Munoz’s buddy Faber to see action in UFC Manila card

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino mixed martial arts fight fans want to see Fil-Am Mark Munoz fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's first ever card in the Philippines.

The UFC, the biggest MMA outfit in the world, is at least bringing on Munoz's friend Urijah Faber.

Faber, a bantamweight and featherweight contender, will top-bill UFC's first ever visit to MMA-crazy Philippines as he faces off with another popular fighter Frankie Edgar in a five-round, non-titled bout on May 16 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.

It can be recalled that Faber is a close friend to Munoz, called "The Filipino Wrecking Machine," and the same person the latter was attributing his entry to the UFC.

Faber and Edgar are UFC's lighter weight class pioneers with Edgar being a former world lightweight champion and Faber an ex-featherweight title-holder in UFC's defunct affiliate WEC.

Edgar reigned supreme in the 155-pound class from 2010 to 2012 and is now fighting in the featherweight division where he has hurdled his first three assignments--Charles Oliveira, BJ Penn and Cub Swanson.

Faber, called the "California Kid," was WEC featherweight king from 2006 to 2008 but has moved up to the bantamweight class in 2011 and has won six of his last seven fights, the latest of which was a second round win over Francisco Rivera via bulldog choke in UFC 181 late last year.

The country's very own, Roldan Sangcha-an faces off with Guam's Jon delos Reyes in the 125-pound class.

Others in the card are lightweight bouts between Korea's Tae Hyun Bang and Guam's Jon Tuck and China's Zhang Lipeng and Kajan Johnson, 125-pound duel between China's Yao Zhikui and Nolan Ticman and a welterweight showdown between China's Li Jingliang and Roger Zapata.

And the icing on the cake should be Munoz.

UFC said tickets will go on sale in March, launched in conjunction with SM Tickets at www.smtickets.com. Stay tuned to UFC.com for more information as well as fight card announcements.