Filmmaker Conan Altatis poses with MMA fighter Mark Striegl in Shape-Up Boxing Gym in Baguio City, Philippines. (Photo : Yibada/Conviron Altatis)
Mixed martial artists Mark Striegl, 28, and A.J. Matthews, 29, had a one-on-one duel in the Philippine leg of Under Armour Test of Will on March 26, Sunday, at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City, Metro Manila. The former is currently signed with ONE FC while the latter competes in Bellator's welterweight division.
The Under Armour Test of Will was not an MMA fight but a test of endurance and physical conditioning. Striegl and Matthews were joined by actor JC de Vera, volleyball player and TV Host Gretchen Ho, three-time world Jiu-jitsu champion Meggie Ochoa, fitness expert Elle Adda, UAAP football player Kali Huff and Alliance Gym's top coach George Castro.
The participants competed in a four-minute circuit consisting of Burpees, One Arm Thruster, TRX Rows and Sandbag Throw. Each participant was scored based on the maximum number of repetitions achieved within 60 seconds. Striegl scored 119 repetitions while Matthews scored 101.
Matthews weighs 171 lbs and is 6 feet tall while Striegl weighs 145 lbs and is 5'8" tall. I asked Striegl what Matthews said to him after the competition.
"A.J. and I are friends and train together so we were probably just joking around immediately after," Striegl told me. "I think he congratulated me."
"I told him I never wanted to do it again," Striegl added and laughed. As one of the top Philippine scorers of the Test of Will challenge, he will participate in a six-country challenge against athletes from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
Matthews started his MMA career in 2007 and won eight out of 14 professional fights. The fighter nicknamed The Filipino Punisher defeated Daniel Morales, Adam Figurski, David Gomez, Sean Choice, Rudy Bears, Charlie Rader, Kyle Bolt and Emiliano Sordi but lost to Herman Terrado, Dom O'Grady, Belal Muhammad, Anatoly Tokov, Ben Reiter and Hisaki Kato.
On the other hand, Striegl started his MMA career in 2009 and won 15 out of 17 professional fights. The fighter nicknamed Mugen defeated Andy Jewett, Bae Young Kwon, Crisanto Pitpitunge, Giovanni Sablan, Yusuke Kawanago, Pan Wen Shi, Ev Ting, Mohd Al Hafiz, Marko Huusansaari, Alcer Lozada, Robert Wusstig, Harris Sarmiento, Kaiwhare Kara-France, Casey Suire and Sotir Kichukov but lost to Jang Yong Kim and Reece McLaren.
Meanwhile, watch a trailer of my upcoming documentary with a working title "BAGUIO CITY, FEBRUARY 2017: Three Handsome Men in a City" featuring Mugen, actor Vernon Hanwell and two-time Berlin Film Festival awardee Kidlat Tahimik here:
