What was supposed to be a coming-out party for Mark Striegl turned into a shocking and heartbreaking occurrence as Said Nurmagomedov didn’t break a sweat in giving the Filipino-American a rude welcome in his much-awaited Octagon debut.
Nurmagomedov mercilessly demolished Striegl in less than a minute of their kick-off bantamweight encounter at UFC Fight Island 6, which took place at The Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, Sunday morning (Manila time)
All it took for the 28-year-old Dagestani was 51 seconds to get the job done, coming out the gate by delivering lashing kicks to legs and body. Once his southpaw opponent attempted to close the distance by reaching in with a left straight, Nurmagomedov clipped him with a counter left hook.
Striegl quickly shot for a single-leg takedown. But while holding onto his counterpart’s right leg, Nurmagomedov managed to maintain his balance and connected a series of right hands to the side of the head to drop the former URCC featherweight champion to the mat.
From there, Nurmagomedov finished matters with a relentless barrage of ground-and-pound, compelling referee Lukasz Bosacki to step in and call a halt to the contest.
With the disappointing defeat at the hands of Nurmagomedov, Striegl downgraded his professional record to 18-3 with 1 NC.
Striegl was supposed to make his first UFC appearance against Timur Valiev this past August but had to withdraw after contracting COVID-19.
On the other hand, Nurmagomedov placed himself back on the winning track after dropping a unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos in December of last year. He improved his slate to 14-2.
