MANILA, Philippines – Filipino fighter Mark Eddiva dominated in his UFC debut, defeating China’s Jumabieke Tuerxun via unanimous decision Saturday night in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) China Finale at the CoatiArena in Macau.
The 28-year-old Eddiva from the Team Lakay stable, who is the second Filipino to be signed by the UFC, bucked the odds against the undefeated Tuerxun, who entered the match with a solid 14-0 record.
It was a dominating night for Eddiva, who showed no signs of rust from a long layoff, as he went to work early in the first round and stayed in control until the final frame to convincingly sway the three judges, who all scored 30-27.
Eddiva, who is also the Philippines’ two-time gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games, hiked his record to 6-0.
“I felt I could I have knocked him out in the first round, but he was strong and a tough opponent,” Eddiva said in an interview posted on mmajunkie.com.
“In the second round, I felt I had total control; I felt my knees were hurting him and doing the job. In the final round, I felt I was one kick away from knocking him out as both of us were tiring.”
Eddiva’s stablemate Dave Galera fought in the octagon in January but yielded to Royston Wee via unanimous decision.
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