Eko Roni Saputra (7-1) is becoming a rising star in ONE Championship’s stacked flyweight division.
The multiple-time Indonesian national wrestling champion has a huge opportunity to claim a top-five spot in the promotion’s rankings at “ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II” on Friday, February 24, when he takes on former ONE flyweight world title challenger and current No. 3-ranked contender Danny Kingad (14-3).
But before he makes the walk to the ONE circle at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, we thought we would dive into the backstory of this promising fighter on the rise.
From humble beginnings to national wrestling champion
Saputra was born in Samarinda on the island of Borneo, where he grew up in poverty.
His parents sold fish at a local market, but the business went bankrupt and his father became a boxing coach – a decision that changed the course of their young son’s life.
At just 5 years old, Saputra began learning “the sweet science” directly from his dad.
However, under pressure from his parents, the Indonesian child made another fateful switch – this time, to the sport of freestyle wrestling.
Wrestling lacked the popularity of boxing, but for 13-year-old Saputra – according to his parents – it represented a greater chance of achieving a national championship.
And that he did.
Despite his early reluctance, the youngster decided to dedicate his life to wrestling and wound up excelling at the sport.
Saputra claimed multiple national wrestling championships and with an undefeated record in his homeland, went on to claim a bronze medal at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games before claiming silver at the same event in 2013.
Transitioning to MMA
By 2018, Saputra had cleared out his division on home soil and decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts.
To aid in his transition, Saputra joined the famed Evolve Fight Team in Singapore and made his MMA debut at “ONE: Roots of Honor” in 2019 against Singaporean star Niko Soe.
Saputra gave a good account of himself in his debut, but a devastating elbow from Soe opened a nasty cut, which forced the doctor to call a halt to the action after little more than three minutes.
The fight was no doubt a learning curve for Saputra, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Since that night, the 31-year-old has left a trail of destruction through the flyweight division.
Genuine world title threat
Saputra now rides a seven-fight win streak, with all of his victories coming inside the opening round.
The wrestling star now also has submissions in his arsenal, with five of his MMA wins coming via tapout. But, he hasn’t forgotten his boxing roots – highlighted by an incredible 10-second, one-punch knockout of Liu Peng Shui at “ONE: Battleground II” II in 2021.
The most recent of Saputra’s historic run was another submission win over dangerous striker Yodkaikaew “Y2K” Fairtex at ONE 162 in October.
ONE Championship’s flyweight division is home to a slew of big names and promotional staples, such as divisional king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, Adriano Moraes, Kairat Akhmetov, Reece McLaren, and Kingad, too.
Now riding a wave of momentum, Saputra is primed to take the next step on his journey toward the famed division’s upper echelon when he faces his stiffest test to date at ONE Fight Night 7.
If fans in the U.S. and Canada haven’t seen Saputra yet, they can watch ONE Fight Night 7 live and for free with an Amazon Prime membership at 8 p.m. ET on February 24.
