Fil-American fighter Mark Striegl. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Preparing for one of the toughest fights in his mixed martial arts career, Mark Striegl will try to draw inspiration from a familiar figure once he steps inside the cage next month.
“One of the greatest fighters of all time, Manny Pacquiao, is a legend here and pretty much all over the world. He has put the Philippines on the map as far as fight sports are concerned, he’s a true global icon and one of my inspirations,” he said.
Striegl (14-2) will need all the inspiration he can get as he tries to emulate the eight-division boxing world champion when he faces Brazilian Rafael Nunes (10-1) at ONE: Age of Domination on December 2 at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Fil-Am bantamweight shared that Pacquiao has been a huge role model for him whenever he fights.
“One thing I love about Manny’s fight style is that he’s an action-packed fighter. He just keeps going and going and moving forward. That’s something I try to do in my fights,” he said. “You’ll never see me in a boring fight. I always press the action, I always come forward.”
Striegl acknowledges the risk he’s taking by being the aggressor, but it’s just how the 28-year-old is wired –willing to take command of the fight through his offense whenever the opportunity presents itself.
“I’m not a point fighter. Sometimes, I put myself at risk by doing that, but it’s better than being a point fighter, like a Floyd Mayweather-style kind of fighter,” he said.
It also helps that Striegl is heavily influenced by his training partner, ONE Heavyweight Champion Brandon Vera, a noted showman who lets his fists do the talking.
“Here in Manila, I’ve been fortunate enough to train with Brandon Vera,” he said, while also mentioning the names of AJ Matthews and Mark Munoz as ones who’ve helped him in his preparation for this fight. “I’ve just been jumping around and training with Brandon and it’s been great. There are so many good gyms to work with in Manila. MMA is getting really big in this country.”
He has also split time training in Baguio and with Evolve MMA in Singapore.
Through all of this, Striegl is optimistic his sacrifices are worth it as he positions himself for a title fight in the near future, which is exactly the goal he had in mind when he joined ONE Championship in April 2015.
“My goal when I entered this sport was and is to win a world championship title for the Philippines and bring it back here to Manila,” he said. “That’s what I think about and it’s been my goal since I was young.”