Filipino- American MMA fighter and self-confessed Pacquiao fan finds home in Baguio City
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 29 Aug 2012
Striegl.
Twenty four year old Mark Striegl is undefeated in his young career as a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athlete. On Saturday he will put his unbeaten record on the line in an event organized by the top MMA group in the Philippines.
Pacific X-treme Combat or PXC signed Striegl to a multiple fight deal this year and the son of a New Yorker and an Oriental Mindoro teacher will debut with the organization this Saturday in a nationally televised event titled ?PXC 33? at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Striegl was born in Tokyo, Japan to parents who both work as teachers in that country. He developed interest in martial arts from watching the popular Pride Fighting Championships which is hugely popular in Japan.
?It is like the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) of Asia. It was really big at that time and I would watch that on TV all the time and I have even gone to a few shows live.? said Striegl. ?That is why I got into Mixed Martial Arts.? He added.
?I just walked into a dojo (Martials Arts facility) and gave it a try and I was hooked from the very beginning.? said Striegl whose background is mostly wrestling. Out of his ten victories, eight of them came by submission. ?Grappling is my forte but I don?t have any favorite discipline because in the modern fight game you have to be well balanced and well versed in everything or you?re not going to compete with the best guys.? He added.
The young fighter moved back to his mother?s country last October and has loved it ever since. What was originally planned as a one moth training camp in Baguio City turned to be his best decision yet.
?I love it.? Striegl exclaimed. ?I am really happy to be here. I fell in love with Baguio and it felt so good to be back home and I just could not get myself to leave.? said the young fighter who trains out of the Fight Corps MMA gym in the Summer Capital of the Philippines.
This will be Striegl?s third fight in the Philippines and he believes that the Filipinos will embrace MMA just like how it embraced boxing as one of its most popular sport.
?I think combat sports is so ingrained in the culture here. Boxing is so famous here. I think that Mixed Martial Arts is destined to get bigger. It is only going to get bigger and it?s just a matter of time.?
Striegl who himself loves boxing and incorporates it in training and the actual fight.
?I actually train in the gym that Manny Pacquiao trained at here in Baguio, the Shape-Up Boxing Gym. I go there to use their ring from time to time and also to use the weights. They have a great facility over there.? said Striegl who admitted to being a Pacquiao fan.
?Manny Pacquiao is definitely my favorite boxer. Every time he is fighting, I always root for him.?
Striegl who competes in the featherweight (145 pounds) and lightweight (155 pounds) class presents a fan friendly style that Filipino fight fans will appreciate. He is an aggressive fighter who goes after his opponent from the opening bell and that will be his plan Saturday night.
The young fighter dreams of becoming a champion in the cage one day. But that is only one of his dreams. He also has an ardent desire to sing karaoke with his favorite boxer one day.
?I want to sing karaoke with him (Pacquiao) someday.? Striegl told me. ?Any song, it is his choice. He is the master.? He acceded with a smile.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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