Fil-Am Ticman happy to share UFC Manila moment with Mark Muñoz

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American fighter Nolan Ticman expressed his delight over the fact that he will be sharing the same spotlight with compatriot Mark Muñoz at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s inaugural Philippine live event on Saturday, May 16.

Muñoz and Ticman are two of the five Pinoy combatants who are scheduled to compete at UFC Fight Night 66, which takes place at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila.

In an Instagram post, Ticman conveyed his gratitude for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight on the same card with Muñoz, who is facing English middleweight Luke Barnatt in his farewell match.

“Just ran into old friend Mark Muñoz. It’s an honor to fight on the Manila card with him,” he wrote.

Ticman, who hails from Palm Springs, California but now resides in Huntington Beach, is booked to take on Yao Zhikui in a three-round flyweight tussle.

(READ: Fil-Am Nolan Ticman takes part in UFC Fight Night Manila)

Ticman (4-2) was last seen in action this past August when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to bantamweight standout Frankie Saenz in his first Octagon appearance.

Following his disappointing defeat to Saenz, Ticman decided to move down to flyweight, which has a weight limit of 125 pounds.

Since he started his professional mixed martial arts career in 2009, Ticman has been trained by renowned striking coach Rafael Cordeiro, who also works with other UFC superstars such as Fabricio Werdum, Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva and Rafael dos Anjos.

The 26-year-old Ticman, who attempts to place himself back on the winning track in the organization’s first trip to the Philippines, arrived in the country on Monday, May 11.

We didn’t get to spend Mother’s Day with ours this year but we were able to attend Sunday mass in their honor here in the Philippines #MothersDay

A photo posted by Nolan Joya Ticman (@nolanticman) on May 10, 2015 at 9:26am PDT

On the other hand, Yao (1-2) likewise suffered a setback in his first Octagon appearance as he yielded to Royston Wee via split decision at August’s UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau, China.

The 24-year-old Chinese competitor’s lone victory in his prizefighting record is his 37-second submission of Daoyuan Wang under the Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation banner in May 2013. – Rappler.com