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Mark Striegl (center) returns to the local MMA scene at the first KSK MMA Festival later this  month. Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

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Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171282838922720240411-KSK-MMA-Festival.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Mark Striegl (center) returns to the local MMA scene at the <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">first KSK MMA Festival later this  month. Levi Joshua Verora Jr.</div>MANILA -- A unique new MMA festival is set to strengthen homegrown Filipino fighters. Kombat Sports Kalayaan (KSK) is set to usher a new era in local MMA events with the staging of its first KSK MMA Festival on April 28 in Poblacion, Makati City.Former URCC titlist and renowned Filipino MMA contender Mark &quot;Mugen&quot; Striegl graced the event press conference on Thursday. He was joined by KSK Gym founder Cyren Seno, as well as some of the top protagonists for the April 28 slate like national sambo athlete Godwin Langbayan and KSK mainstays Joemar Gallaza and Elorde Sandigon.Striegl, a former Southeast Asian Games combat sambo gold medalist and Langbayan&#x27;s teammate, will battle Paige Alitao for the promotion&#x27;s grappling superfight championship. His return to the local MMA scene after competing under several stables like ONE, UAE Warriors, is a strategic move to inspire more Filipino fighters to gravitate to local events.&quot;It&#x27;s been a while since I competed in Manila. This is a unique event. All streets will be shut down for the event,&quot; Striegl said. &quot;I want to fight in the middle of the street crossing with my friends drinking. It&#x27;s a party.&quot;Langbayan, the younger brother of Lions Nation MMA resident jiu-jitsu trainer Gibran, meanwhile, headlines the fight card against Singaporean Sim Khai Xiong for the inaugural KSK MMA championship.The KSK MMA Festival is a whole-day event that will see a novel setup along P. Burgos Street, one of Metro Manila&#x27;s nightlife hotspots. It will feature a full slate of boxing matches, with the main MMA slate following later in the day. Throughout, there will be night markets, DJs, and street parties, as well as appreciation for Filipino heritage through art.Seno shared that the festival was also her gym&#x27;s own way of taking sports events to the next level, after successful stints by Gallaza and Sandigon in Indonesia.&quot;I&#x27;ve been doing boxing events for at least three years. In my gym, I have a lot of MMA fighters. Joemar won via submission in Bali. I also sent Elorde to Bali and he won via knockout,&quot; Seno said. &quot;Right now, we thought, why not create a really good fight card in a key center in Manila? That&#x27;s what we did.&quot;Gallaza will face Robertson Abion while Sandigon stakes his undefeated 4-0 MMA record against Indonesian Andriawan Dharmita.Aside from KSK&#x27;s mainstays, the slate will feature a competitive lineup of local talents. Former ONE Warrior Series participant Anacleto &quot;Tenacity&quot; Lauron and Arsenio Balisacan, who both competed under the TNT Fight kickboxing stable, will be seeing action. Veteran Rex &quot;T-Rex&quot; De Lara will also continue his grizzled career under KSK.<div>Pinoy combat sports at an &#x27;all-time high&#x27;</div>The ever-flourishing Filipino MMA scene has produced multiple world champions over the past decade like Brandon Vera, Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Geje Eustaquio, and Kevin Belingon.For Striegl, having more local fight cards will bode well for the local ecosystem, just as gyms specializing in different strengths continue to sprawl across the country.&quot;The more shows, the better. More opportunities for up-and-coming fighters to showcase their skills. I really believe that right now with MMA, it&#x27;s so different than 10 years ago,&quot; Striegl said.&quot;Now, you have jiu-jitsu schools, boxing, striking, sambo, the level of combat sports in the Philippines is at an all-time high.&quot;And with the way Filipino MMA icons have done it in the past, Striegl sees no problem with homegrown talents being developed to become all-around fighters who can compete for world titles.&quot;Surround yourself with a good gym, a good team. You need to find a good team with good values, and bond and grow with that team. Hard work pays off. It&#x27;s as simple as that,&quot; he said.The KSK stable plays exactly that role: to provide homegrown talents with more opportunities to possibly train them to become the next batch of world title contenders.Seno hopes the festival only serves as a springboard to produce more competitive local fighters who can aspire for glory internationally.&quot;We will start something novel. That&#x27;s really what we want to do. Something that has never been done before,&quot; Seno added. &quot;We really want to highlight MMA as a mainstream sport, (just) like boxing.&quot;

Kombat Sports Kalayaan (KSK) is set to usher a new era in local MMA events with the staging of its first KSK MMA Festival on April 28 in Poblacion, Makati City.

Kombat Sports Kalayaan (KSK) is set to usher a new era in local MMA events with the staging of its first KSK MMA Festival on April 28 in Poblacion, Makati City.

New local MMA festival aims to empower Filipino fighters

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New local MMA festival aims to empower Filipino fighters

Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

Published Apr 11, 2024 05:40 PM PHT

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