Mark Striegl signs with ONE FC

Nissi Icasiano

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Mark Striegl signs with ONE FC
After parting ways with PXC in April, Filipino-American fighter Mark Striegl signed with ONE FC after Thursday's weigh-in for 'Warrior's Way'

MANILA, Philippines – After parting ways with Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) in April of this year, Filipino-American fighter Mark Striegl has directed his path to ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC).

The contract signing was held after the official weigh-in of ONE FC: Warrior’s Way at the SM Mall of Asia atrium in Pasay City, Metro Manila on Thursday, December 4.

However, the other details and terms of Striegl’s exclusive multi-fight deal with Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization were not publicly disclosed.

“I’m really happy that I signed with ONE FC. I’m just focusing on 2015 and making good fights for this company,” Striegl tells Rappler.

(RELATED: Ana Julaton to display improved wrestling skills, says coach)

Striegl established himself as one of the top Pinoy MMA prospects with stellar stints in different promotions across the Asian region such as PXC, Legend FC and Ultimate Reality Combat Championship, to name a few.

The 26-year-old “Mugen” holds an impressive prizefighting record of 13-1, with 11 wins coming by way of submission.

In addition, he owns noteworthy triumphs over the likes of Crisanto Pitpitunge, Yusuke Kawanago, Ev Ting and Harris Sarmiento.

Striegl tasted the lone loss of his professional MMA run when he squared off with Jang Yong Kim for the vacant PXC featherweight title in September 2013.

In the aforementioned encounter with the gritty Korean, Kim fastened a Kimura lock and then applied a leg-scissor choke to compel Striegl to tap in the third round.

During that period, Striegl was highly touted to be following the footsteps of PXC standouts such as Jon Tuck, Hyun Gyu Lim, Dustin Kimura, Louis Smolka and Michinori Tanaka in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but the disappointing setback to Kim derailed his opportunity to enter the world’s premier MMA promotion.

Thirteen months later, Striegl placed himself back on the winning track by submitting Kaiwhare Kara-France with a first-round rear-naked choke in the co-headliner of Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MIMMA) 2 grand finals this past October.

Striegl made headlines last week when he decided to join the Evolve Fight Team, which is based in Singapore.

The Evolve Fight Team is widely regarded as the most decorated professional combat squad in Asia with names such as Ben Askren, Shinya Aoki, Rafael dos Anjos, Tarec Saffiedine, Herbert Burns, Leandro Issa and Eddie Ng as part of the group.

The exact date and the suitable opponent for Striegl’s ONE FC debut have not been announced as of the moment.

“If I could choose a date, I want to fight as soon as possible. I had a long break before my fight with Kara-France, so I would like to start my 2015 strong,” Striegl stressed.

Striegl affirmed that he would still be competing at bantamweight, which has a weight perimeter of 135 pounds.

The 5-foot-8 stalwart from Baguio City fought 12 of his 14 outings as a featherweight combatant.

“I wasn’t a big featherweight to be honest. From the very beginning, my plan was always to fight at bantamweight. Back in San Diego, my debut fight was held at a catchweight of 140 pounds because my gym wanted me to go to bantamweight. But when I moved into Asia, I ate too much adobo and ballooned up,” he shared.

With the opportunity to rebuild his career again, Striegl sets his sights on a heftier prize as he desires to vie for the ONE FC bantamweight title in the future.

“A belt has definitely eluded me so far in my career. Any professional fighter wants a world title. One day, I will make that dream come true,” he ended. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!