very little productive ground work in the fight.
Personally, I would have scored the bout for Ticman, but this was such a tough fight to score due to inactivity, it’s hard to argue with the decision.
Kevin Thang of Cage Pages had an interesting assessment of the bout:
Now That’s More Like It
The rest of the fighters on the card should have immediately focused their attentions on earning Performance of the Night honors after the Roldan Sangcha-an vs. Jon Delos Reyes fight. These two hungry flyweights put on a show that should have locked up the Fight of the Night award.
There were so many twists and turns in this fight it felt like an online battle between two really skilled Tekken players. Ultimately, Delos Reyes would fight through a bad cut over his right eye to secure a rear-naked choke that finished Sangcha-an.
The Filipino wouldn’t go quietly in front of his home crowd. He escaped several attempts to submit him before running out of energy and skillful transitions. Even before the fight went to the mat, it was packed with brawling during the stand-up exchanges.
This fight had everything hardcore MMA fans look for in a bout—except big names. UFC Vice President of Athletic Department Reed Harris heaped high praise on the bout:
Wee Takes His First Loss
From the beginning of this fight, Ning Guangyou was the aggressor and the more hungry fighter. He took it to Royston Wee and finished his opponent with hard right hand and a series of punches.
Wee came in undefeated but didn’t look the part of an unbeaten fighter. Perhaps he’ll perform better in his next opportunity in the Octagon. However, he seemed out of it mentally following the first spirited exchange.
Disappointing Dhiego
At one point it looked as if Dhiego Lima might have a bright future in the UFC. That’s not the case anymore. Li Jingliang blew threw him like a strong breeze through a small town. Lima has now lost three of his last four fights.
He isn’t just losing these fights, he’s being knocked out in all of them. Mike Bohn of USA Today and MMA Junkie put those defeats into perspective:
In the very first round, a massive combination landed on Lima’s face against the cage and put the Brazilian down. He tried to cover up long enough to regain his faculties, but Jingliang pounded him out on the ground to secure the win.
FHM Philippines has some of the violent images.
It’s hard to tell how big of a win this was for Jingliang because Lima has clearly been overrated. We’ll see where both fighters go from here.
Kajan Gets Back on Track
After having lost his UFC debut by vicious third-round KO at the hands of Tae Hyun Bang in June 2014, Kajan Johnson returned to the promotion with an unanimous-decision win over Zhang Lipeng.
Johnson used his superior grappling to put Lipeng in peril most of the fight. Lipeng needed to keep the fight standing, but he couldn’t manage to stop Johnson from taking his legs away. Johnson had three takedowns in the fight and spent 7:22 in top control.
Tuck’s Raging Blast
Jon “Super Saiyan” Tuck gave Bang a taste of his own medicine in the very first round of their bout. A big right hand put Bang down after an axe kick missed the mark. The speed in which Tuck followed the missed kick with a punch was impressive.
He wasted no time pouncing on Bang’s back and locking in the rear-naked choke.
The Guamanian was in excellent shape and he looked like a top-10 contender. Don’t believe me? Just ask Tuck, per MMA Fighting, he’ll tell you himself:
Tuck’s striking game was diverse and dangerous in this one. He’s one to watch over the next year.
Makashvili Nearly Robbed
I’m not sure what fight one of the judges saw, but Filipino Mark Eddiva almost got some home cooking on the decision. He lost a split decision to Levan Makashvili despite the latter outstriking him 63-36 and securing seven takedowns to none for Eddiva.
It wasn’t a memorable fight, but it almost became one for all the wrong reasons. You always know there’s something strange with the scorecards when someone tweets an image of the judges’ scores:
OK, Nover Gets the Home Cooking
Filipino-American Phillipe Nover was awarded a split-decision win over Yui Chul Nam, but this one was questionable.
After dominating the first round, you could make a strong argument that Nover was beaten in the final two rounds by Nam. Nover seemed to gas out after expending a ton of energy as a grappler in the first five minutes.
In the second and third rounds, he labored to secure takedowns. Meanwhile, Nam was outlanding Nover 70-31 in significant strikes and landing two takedowns in his own right. Wait for it…
Magny’s Magnificent 7
Neil Magny had an anxious moment early in the bout, but ultimately he was able to expose Hyun Gyu Lim’s lack of grappling experience en route to an impressive TKO victory. It was Magny’s seventh-straight win. He has the longest win streak of any fighter who hasn’t amassed their run defending a championship.
Lim badly rocked Magny in the first round, but he gassed out in his unsuccessful attempt to finish the fight. Magny began to take Lim apart from there. He took him down twice and peppered him with punches until the fight was stopped.
Magny came in ranked in the top 15. It would be crazy not to elevate him to the top 10 after this win. Fox Sports is calling for the challenge for Magny as well:
Munoz Goes Out in Style
In his last professional fight, Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz defeated Luke Barnatt by unanimous decision with his signature wrestling game. Munoz secured 10 takedowns and landed 59 significant strikes to easily win the fight.
Barnatt simply ran into a buzz saw as Munoz was determined to end his career on a winning note. Barnatt couldn’t stop Munoz from planting him on the mat repeatedly. When the fight was over, Munoz tugged at the heart strings of MMA fans. When it was over, Munoz left his gloves in the Octagon. Welterweight contender Tony Ferguson tweeted the image and a salute.
Mousasi Dominant
Gegard Mousasi simply destroyed Costas Philippou. The latter is known for his striking prowess, so Mousasi—a good striker in his own right—never let Philippou get settled on his feet. Philippou has never had good takedown defense and that clearly hasn’t changed.
MMA journalist Tommy Toe Hold commented on Philippou’s excellent physical shape and Mousasi’s disregard for the cosmetic:
Mousasi took Philippou down four times and rained down ground-and-pound shots for three rounds. Mousasi solidified his spot as a top 10 middleweight and Philippou continues to be one of the most overrated fighters in the promotion.
All stats per UFC.com unless otherwise noted.
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