FIL-AM fighter Mark Striegl is hell-bent on nabbing his first victory in the UFC as he returns to the Octagon against Chas Skelly at UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs Fiziev on Feb. 20 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Mark Striegl vs Chas Skelly
“I am super excited about this fight," he said. "I have signed a contract for the fight. I am definitely excited and gunning for my first win."
Curiously, both Striegl and Skelly hold identical 18-3 records and are aching to start the year right.
Striegl is driven to redeem himself after suffering a first-round submission loss to Said Nurmagomedov back in October 2020 in his promotional debut.
He was supposed to fight Johnny Munoz Jr. at UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 in April 2021 but had to withdraw due to an injury.
Since then, the 33-year-old Striegl has been tirelessly training at MMA Lab in Peoria, Arizona where he had a chance to train with former MMA fighter George Castro and four-time US NCAA All-American Bryce Meredith.
"There is a huge advantage coming in early to the United States where I get to train in one place as opposed to moving around in Manila because of the pandemic protocols," he said. "Plus, I get to train under a former MMA fighter in George and Bryce. When you work with high level training partners, it really increases your learning and confidence."
There's no question that Striegl's focus is on point heading into this bout, and although he only started full-time back on January 3, he is confident of the things his camp has worked on and is ready to show it in his match against Skelly.
"It’s all camp training and working out then rest. It allows me to really focus and prepare," he said. "Some fighters have the benefit of several months of training, but we take what is given to us and make the most out of the opportunity."
Striegl will be fighting in the undercard of this event where former UFC Lightweight World Champion Rafael dos Anjos will take on Kyrgyzstan's Rafael Fiziev in the main event.
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