ONE Championship: Striegl aims for statement win vs replacement foe

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American fighter Mark Striegl seeks to conclude his 2016 on a high note as he would like to claim a decisive victory against Australian combatant Reece McLaren in the co-headliner of ONE Championship’s “Spirit of Champions” event on Friday, December 11.

Striegl was supposed to meet Jordan Lucas in a three-round bantamweight contest, but the latter was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an eye injury that he sustained in training. 

As a result, McLaren stepped in and took Lucas’ spot to square off with Striegl.

It was a sigh of relief for Striegl that McLaren accepted the offer to face him inside the ONE cage on two weeks notice.

“It was a little less than two weeks before the fight, so it was certainly nerve-wracking,” he said during the media scrum on Tuesday, December 8 at KMA Fitness & Martial Arts in Makati City.

Despite the last-minute change in opponent, Striegl admitted that he made necessary adjustments in his game plan and would like to pull off another first-round finish.

“It’s a different opponent, so there are definitely some things you have to change up. But a fight is a fight, and that’s always my outlook on it. You go into a fight, [and] you have to adapt inside the cage,” he stressed. 

Striegl is used to early endings, as 10 of his 14 career triumphs came by way of first-round submission. 

“I always look to finish my opponent in the first round. You’ll never see me in a boring fight,” Striegl stated.

Reece (7-3) is riding high on a two-fight winning streak and has won his last two outings via first-round submission.

On the other hand, Striegl made his promotional debut under the ONE banner this past April by submitting Casey Suire via first-round rear-naked choke.

The 27-year-old “Mugen” established himself as one of the top Pinoy mixed martial competitors with stellar stints in different promotions across the Asian region such as Pacific Xtreme Combat, Legend FC and Ultimate Reality Combat Championship, to name a few.

In addition, he holds an impressive prizefighting record of 14-1, with 12 wins coming by submission. – Rappler.com