Fil-Am Mark Striegl faces Brazilian standout in comeback bout

MANILA, Philippines – After sitting on the sidelines for nearly a year, Filipino-American fighter Mark Striegl is set to make his return to action in ONE Championship’s ninth live event in the Philippines on December 2.

Striegl faces Brazilian standout Rafael Nunes in the co-headliner of ONE Championship’s “Age of Domination” card, which takes place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Striegl has been out of action since December 2015 when he suffered a painful third-round submission loss at the hands of Filipino-Australian stalwart Reece McLaren.

The 28-year-old from Baguio City was supposed to make his comeback earlier this year, but his layoff was extended after he contracted bronchitis.

Striegl made his promotional debut under the ONE Championship banner in April 2015 by submitting Casey Suire via first-round rear-naked choke.

The 5-foot-8 “Mugen” established himself as one of the top Filipino mixed martial arts competitors with stints in different organizations 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 14-2, with 12 wins coming by submission.

Meanwhile, Nunes (10-1) is one of the top lightweights to emerge from San Paulo, Brazil and is moving down to bantamweight to square off with Striegl.

Nunes, 28, has steamrolled through the competition in his home country with a knack for winning by exciting finish, owning 5 submission victories and 4 knockout triumphs.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, Nunes is equally comfortable defeating his opponents in both grappling and stand-up departments as he looks to showcase his multi-faceted skillset in his next fight against Striegl.

However, Nunes has not competed since yielding to Koji Ando by first-round submission in July 2014. – Rappler.com