Cali, Striegl men to watch in PXC

MANILA, Philippines - If there is fighter in the Pacific X-treme Combat who could follow the footsteps of former champion John Tuck of Guam in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it could be local bet Ale Cali or Fil-Am Mark Striegl.

The 28-year-old Tuck has paved the way for PXC fighters after debuting in the UFC and winning his first bout against Chinese Zhang Tiequan in Macau more than a week back.

And the 21-year-old Cali, who beat Guamanian Jesse Taitano in the PXC 29 early this year to win the flyweight crown and become the first Filipino champion in the PXC, and the 24-year-old Striegl, who is unscathed in 11 fights, hope to follow suit.

“It’s a long way but it’s my dream,” said Cali in Filipino.

“It’s every fighter’s dream to fight in the UFC and I’m no exception,” said Streigl, whose Filipina mother is from Oriental Mindoro.

Their roads though would depend on how they fare in PXC 34 set at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum last night.

Cali was to take on a comebacking submission specialist Erwin Tagle while Streigl was to fight brawler Harris Sarmiento, also a Fil-Am.

“That has always been the goal by the PXC from the start, to produce fighters and help them realize their dreams of making it to the UFC,” said PXC chief EJ Calvo. “We’ve done that before and we hope to produce more.”

Aside from Tuck, in the country to watch PXC 34, the PXC has also sent Korean Lim Hyun Gyu to the UFC.

Lim was supposed to fight American David Mitchell in Macau but his fight was scrapped due to dehydration on the eve of fight night.

PXC 34, shown on AKTV on IBC 13, was presented by San Mig Strong Ice and Sports 5 with supporters like E-Games, Fitness First, FHM Phl, FHM.com.ph, Premier Condoms, Healthway Agility Phl, Beer Below Zero, Real Sports Radio and Local.ph.