Muñoz will fight at UFC Manila event

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Filipino-American Mark Muñoz will have his request granted as he will be part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first live event on May 16 at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila.

The announcement was made during an on-sale press conference on Tuesday, May 10 at Solaire Resort & Casino’s Grand Ballroom in Parañaque City.

Muñoz will be locking horns with English stalwart Luke Barnatt in a three-round middleweight tussle.

The 37-year-old “Filipino Wrecking Machine” is suffering from a three-fight losing skid and recently yielded to Roan Carneiro at UFC 184 last March 1.

It only took Carneiro under two minutes to render Muñoz unconscious with a rear-naked choke, earning a first-round technical submission in first Octagon triumph since receiving the pink slip from the UFC more than six years ago.

“It’s a blessing to be part of UFC’s event here in the Philippines, despite the tough loss recently. This is another opportunity to prove myself again,” he told Rappler.

Like Muñoz, Barnatt aims to put himself back on the winning track as he dropped his last two UFC outings, bowing down to top prospects such as Sean Strickland and Roger Narvaez.

Prior to the aforementioned setbacks, he was riding high on an eight-fight victory parade, putting the UFC on notice with remarkable victories over Andrew Craig and Mats Nilsson.

UFC Fight Night 66 is headlined by a featherweight super-fight between Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar.

Tickets to UFC’s maiden trip to the fight capital of the Southeast Asian region will be available on Friday, March 13. – Rappler.com