Anton Tabuena
Two talented UFC newcomers will face off this August.
Last Tuesday, MMA Fighting reported that verbal agreements were in place for the UFC to pick up Filipino-American fighter Mark Striegl and have him face PFL standout Timur Valiev on August 22.
Striegl (18-2), who is a URCC featherweight champion based out of Baguio, Philippines, flew to Las Vegas at the end of July, looking for an opportunity to sign with the UFC. Bloody Elbow has since confirmed that he has now officially signed the deal, and like many debutants during this COVID-19 era, he will finally get his shot on relatively short notice.
“It’s a dream come true to fight in the UFC,” Striegl told Bloody Elbow. “It’s been a long road to get here and I can’t wait to test my skills against the best.”
The 32-year-old will be dropping back down to 135 lbs for his UFC debut, and will face stiff competition right off the bat.
“Valiev is a good fighter,” Striegl said. “He’s explosive and well-rounded but I believe I match up well with him.”
Valiev (16-2) is PFL/WSOF standout who went 8-1 with the organization, and was considered for years as one of the best bantamweights outside the UFC. The 30-year-old was signed by the UFC earlier but had to delay his debut that was originally planned for August 1.
Striegl is unbeaten in his last five bouts, with his last win being against URCC and UAE Warriors featherweight champ Do Gyeom Lee. He has competed in various promotions in the Asia-Pacific region such as ONE Championship, URCC, PXC, and Legend FC, where he faced the likes of UFC veterans Kai Kara-France and Shunichi Shimizu, and Strikeforce vet Harris Sarmiento.
The talented grappler also crossed over to Sambo, joining the Philippine national team and subsequently winning gold in the 2019 South East Asian Games.
The August 22 event will be hosted at the UFC Apex center in Las Vegas. It will be headlined by Valiev’s longtime training partner Frankie Edgar, who will be dropping to bantamweight against Pedro Munhoz.