Filipino UFC fighter Striegl follows Pacquiao’s mountain path to glory
- 14 Oct 2020
Mark Striegl makes his UFC debut in Abu Dhabi this weekend having taken a path forged by centuries of feared Filipino warriors and followed by boxing great Manny Pacquiao.
Striegl based himself in the cool mountain climate of Baguio City and it paid off as he became the only Philippines-based fighter on the UFC’s books.
“There’s the high-altitude training but there’s also the history there,” said Filipino-American Striegl. “Once I’d fought there, I couldn’t get myself to leave.”
Baguio City -- on the northern Philippines island of Luzon -- has in the past hosted eight-weight world champion Pacquiao’s training camps.
Striegl, who has an MMA record of 18 wins with two defeats will begin his UFC career in the talent-rich bantamweight division against Russia’s Said Nurmagomedov (13-2) on Saturday night at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
It’s a debut delayed from August when Striegl tested positive for Covid-19 just two days before a maiden bout at the UFC’s Las Vegas base, despite having spent weeks in isolation in Manila before travelling.
After 10 days in quarantine fighting off the coronavirus he was cleared to resume training and now comes his date with Nurmagomedov -- the first contest of Streigl’s four-fight UFC contract.
“Thankfully it came and it went,” Striegl said of the virus.
“I had a fever and lost my sense of taste and smell. But now I have had a full fight camp and I am super stoked. It’s almost like I have been living in a movie.”
The 32-year-old MMA bantamweight Striegl first visited Baguio a decade ago for a mixed martial arts bout.
He met a local woman and fell in love both with her and the popular Filipino holiday destination, which offers welcome respite from the sticky heat of much of the sprawling tropical archipelago.
The mountains are home to the indigenous Igorot people, legendary warriors who resisted colonial domination for hundreds of years.
From 1565 to 1898 they successfully fought to keep the gold found on their lands out of the hands of Spanish colonial powers.
They continued their defiance after Spain ceded the Philippines to the US. They then fought against Japanese occupiers during World War Two.
“Everybody knows about the warriors from the mountains and that history really surrounds you,” said Striegl.
Today Baguio City is home to gyms such as Shape Up Boxing and Team Lakay MMA that have hosted a string of top-class fighters, including Pacquiao and the Asia-based One Championship’s strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio.
Striegl was born in Tokyo to an American father and Filipina mother and started out in karate and wrestling. He spent his college years in California before turning to MMA and making the Philippines his home.
Striegl grafted for a decade in regional fight promotions such as Asia’s One Fighting Championship and the Philippine-based Universal Reality Combat Championship, where he claimed the featherweight belt. He is also the reigning Southeast Asian Games combat sambo gold medallist.
The 28-year-old Nurmagomedov is also a mountain man, from Russia’s Dagestan, famed for producing his cousin and feared UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0), conqueror of Conor McGregor.
“I’m expecting a war,” said Striegl. “There’s never an easy fight in the UFC and I am expecting Said to bring out the best in me.
“I’m never in a boring fight. He’s from the mountains of Russia and I’m from the mountains of the Philippines, so this is going to be a good one.”
Sandhagen faces possible 6-month layoff
Cory Sandhagen picked up the biggest win of his career this past Saturday night at UFC Fight Island when he capped off his main event fight against Marlon Moraes with a memorable spinning heel kick in the second round.
The statement victory for Sandhagen came four months after he suffered a first-round submission loss to Aljamain Sterling that knocked him out of title contention. Now with a win over the No. 1-ranked bantamweight contender in the UFC, Sandhagen is certainly back in those championship conversations.
