Future Perfect Perfect 10
Undefeated: Fil-Am MMA fighter Mark Striegl currently has a 10-0 win-loss record. MANILA, Philippines - Mark Striegl now has a perfect 10-0 professional fighting record. He just closed out the perfect streak, taking his last fight at a mere two-week’s notice.
Despite now having football, rugby, and dragon boat teams to cheer for in the international sports scene, Philippines still can’t get enough of boxing. Well, here’s yet another field we can be proud of: Mixed Martial Arts, in which Filipino-American Mark Striegl now has a perfect 10-0 professional fighting record. He just closed out the perfect streak, taking his last fight at a mere two-week’s notice after a fighter’s injury, in Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) last April 28 here in Manila. The 23-year-old’s Japanese fighter name, Mugen, means “limitless.” Maybe we can start paying attention?
The MMA press is calling him a “rising featherweight star,” even tagging him the Asian counterpart of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight fighter Jake Shields. Growing up in Tokyo during the heyday of PRIDE Fighting Championship, Mugen remembers the MMA god Fedor Emelianenko: “Watching him run though the competition in PRIDE was a thing of beauty.”
In 2009, during his first fight in San Diego, he shares, “I remember thinking that it would be cool to travel, fight, and not have a regular desk job after college.” That’s just what he did. He has since fought in Taipei, Saipan, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Baguio, where he is currently based. “I originally came to Baguio to train and get in touch with my Filipino roots,” he recounts. His mother is from Oriental Mindoro and married a man from New York. “What was originally supposed to be a one-month training camp turned into half a year of awesomeness.”
Homegrown diet: Striegl’s favorite dishes include chicken adobo and balut. Portraits by Cholo Dela Vega It could be the Tokyo-like weather, or it could be the food. He and his training buddies are officially known as Fight Corps MMA, but unofficially, they’re Team Buffet. While he can actually feast on his favorite chicken adobo and balut during training camp, he reserves more for reward. “It’s funny because, as a fighter, you have to eat well and diet at times, which is really the only thing I dislike about MMA,” he says. “I like to think that my opponent is doing this to me, which he kind of is indirectly, and I can’t eat my favorite snacks because of him.”
Striegl knows how to channel his physical and mental energy into a fight. Besides working a bulky 5’8” frame, he talks about mentally breaking down his opponents. “I wrestled competitively from a young age,” he shares, “and my style was always an aggressive one.” His fight videos show this. He bravely presses forward and pressures his opponent. “MMA is really all mental,” he says. “If you’re able to break your opponent’s will, the fight is yours.”
Mugens has proven this effective for his early record, and enthusiast are talking about wanting to see him step up to the world’s biggest MMA promotions, UFC. “It’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Striegl admits. “As of now, though, I’m enjoying fighting in Asia.” With his formidable grappling power and motivation from Team Buffet, he stays on his route, undisturbed.
From Baguio to Bangkok: Mark Striegl has fought all over Asia. * * *
Greet Mark Striegl congratulations through twitter.com/MarkMugen or facebook.com/markmugen or, better yet, train to get into his sport at facebook.com/FightCorpsMMA.
