8 Pinoy MMA Fighters We’d Love to See in the UFC
Nov 30, 2016 • Karl R. De Mesa
Rolando “The Incredible” Dy Navarette
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The PXC veteran out of Kratos MMA has been a stalwart of the Pinoy and Asian MMA scene since 2011.
A grinder and technical brawler with an 8-4 “The Incredible” is riding on a three-fight win streak with a recent UD victory over Aydin Mruoki. And who doesn’t want to see a Navarette child possibly tough it out in the UFC cage?
Mark “Mugen” Striegl
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Named by Yahoo! Sports in 2014 as one of the hottest prospects in Asian MMA, Striegl has proved his mettle in the cage over and over again in several organizations like PXC, URCC, Legend FC, and now in the ONE Championship cage. His 14-2 record speaks for itself and this Fil-Am fighter’s transfer to Singapore’s Evolve Fight Team has only made his swords even sharper. A step up to UFC level competition is the next logical move for Mugen, to test his skills against the best lightweights of the world.
Chris Hofmann
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His TKO of the notoriously tough MMA vet Caloy Baduria was simply phenomenal. It was also a victory that sent Baduria into retirement, passing on the tough guy torch to Hofmann. Although the 205 pounder out of BAMF MMA Center has a lot of room for improvement with just a 3-1 record, his powerful stand-up and acutely improving ground tactics (he joins grappling comps on his down time) are certainly the same tools that made him the current URCC Light Heavyweight Champion. With more conditioning and sharper jiu-jitsu, we’d love to see this local star shine brighter under the global spotlight.
Eduard “Landslide” Folayang
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The empathic TKO win of Team Lakay’s current thoroughbread against grappling legend Shinya Aoki in the last ONE Championship card in Singapore speaks for itself. Not only does it prove that he’s ready to be in the UFC, it also proves he’ll shine in top level competition. Landslide to the UFC? I say after a title defense, Baguio City’s son should get it done.
All photos courtesy of ONE Championship/Stev Bonhage.
Any other fighters you’d like to see in the Ultimate Fighting Championship?
