Adrian Mattheis (10-6) may be the opening act at “ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II” on Prime Video, but he has a story to match anyone on the ONE Championship roster.
The MMA fighter known as “Papua Badboy” will look to pen the next chapter of his courageous tale when he meets Chinese star Zelang Zhaxi (16-7-1) in the very first bout of the February 24 event.
Mattheis has been a staple of the strawweight division since 2017, and his matchup with Zelang on Friday night promises to open the show with a bang.
But before North American fans tune in to ONE Fight Night 7 on Amazon Prime Video at 8 p.m. EST, get inspired by the Indonesian’s shocking life journey.
A storied upbringing
Mattheis grew up on the Maluku Islands in Indonesia at a time when political unrest and religious violence were prevalent in the country.
His family is Christian, and sections of the community in which they lived persecuted them for that reason.
As a result, a young Mattheis witnessed something that no child should ever have to see – the murder of his grandfather.
Mattheis’ grandfather was an amputee, having stepped on a landmine earlier in life. But the mob of townspeople who set upon the elderly man took no pity on him and, ultimately, took his life.
The murder proved to be the final straw for the youngster’s mother, who fled the country with the 6-year-old and his older sister.
Incredibly, the family managed to evade the angry mob and retreat into the jungle. After running from village to village, they eventually found their way onto a boat bound for the island of Papua to reunite with Mattheis’ father.
Finding an outlet
As a teenager, streetfights and poor behavior followed, but there was an attitude shift when Mattheis found martial arts in 2012.
Martial arts gave the young man an outlet to vent his frustration and anger, and it allowed him to get his life back on track. In 2013, “Papua Badboy” enrolled at the Fisheries University of Jakarta, which proved to be a fateful decision.
The university was home to former ONE Championship star Zuli “The Shark” Silawanto, who just so happened to be a lecturer at the school.
The chance meeting with Silawanto – a man considered to be an Indonesian MMA pioneer – inspired Mattheis to follow in the elder’s footsteps and begin training under the lecturer’s tutelage at his own Tigershark Fighting Academy.
Signing with ONE
By 2016, Mattheis signed with ONE Championship and began his run toward becoming Indonesia’s first-ever MMA world champion.
After knocking out two opponents in rapid-fire fashion to win the ONE strawweight Indonesia tournament, he fell on some hard luck.
He suffered a three-fight skid against some of the strawweight division’s elite, including former ONE strawweight world champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke.
But following the loss to Dejdamrong, Mattheis went on a tear – winning seven of his next eight fights, with six of those victories coming inside two rounds.
Where does he stand in the strawweight Division?
Mattheis ended his two-and-a-half year layoff at “ONE: Lights Out” in March 2022, when he shockingly knocked out former strawweight king Alex Silva.
Silva exacted revenge in the rematch just three months later, but this Friday, “Papua Badboy” returns to competition against Zelang with a fierce determination to get back into the win column and add another highlight-reel finish to his record.
A victory for Mattheis could put him within reach of a ranked opponent and with his undoubted finishing ability, it will be well worth seeing.
The Indonesian survived the worst in life, and now, he is starting to truly thrive.
