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.

The UFC Names Two Team Lakay Fighters As Possible Participants For UFC Fight Night Manila

Last week, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced that it will be staging an event in Manila this coming May. Dubbed UFC Fight Night Manila, it will be the first Asian event for the company this year. It will also be the first ever UFC event to be held in the Philippines.

The UFC is yet to announce which of their fighters will be featured in the card but in a recent article posted on the company's official website, a few familiar names were mentioned. They are Mark Eddiva, Roldan Sangcha-an, Mark Munoz, John Dodson, and Chris Cariaso.

Munoz, Dodson, and Cariaso are all US-based fighters with Filipino roots. Eddiva and Sangcha-an, on the other hand, are local and homegrown mixed martial artists. Both fight under the Team Lakay banner and both have experience fighting in the UFC cage.

Thomas Gerbasi, author of the article published on the UFC website wrote, "No fights have been made official for the UFC Fight Night card, which was announced Wednesday evening in the United States (Thursday morning in Manila), and will air in the States on FOX Sports 1. But with rising stars Roldan Sangcha-an and Mark Eddiva hailing from Baguio City, and established contenders Mark Munoz, John Dodson and Chris Cariaso proudly representing their Filipino roots, there are plenty of options for UFC matchmakers not only in May, but in the coming years."

Image credit: Jason Silva of USA Today Sports.

Eddiva fought twice last year in the octagon. He handily defeated Jumabieke Tuerxun in his debut. However, he faltered in his second fight, losing via technical knockout to Edimilson Souza of Brazil.

Sangcha-an on the other hand made his debut in the UFC in June of last year in the undercard of the James Te Huna vs. Nate Marquardt fight which was held in New Zealand. He lost via unanimous decision to Richie Vaculik.

Igorot Fighter Roldan Sangcha-an Unsuccessful In His UFC Debut

Today in Auckland, New Zealand, Roldan Sangcha-an kissed his undefeated record goodbye when he lost to Australia's Richie Vaculik in an intense three-round battle at the Vector Arena. The two flyweights engaged in a tussle that pitted a striker (Sangcha-an) against a grappler (Vaculik). In the end, it was the grappler who emerged victorious having controlled most of the fight by engaging his opponent on the ground. The bout was part of the undercard of UFC Fight Night: Te Huna Vs Marquardt.

In the first round, Sangcha-an immediately utilized his kicks which had Vaculik thinking of a takedown. However, it was Sangcha-an who scored the first takedown in the fight. Vaculik quickly got out of it and managed to slam the Team Lakay fighter to the mat. The two fighters spent the rest of the round in a heated grappling affair wherein they both struggled to keep the top position.

At the start of the second round, Sangcha-an landed a nasty head kick but Vaculik went for another takedown and sent Sangcha-an to the mat. After a few moments, the referee stood the two fighters up and Sangcha-an went back to throwing his leg kicks which kept Vaculik away. The Australian scored another takedown just as the round came to an end.

In the third round, Sangcha-an was most successful because he was able to keep the fight standing up. He utilized his kicks and jabs to keep Vaculik at bay while scoring points. He also was able to stuff Vaculik's takedown attempts in this round.

The judges awarded the victory to Vaculik with scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28. With the loss, Sangcha-an drops to 4-1 while Vaculik improves to 10-2.

Sangcha-an is the third Team Lakay fighter to fight in the UFC. The other two are Dave Galera and Mark Eddiva. Galera fought in the UFC in January of this year albeit in a losing effort against Singapore's Roystoon Wee. Eddiva, on the other hand, fought twice in the UFC. He won his debut against Jumabieke Tuerxun in Macau but he lost his second stint to Edimilson Souza last month in Brazil.

Roldan Sangcha-an Makes Weight For UFC Fight Night: Te Huna Versus Marquardt

Team Lakay mixed martial artist Roldan Sangcha-an made weight during the official weigh-in for UFC Fight Night: Te Huna Vs Marquardt in Auckland, New Zealand.  Sangcha-an will be fighting Australia's Richie Vaculik.

Accompanied by Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao, Sangcha-an weighed in at 125 pounds. Vaculik on the other hand weighed in at 125 and a half pounds. The two fighters belong to the flyweight division, the division where the elites include Demetrious Johnson, John Dodson, and Joseph Benavidez.

Watch Sangcha-an and Vaculik's weigh-in below. Their time on the scales start at the 12:18 mark:

PXC 44 Results: Igorot Mixed Martial Artist Crisanto Pitpitunge Dominates Opponent Enroute To A Unanimous Decision Victory

After losing two fights in a row, Crisanto Pitpitunge is finally back in the winning column after a decisive victory over Josh Duenas in a thrilling fight at the University of Guam Field House in Guam. Fighting for the Pacific X-Treme Combat for the seventh time, Pitpitunge imposed his will on Duenas the whole duration of the bout. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of the Team Lakay fighter.

In the opening round, Duenas immediately went for a takedown which Pitpitunge stuffed. Reversing the position, Pitpitunge was able to land knees and punches on Duenas. The Cordilleran then secured a takedown and worked on his ground and pound. The round ended with both fighters cut.

The second stanza was all Pitpitunge as he landed knees and punches at will while Duenas was pressed to the cage. Although Duenas was able to fight back in spurts, the referee should've stopped the fight right there. Or at least Duenas' corner should've thrown in the towel. Their fighter was getting a lot of unnecessary punishment from Pitpitunge. Nearing the end of the round, Pitpitunge looked like he punched himself out with all the energy he spent attacking Duenas. Duenas was able to land a couple of punches before the bell rang to end the second round.

The two fighters spent most of the third round on the ground with Pitpitunge on top. Duenas was able to make it to his feet once but was taken down again by Pitpitunge.

With the win, Pitpitunge improves his record to 6 wins and 3 losses. His opponent, Josh Duenas, drops to 4 wins and 5 losses.

Crisanto Pitpitunge (on top) pins Josh Duenas of Saipan to the mat during their fight at PXC 44. Photo by PXC.

Troy Bantiag, Pitpitunge's Team Lakay team mate also fought in the card but failed to secure a victory. Bantiag succumbed to Kyle Aguon via a kimura lock in the first round. The whole affair was a grappling match as Aguon took the fight to the ground. Pinning and keeping Bantiag on the mat, Aguon found his chance for a submission and took it. The fight would be Bantiag's third loss in a row. His record now stands at 5 wins and 4 losses.

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao was absent during the event as he flew to Auckland, New Zealand where another Team Lakay fighter will be fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 28. Taking Sangiao's place in the fighters' corner was Eduard Folayang. Sangiao is in New Zealand for his ward Roldan Sangcha-an's bout with RichieVaculik in the undercard of UFC Fight Night: Te Huna Vs. Marquardt.

Four Team Lakay Mixed Martial Artists Seeing Action This Month Of June

Team Lakay is on a very busy schedule this month. Four mixed martial artists under its banner are set to slug it out in the cage against their respective opponents for three different MMA organizations. All four of these bouts will be held overseas.

Seeing action first on June 14 is Geje Eustaquio (5-2-0) who will be welcoming Kentaro Watanabe (10-4-0) of Japan in the One Fighting Championship. The flyweight bout is part of the undercard for ONE FC 17: Era of Champions which will be staged at the Mata Elang International Stadium in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Eustaquio was victorious in his most recent outing in the ONE FC with a unanimous decision win over fellow Filipino Eugene Toquero in December of last year. He hopes to extend this by beating Watanabe who will be making his debut in the Singapore-based organization.

Next up on June 27 are Crisanto Pitpitunge (5-3-0) and Troy Bantiag (5-3-0) who will be flying to Guam for Pacific X-Treme Combat 44. Pitpitunge will be facing Josh Duenas (4-4-0) of Saipan. Bantiag, on the other hand will be squaring off against Kyle Aguon (6-4-0). Pitpitunge and Bantiag are in a must-win situation as they both lost their last two fights, all of which were in the PXC. The fights will be held at the UOG Fieldhouse in Guam.

From left to right: Roldan Sangcha-an, Crisanto Pitpitunge, Troy Bantiag, and Geje Eustaquio. Photo by Team Lakay via Facebook

And on June 28, Roldan Sangcha-an (4-0-0) makes his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship against Richie Vaculik (9-2-0) of Australia. Vaculik was originally set to fight Jon Delos Santos but when the latter was pulled out of the card after an injury, the UFC got Sangcha-an to step in as Vaculik's new opponent. Sangcha-an vs. Vaculik is part of the undercard of UFC Fight Night: Te Huna Vs. Marquardt which will be staged at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

Bad News. Roldan Sangcha-an's Run For The Belt Has Been Cancelled

Roldan Sangcha-an is scheduled to fight for the Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) flyweight title against Rambaa Somdet on March 29 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Unfortunately, Somdet has figured in an injury so the fight had to be cancelled. However, it looks like the fight card is still pushing through.

Here's the official announcement from PXC:
"We regret to inform all our fans that the PXC 43 Flyweight Title Fight has been cancelled. Contender Rambaa Somdet has suffered a herniated disk in training and will be unable to compete. Roldan Sangcha'an will maintain his number one contender status and fight for the title at a future PXC."

Sangcha-an from a previous fight. PXC photo.