Urijah Faber vs Frankie Edgar headlines UFC Fight Night Manila

Nissi Icasiano

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Urijah Faber vs Frankie Edgar headlines UFC Fight Night Manila
A super-fight between Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar is set to headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first live event in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – A super-fight between Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar is set to headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first live event in the Philippines.

UFC officials publicly confirmed the fight booking on Thursday, February 12 (PH Time) as the bout will serve as the main event of UFC Fight Night 65, which takes place at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila on May 16.

Edgar stressed on numerous occasions that he would not turn down an opportunity to face Faber, but he shot down the idea of moving down to bantamweight, which has been the latter’s weight class since November 2010.

According to UFC’s press release, Faber will be moving up to the featherweight division, which has a weight limit of 145 pounds.

Faber (32-7) is a two-division world champion, highlighting his early run in the sport by holding simultaneously both King of the Cage (KOTC) and Gladiator Challenge (GC) bantamweight belts and the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) featherweight title.

The 5-foot-6 native of Sacramento, California later vacated his KOTC and GC straps upon signing an exclusive contract with WEC after it was purchased by Zuffa, the parent entity of the UFC, in December 2006.

Furthermore, Faber went on to successfully defend WEC’s 145-pound trinket five times before losing it to Mike Brown at WEC 36 in November 2008.

(RELATED: Arianny Celeste to grace Octagon at UFC Fight Night Manila)

In March 2011, he made his highly-anticipated Octagon debut in the co-headliner of UFC 128, where he edged out Eddie Wineland by unanimous decision.

Since his arrival to the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, Faber’s UFC record now stands at 8-3, which includes a remarkable four-straight triumphs with three submission wins in 2013.

“The California Kid” is now riding high on a two-fight winning streak since losing to then-bantamweight champion Renan Barao, thwarting the likes of Alex Caceres and Francisco Rivera.

Faber spearheaded a string of seminars, community outreaches, and mall tours in Manila during the summer period of last year.

On the other hand, Edgar (18-4-1) is on a roll as a featherweight as he piled up three victories in a row since his three-match losing skid in the hands of Jose Aldo and Benson Henderson twice.

Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion, was last seen in action this past November when he submitted featherweight contender Cub Swanson with a neck crank in the fifth round.

Aside from the announcement of UFC Fight Night 65’s top bill, the company also revealed that the main card of the Manila affair will air on FOX Sports 1 in the United States after being initially penciled to be streamed in its entirety via UFC Fight Pass. – Rappler.com

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