UFC Heads to Manila For Fight Night 66

The upcoming UFC Fight Night 66 event will take place in Manila in the Philippines on May 16, with an intriguing main event between two American featherweights. Urijiah “The California Kid” Faber has cut down to the featherweight class in order to take on Frankie “The Answer” Edgar, and the veteran Faber’s fighting style could not differ anymore from the young upstart Edgar.

Faber holds a record of 32-7-0 in MMA competition, standing at 66 inches and weighing 145 pounds. Overall, 28 percent of Faber’s bouts have ended in either a total knock out or a standard knock out. An extremely accurate striker, Faber lands about 42 percent of the punches he throws. Faber is nearly as aggressive on the ground, as 53 percent of his bouts have ended with a submission. With his rugged style, it could make for a wise strategy against a fighter such as Edgar.

With the median price of UFC tickets hovering around the mid-$100’s, and a minimum price of just $56.07 as listed on Ticketbis.com, it appears tickets will be in high demand for the latest UFC showing. Emanating from the Mall of Asia Arena, this particular UFC card should be a bit more special compared to others in the past, as this is a rare venue for a UFC event. In fact, according to international ticket reseller Ticketbis, all tickets being consumed for the event are being bought in the Philippines hinting at the growing popularity of the UFC in the nation home to one of the world’s greatest boxers, Manny Pacquiao.

Edgar holds a 17-4-1 in MMA bouts entering this upcoming fight. He is the exact same height and weight as Faber, but fights in a different style. Edgar looks to extend fights with his defense, as he blocks about 75 percent of the strikes thrown his way. Faber has registered a similar percentage, defending 63.93 percent of the strikes that he faces.

There are still some exciting fights on the card besides the main event. In a light heavyweight bout, Costas Philippou will square off against Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi, the UFC veteran, has a record of 36-5-2. However, Philippou has been an exciting young fighter to watch on the UFC circuit, going 13-4-1. Also, Mark Munoz will be squaring off against Englishman Luke Barnatt in a middleweight bout.

In the earlier preliminary fights, Hyun Gyu Lim, a.k.a “The Ace,” will square off against Neil Magny in a welterweight fight. Yui “The Korean Bulldozer” Chul Nam will face the task of fighting Phillipe Nover in a lightweight fight on the early part of the card. While this fight may not have nearly the same hype as boxing’s famous “Thrilla in Manila”, the card still features some great UFC action and should draw an exciting crowd in the Philippines.