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MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American fighter Mark Striegl says he is willing to prove that he is worthy of a crack at Bibiano Fernandes’ ONE Championship bantamweight belt by taking on either Kevin Belingon or Dae Hwan Kim in a title eliminator.
ONE chief executive officer Victor Cui told Rappler that an impressive win by Striegl in the co-headliner of the “Spirit of Champions” event on Friday, December 11 could earn him a date with Fernandes.
However, many observers believe that it is too early for Striegl to have a title shot as he has not yet faced a solid opponent in the organization’s 135-pound weight class.
According to Striegl, he is open to the idea of facing the aforementioned bantamweight contenders to cement his status as the rightful challenger.
“If I have to fight one more person, then I will fight another person. There’s no problem. I will fight whoever ONE Championship wants me to fight” he told Rappler.
(READ: ONE Championship: Striegl aims for statement win vs replacement foe)
Belingon was one step away from challenging Fernandes, but Kim spoiled the Filipino’s championship aspirations by submitting the highly-touted Team Lakay representative with a first-round rear-naked choke in March 2014.
The 28-year-old Baguio City native bounced back by scoring a lopsided decision triumph over Koetsu Okazaki in December of last year.
Meanwhile, Kim fell short against Fernandes as the Korean stalwart was forced to tap by the Brazilian champion with a second-round rear-naked choke in December 2014.
Kim returned to the winner’s column with a second-round submission victory over Teng LiGe this past October.
Although he is willing to dance with either competitor inside the ONE cage, Striegl prefers to lock horns with Kim than Belingon
“I rather fight Dae Hwan because Kevin is a fellow Filipino and Dae Hwan is Korean,” he said.
Despite the early championship implication, Striegl reiterated that his current focus is on defeating Australian opponent Reece McLaren.
“My focus right now is on my next opponent. If a title shot comes out of that, of course I will take the opportunity,” he ended. – Rappler.com
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