AFTER steering his team to an impressive outing in ONE FC two weeks ago, Lakay coach Mark Sangiao tries to lead another prized ward in the biggest stage of mixed martial arts.
Sangiao, who was at the corner of Eduard Folayang and Rey Docyogen in `Rise of Heroes’ last May 2, will bark instructions at Mark Eddiva, who continues his Ultimate Fighting Championship journey against Kevin Souza in a UFC: Fight Night card on May 31 in Brazil.
“Gawin natin na hindi lang sa ONE FC, pero pwede rin tayo sa top promotion,” said Sangiao, whose famed crew was undefeated in two fights in Rise of Heroes.
Sangiao is confident about the chances of the 28-year-old Eddiva, the second homegrown Filipino in the UFC, who is coming off a remarkable debut in the world’s top MMA promotion last March when he scored a convincing unanimous-decision victory over Chinese Jumabieke Tuerxun in Macau.
Now, the former Asian Games wushu bronze medalist faces another featherweight opponent in his turf in the hopes of keeping his pristine 6-0 win-loss card intact.
Although the Brazilian’s style is suited for the Baguio native honed at the stand-up game, the 6-feet Souza is four inches taller than Eddiva.
“Striker na matangkad yung kalaban so kailangan pag-aralan yung weakness,” Sangiao said of Souza, who has also been unbeaten in his last eight fights.
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