Manila to host UFC tilt in ’14

MANILA, Philippines - The Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading to Manila next year.

UFC chief Dana White has announced the biggest fight organization in the world will finally stage a fightcard in the Philippines sometime next year, according to Ariel Helwani, journalist for MMAFighting.com and Fox Sports, host of The MMA Hour and reporter of UFC Tonight and pre/post-fight shows on FOX Sports 1/2.

“Dana (White) says they will hold a fight card in the Phl next year,” said Helwani on his Twitter account @arielhelwani.

Fil-Am Mark Muñoz, known as the Filipino Wrecking Machine in the UFC, re-tweeted the news while saying: “I love it.”

UFC Asia head Mark Fischer had actually hinted at UFC’s Manila staging in 2014 during his visit last April, saying: “I’d like to remind everyone that this is no commitment but I predict, with help of good partners like ABS-CBN and Balls, fans and the media, the UFC will bring a fightcard to Manila in 2014.”

Fischer also said the UFC is on an aggressive approach to tap the Asian market, which boasts of some of the world’s most popular mixed martial arts practitioners, with at least 10 fights slated in the region in the next two years.

Next to Japan and China, the Philippines is the next big Asian market with the MMA (mixed martial arts) events producing huge turnouts the last few years.