Continuing on the quest for global expansion, UFC is holding their first ever event in the Philippines. This card will be broadcast on Fight Pass and Fox Sports 1, with a bright and early Saturday morning start of 7 AM (Eastern Time) for Fight Pass prelims, 8 AM for the FS1 prelims, and 10 AM for the main card. You won’t be missing much if you sleep in until 10 – while there are several interesting fights on the main card, the undercard doesn’t have a whole lot to offer, so set your DVR and watch the prelims later if you care.
Main Event: [#2 FW] Frankie Edgar vs [#3 BW] Urijah Faber
Worth: $15
Why: This is a matchup between two of the all-time greats in the 155-and-under divisions. Former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is 3-1 since dropping down to featherweight, his only loss a decision to the champion Jose Aldo. With Aldo set to face Conor McGregor at UFC 189, and no clear #1 contender waiting for the winner, Edgar will be campaigning for another shot at the featherweight gold with a win over Urijah. Faber has yet to get his hands on a UFC title: the long-time WEC featherweight champion is 8-3 in the UFC overall, and those 3 losses all came in bantamweight title fights. He is now returning to his old roaming ground of 145 lbs, and a victory here might also earn him another title shot. Faber has not looked great in his last few outings, particularly in his most recent fight with Francisco Rivera, who appeared to be getting the best of Urijah until Faber capitalized on an unintentional eye poke that was missed by the referee. This does not bode well for him against Edgar: in the lighter weight classes speed is king, especially when both opponents are not knockout artists and instead rely on endless cardio and scrambling ability to win fights. At 35, Faber may have lost a step in the quickness department, while 33-year-old Edgar looked as good as ever in his dominant win over Cub Swanson. I believe Urijah still has enough left in the tank to make it a competitive fight, but ultimately he will be outworked by the younger and fresher Edgar, which will likely mark the end of Faber’s title aspirations.
Main Event: [#5 MW] Gegard Mousasi vs [#14 MW] Costas Philippou
Worth: $10
Why: Gegard Mousasi’s UFC career has been hot-and-cold so far. After an uninspired win over Ilir Latifi in his promotional debut, Mousasi has been alternating wins and losses: quick stoppages of Mark Munoz and Dan Henderson, a close decision loss to Lyoto Machida, and a submission loss to Ronaldo Souza. Between all this, it’s hard to get a feel for his true place in the division. Is he the truly the elite fighter he was considered in his Dream and Strikeforce days, or merely a gatekeeper for the elite? I am not sure that a fight with Costas Philippou, who is solidly entrenched in the gatekeeper territory, will answer this question. Nonetheless it should be a fun fight – a tough brawler with KO power vs a well rounded technical fighter whose biggest fault is usually a lack of aggression. I expect Mousasi to win this fairly easily, which should get him a step up in competition in his next outing.
Main Event: [#24 MW] Mark Munoz vs [#64 MW] Luke Barnatt
Worth: $1
Why: Mark Munoz has announced that he is going to retire after this fight – win or lose. It’s probably a bit overdue; not only did he lose 4 of his last 5, he was brutally finished in all the loses and hasn’t looked like he should be fighting at the UFC level of competition since 2011. I really have no interest in this fight per se, but will throw in a dollar for Mark’s retirement celebration (and hope that he doesn’t take any more unnecessary damage in his last fight).
Main Event: [#26 WW] Neil Magny vs [#53 WW] Hyun Gyu Lim
Worth: $5
Why: UFC has been taking a slow-and-steady approach with Neil Magny, allowing him to develop against mid level competition instead of throwing him to the wolves. Thus Magny is now on an unlikely 6 win streak after losing his first two post-TUF fights in the Octagon. He has a chance to extend it to 7, though his opponent is no pushover: Hyun Gyu Lim is 3-1 in the UFC, with all 3 wins coming by knockout and his sole loss a decision to Tarec Saffiedine. This is a good fight between two big welterweight up-and-comers, and it should be a competitive one despite the ranking discrepancy.
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Event Worth: $31
Event Valuation: $5 (see how I came up with this valuation)
Net Value: $26
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Fight Pass Prelims Worth: $0
Fight Pass Year-to-Date Cost: $49.95
Fight Pass Year-to-Date Value: $1.05
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Fox Sports 1 YTD Worth: $144.50
Fox Sports 1 YTD Valuation: $42
Fox Sports 1 YTD Net Value: $102.50