The match between Mark “Mugen” Striegl, 29, and Andrew Benibe, 41, is one of the most awaited “URCC: XXX” bouts on August 12, 2017 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. On July 25, 2017, the two were present during the press conference at Winford Hotel and Casino in Manila, Metro Manila.
“I’m just happy to be part of URCC,” Striegl said during the conference. “The level is high. I’ve fought in a lot of places so I would know.”
During the conference, Benibe was asked about his secrets as a fighter. Striegl jokingly told him, “Let’s hear it, Bro.”
“Honestly, if you’re gonna fight, you don’t wanna go down with a wrestling match, right?” Benibe replied. He simply said that he will utilize his strength in the cage after acknowledging that Striegl is a strong fighter.
BOTTOM: Andrew Benibe, Kiko Matos, Mark Palomar, Mark Striegl
“URCC: XXX” will be Striegl’s third URCC fight and Benibe’s 15th. Benibe’s debut fight as a professional MMA fighter took place on April 15, 2006 at “Fearless Fighting Championship: Qualifying” where he lost via technical knockout to Mark Eddiva, 31, who went on to be signed with UFC from 2014 to 2016.
On August 31, 2012, Benibe fought his first ONE Championship fight at “ONE FC 5: Pride of a Nation.” He lost to Team Lakay fighter Honorio Banario via technical knockout.
Benibe made his URCC debut on June 30, 2007 at “URCC 10: X” where he lost to Arnel Arancina via technical knockout. On March 1, 2008, Benibe returned to the cage and had his first URCC win after defeating Rodel Chua via submission at “URCC Cebu 2.”
On November 21, 2009, Benibe had a shot for the featherweight title but the fight ended in a No Contest due to an inadvertent eye poke. His opponent was Ali Khatibi, who recently starred in Toto Natidad’s action film “Double Barrel” with AJ Muhlach, Phoebe Walker and Jeric Raval.
When Dave Galera signed with UFC, his vacated URCC bantamweight title was given to Benibe after defeating Onyok Transmonte via technical knockout on October 23, 2014 at “URCC 25: Takeover.” It was a rematch after the latter defeated the former via split decision on November 30, 2013 at “URCC 24: Uprising.” But on July 25, 2015, Benibe lost the title to Jerson Estoro at “URCC 26: Domination.”
Currently, Benibe holds a record of 6 wins, 9 losses and 1 No Contest. His most recent fight was on January 28, 2017 at “URCC: BETS- Battle Extreme Tournament Superstars” where he lost to Rahul K. Raju via unanimous decision.
On the other hand, Striegl’s most recent fight was on December 2, 2016 at “ONE Championship: Age of Domination” where he defeated Sotir Kichukov via unanimous decision. In Striegl’s two previous URCC fights, he defeated Crisanto Pitpitunge in Baguio City and Alcer Lozada in Pasay City. Striegl is currently residing in Baguio City, which is also home to Eddiva and Galera.
“URCC: XXX” will give either Striegl his third URCC win or Benibe his seventh win in the promotion. Watch a clip from the press conference featuring the two fighters here:
CONAN Daily 