Mark Eddiva Of Team Lakay Added To The Undercard Of UFC Fight Night Manila

When the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced last January that it will be staging an event in Manila come May 16, among the names thrown around as possible combatants in the card were Mark Eddiva and Roldan Sangcha-an. This wasn't at all surprising given the fact that the two homegrown Cordilleran fighters experienced gracing the Octagon.

A few days after the announcement of the Manila event, the UFC divulged that Sangcha-an was added to the undercard. He will be squaring off against Guam-native Jon delos Reyes. Now, the UFC has confirmed that Eddiva will also be seeing action in the same event. The decorated Wushu athlete will be pitted against Alex White of the United States.

Eddiva started his MMA career fighting in four different organizations. After collecting five straight wins (all of which were via stoppages), the UFC signed him up in 2014 and he made his debut for the organization in March of the same year. He flew to Macau, China and duked it out with Jumabieke Tuerxun. Eddiva was the underdog but he pulled the upset by dominating his Chinese foe for three hard rounds.

Mark Eddiva during the weigh-in prior to his bout with Souza last year in Brazil. [YouTube screengrab]

Just two months after his impressive UFC debut in China, Eddiva was tapped to fight again and this time he flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil and engaged Edimilson Souza in a striking match. Eddiva didn't bring home the bacon that night as he succumbed to Souza's volume-punching in the second stanza. After the loss in Brazil, Eddiva was scheduled to make his return to the Octagon in November last year but due to an injury, he had no choice but pull out of the fight.

UFC Fight Night Manila will be headlined by a contest between UFC featherweight top contenders Frankie Edgar and Uriah Faber. It will be held on May 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.