Fil-Am MMA fighter Mark Striegl makes UFC debut on August 22

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 14) – Filipino-American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Mark Striegl is set to make his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 22.

The 32-year old Baguio City native formally signed a contract with the world’s largest MMA outfit on Thursday.

“This is a dream come true and this is the culmination of a lot of grind over the years and the lifetime of hard work so I’m proud to be here, I’m proud to represent the Philippines,” Striegl told CNN Philippines.

Striegl, who touts a 18-2 win-loss record, assured he’s in top athletic shape now before his debut UFC fight against Russian newcomer Timur Valiev in UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs Edgar at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Everyone knows that when I go out there it’s never boring so they can expect an action-packed fight. This is an explosive Russian fighter from the mountains of Dagistan and I’m from the mountains of Baguio so it’s gonna be a wild fight,” said Striegl.

Before his much-awaited debut in the UFC octagon, Striegl was the reigning Universal Reality Combat Championships (URCC) Global featherweight champion. He won four straight bouts before getting a no contest decision in his last URCC match against Shunichi Shimizu in April 2019.

Striegl also ruled the men’s 74kg combat sambo event in last year’s Southeast Asian Games.

He also fought in other Asian MMA promotion companies like ONE Championship and Pacific Xtreme Combat.

Striegl is the latest Filipino fighter to sign with UFC, joining fellow Pinoy fighters Brandon Vera and Mark Muñoz among others.