Mark Eddiva Of Team Lakay To Fight Daniel Hooker Of New Zealand In UFC Return

To put himself back into the winning column. This would be the goal of Mark Eddiva when he flies to Brisbane, Australia this coming March for his return fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Eddiva was victorious in his UFC debut against Jumabieke Tuerxun in March of 2014. He then lost his two succeeding fights. A technical knockout loss to Edimilson Souza in May 2014 and a split decision loss to Levan Makashvili in May 2015.

Eddiva has been penciled to share the Octagon with New Zealand-native Daniel Hooker. Hooker has a record of two wins and two losses in the UFC. His most recent outing under the promotion was a losing effort against Yair Rodriguez in the undercard of Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson (October 3, 2015).

Experience-wise, Hooker has the advantage. Although he turned professional three years later than Eddiva, he has notched more fights. His record currently stands at 12 wins and 6 losses. Eddiva's record is 6 wins and 2 losses. Hooker also possesses significant height and reach advantages over Eddiva. He is 9 centimeters taller and his reach is 17 centimeters longer.

Eddiva trains under the Team Lakay banner. Hooker, on the other hand, trains at Elevation Fight Team, the same training ground for big UFC names like TJ Dillashaw, Brandon Thatch, Neil Magny, and Matt Brown.

Hooker told Sports Rants that he expects to dominate the Filipino fighter. "Have you ever tried to fight your big brother?! That’s how I see this fight playing out. I see myself beating him to the punch, bullying him in the grapple and squeezing the life out of him, “big brother style”", Hooker told the sports news website. He also posted on his Facebook page that the fight won't go past the first round.

UFC Fight Night: Brisbane will be headlined by a heavyweight match between Frank Mir and Mark Hunt. The event will be held on March 20 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Also in the card are Hector Lombard vs Neil Magny, Ross Pearson vs Abel Trujillo, Seo Hee Ham vs Bec Rawlings, James Te Huna vs Steve Bosse, Brendan O'Reilly vs Alan Jouban, Daniel Kelly vs Antonio Carlos Jr., Jake Matthews vs Johnny Case, Richard Walsh vs Viscardi Andrade, and Chad Laprise vs Alan Patrick Silva Alves.

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.

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.

Bad News From Brazil: Mark Eddiva Tastes First Defeat In The Hands Of Edimilson Souza

It's been a bad weekend for Cordilleran mixed martial artists. Yesterday, we saw Honorio Banario lose for the third consecutive time in the ONE Fighting Championship. In the fight which was staged in Singapore, Banario was humbled by the aging but still tough-as-nails Jadamba Narantungalag of Mongolia. And yet again today, we saw Banario's Team Lakay teammate Mark Eddiva fall in Brazil. Eddiva lost to Edimilson Souza via technical knockout in the second stanza after referee Herb Dean stopped the fight with less than 10 seconds left in the round.

The bout was a striking match from the get-go. Eddiva's main weapon was his kicks. Souza answered with barrages of punches. But in the end, it was Souza's punches that generated more damage. In the first round, Eddiva's signature kicks slowed down Souza a bit but the Brazilian kept on pressing the action with nasty combinations which consistently hit their mark. Eddiva was able to bring Souza to the mat and attempted to inflict damage. With Eddiva on top of him, Souza tried to submit him with a triangle choke but Eddiva was able to get out of it.

Souza then managed to get back up on his feet. Sensing that he might be behind in the score cards, he went on full offensive mode, dropping Eddiva with a right on the process. In the last minute of the round, Souza threw a barrage of punches that had Eddiva wobbling and in big trouble. Eddiva, however, survived the Brazilian's onslaught.

The end of the fight came in the last seconds of the second round. Souza once again hurt Eddiva with nasty punch combinations. Eddiva stood his ground and remained on his feet but referee Herb Dean saw enough, prompting him to call a stop to the fight with just eight seconds remaining in the round.

With the lose, Eddiva drops to 6-1-0 while Souza improves to 15-3-0. Their bout is part of the undercard for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale which was headlined by a heavyweight bout between Stipe Miocic and Fabio Maldonado. The event was held at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A bloodied Souza (right) presses on towards a retreating Eddiva (left) as referee Herb Dean looks on. Photo by Jason Silva (USA TODAY) via MMA Junkie

Mark Eddiva of Team lakay is going to Brazil for his next UFC fight

Mark Eddiva who just won his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut earlier this month is gearing up for another fight inside the UFC cage. Fighting under the Team Lakay banner, Eddiva will be facing Edimilson Souza, a fighter from Brazil who is much more experienced than him.

Of course, the Cordilleran mixed martial artist is no stranger to facing an opponent who has a record that is double or triple that of his own. In his UFC debut earlier this month in Macau, China, he went the full three rounds against Jumabieke Tuerxun, a fighter who has over a dozen professional fights. At that time, Eddiva only had five fights under his belt. Eddiva won that fight in a lopsided manner. The irony of it was the fact that he was a huge underdog going into the fight.

For his upcoming tussle against Edimilson Souza, Eddiva will likely be deemed yet again as the underdog. Souza who boasts a record of 14-3 has been on an 8-fight winning streak, the last of which was a decision victory in September of last year in his UFC debut. Seven of these victories were via knockouts, five of which were in the very first round.

With that said, Souza is someone who can strike. A very, very dangerous opponent indeed for Eddiva. Although he is Brazilian, Souza's biggest weakness is when he is on the ground. All three of his defeats were via submission. What's interesting here is that Eddiva is actually really good in grappling. He has after all won two of his fights by submission. So it's likely that part of Eddiva's gameplan for the upcoming fight will be to take the fight to the ground.

Eddiva versus Souza is part of the main undercard for UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Silva on May 31, 2014 at the Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event will be headlined by the highly anticipated match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva.[Update: the main event has been changed to a match between Stipe Miocic and Fabio Maldonado.]