Anton Tabuena
Filipino URCC champion Mark Striegl has another date set for his UFC debut.
Mark Striegl was supposed to make his UFC debut on short notice last August, but the Filipino star ended up pulling out on the very last minute after he tested positive for COVID-19. The URCC champion has since recovered and tested negative again for the virus, and was cleared to resume his training in Las Vegas last week.
This ultimately led to his UFC debut being rebooked, which will now be against Said Nurmagomedov. As first reported by Asian MMA writer John Hyon Ko, the bantamweight bout will be part of the Brian Ortega vs Korean Zombie Fight Night card on October 17.
Striegl is unbeaten in his last five bouts, and has wins over current UFC contender Kai-Kara France, and many other top fighters from the Asia-Pacific region. The 32-year-old also crossed over to Sambo, and won gold for the Philippines at the 2019 South East Asian Games.
Striegl (18-2) was originally booked to face PFL standout Timur Valiev, and will get another tough opponent this time around. Nurmagomedov (13-2) is a champion out of WFCA in Russia, who has gone 2-1 in the UFC so far. His only defeat in the last six years was a decision against Raoni Barcelos, and holds impressive wins in the UFC over Justin Scoggins and Ricardo Ramos.