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The UFC travels to the Philippines for the first time since its formation with their latest offering UFC Fight Night 66 on May 16th at Manila. The event features a strong card with former champions and upcoming talents ready to battle it out for stardom and rankings.
The event is headlined by the bout between former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber. The card also features top ten middleweight Gegard Mousasi against Costas Philippou and Local lad Mark Munoz in his last fight against Luke Barnatt.
Here is all the preview and predictions for the main card.
Mark Eddiva (6-1-0) vs Levan Makashvili (9-1-0):
Levan Makashvili who was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Nick Lentz at UFC Fight Night 60 is getting his shot this Saturday as a replacement for Alex White who withdrew from the fight 10 days before due to an injury.
Makashvilli stated as a top featherweight prospect comes into the fight with a record of 6-1 at Cage Fury Fighting championship where he’s been the featherweight champion. Makashvili is more a complete fighter than his opponent Eddiva.He has good speed, punches are accurate and a good wrestler as well. What is scarier for the division is that he is only 26 and has time to improve.
Eddiva will look to bounce back after his loss to Kevin Souza at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale. Eddiva is very tough, has good strike accuracy and often attempts to take his opponent down during the match but his main asset is his take down defense which will come in handy considering the wrestling ability of Makashvili . Eddiva will look to absorb the home crowd advantage and give Makashvili a good beatdown.
Prediction: Makashvili by Unanimous Decision
Phillipe Nover (6-3-1) vs Yui Chul Nam (18-4-1):
Former Ultimate Fighter finalist Phillipe Nover returns to the UFC after a period of five years to face “The Korean Bulldozer” Yui Chul Nam in another featherweight bout. Nover will have a tough task on his return against Nam who put up an impressive display against Kozuki Todume which earned him a fight of the night bonus in his UFC debut last time around.
Nover who was having a “Talented” reputation at Ultimate fighter wasn’t able to live up to the reputation and soon left the organization but is back to prove a point. He is more well rounded than Nam and has improved his wrestling base as well.Nam will look to his speed in the early rounds to get the upper hand in the fight and utilize his good knock-out power.
Prediction: Yui Chul Nam by KO
Mark Munoz(13-6-0) vs Luke Barnatt(8-2-0):
Mark Munoz would be looking to end his career in front of the home crowd on a high. Munoz’s career is on a low at the moment and is coming to fight with 3 consecutive losses behind him and at 37 it’s only right that he has made the decision to quit.
Munoz is pitted against Englishmen Luke Barnatt who is probably fighting for his UFC Contract on Saturday following two consecutive losses. Barnatt lands a good amount of punches in his matches with his score of 4.86 in significant strikes landed per minute the highest among middleweights and considering his reach advantage over Munoz he would try to keep the match on his feet.
Munoz is a better wrestler and is known for his ground and pound approach. Munoz will try to look for the early takedown but has to be wary of Barnatt’s striking ability and considering Munoz’s weakness in taking good shots he would be cautious in his approach.
Prediction: Luke Barnatt by KO.
Neil Magny(14-4-0) vs Hyun Gyu Lim(13-4-1):
After a bleak start to his UFC career Neil Magny is on the right track following 6 consecutive wins which is the highest active winning streak in the welterweight division at the moment.
He would be facing “The Ace” Hyun Gyu Lim who is coming off of a blistering TKO victory over Takenori Sato at UFC Fight Night 52.Neither of them have a clear advantage over the other in size or reach. Even though Magny doesn’t throw that many punches as Lim he is a specialist at avoiding them as his strike differential of +2.25 is second best in history of the division.
Magny also has a higher takedown average than Lim and will look to that stat for his advantage. Lim, on the other hand, is very aggressive and likes to throw a lot of punches .Even though Lim isn’t as good as Magny in takedowns he is better at defending them. Lim will try to keep the match standing up while Magny will try to go for the early takedown and control from thereon.
Prediction: Magny by Unanimous Decision
Gegard Mousasi(36-5-2) vs Costas Philippou(13-4-0):
The co-main event features former Strike Force light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi against the 12th seed Costas Philippou. Mousasi has had mixed results ever since his arrival from Strike Force and will look to get into the title mix with a win over Philippou.
Phillipou will try to a make a statement and break into the top ten with a win over Mousasi. Both fighters are coming off sparkling wins in their respective last matches with Mousasi gunning down veteran Dan Henderson and Philippou knocking out Lorenz Larkin at UFC Fight Night 40. Mousasi a black belt in judo has the reach advantage and is the better striker.
He has faced elite competition in the past which is sure to be an advantage for him. Philippou on the other hand, has decent boxing base and good knock-out power as well. Even though Mousasi is better at takedowns than Philippou, he will try to keep the match on their feet. Philippou will look for an opening thereby which he can capitalize on with his good knockout ability.
Prediction: Mousasi by TKO
The Main Event:
Urijah Faber(32-7-0) vs Frankie Edgar(18-4-1):
A fitting main event for any card, the 3rd featherweight clash of the night features two veterans of the sport where both are still considerable forces to be reckoned with. Urijah Faber is returning to the featherweight division after a gap of 5years.
He has had considerable success in the bantamweight division and hasn’t lost a non-title fight in his career. Frankie Edgar is on a roll since his debut at featherweight having lost only once to the champion Jose Aldo and winning the rest. He is currently on a 3 fight winning streak with his dismantling of Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57 earning him the performance of the night bonus.
Frankie Edgar is one of the toughest guys around with his in ring time the 3rd longest in the UFC History. Edgar is the better guy while standing up, has great footwork, throws a lot more than Faber and has better strike defence as well. Faber, on the other hand, has exceptional speed and athleticism and is the submission artist in this fight with 19 of his 32 wins having come by submission.
He will try to put off his signature chokes on Edgar. Even though Edgar has the upper hand in going the distance he should be careful while taking Faber down as Faber is good at recovering from scrambles and will look for the submission.
Prediction: Edgar by Unanimous Decision
