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.






