JAKARTA - Indonesia's flagship fighter at ONE Championship, Eko Roni Saputra is scheduled to return to the Circle. This time, it will carry a special mission because it will face Chan Rothana, who previously succeeded in defeating other Indonesian fighters, Rudy Agustian and Abro Fernandes.
According to the schedule released by ONE Championship from Antara on Monday, the match that pits Eko Roni Saputra against the Cambodian fighter will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore, Friday, 11 March with the title ONE: LIGHT OUT.
In that match, Eko Roni, a fighter from Samarinda, East Kalimantan, is determined to continue his winning streak to reach the top five in the flyweight division, while Rothana wants to complete his hat-trick victory over Indonesia.
“For a long time, one of the opponents I was anticipating was Chan Rothana. But that doesn't mean I want to avenge the defeat of the Indonesians, I'm playing for myself and this is a challenge for me going forward. If I can win this match, I can level up," said Eko as quoted by Antara.
“Chan Rothana I see a pretty strong candidate too, he has a pretty good striking. So this is a challenge and a test for me as well so I can play better."
Eko last appeared in ONE Championship at ONE: BATTLEGROUND II in August 2021. At that time, he was in full blast by sinking Liu Peng Shuai of China in just 10 seconds. The knockout victory also made his name as the owner of the fastest KO in the flyweight division.
Since then, his name has started to be counted as the first candidate from Indonesia who deserves to be a challenger to the world champion in the future. However, he must first rank in the top five and to reach that position, he will need to defeat several other top fighters like Rothana.
The opponent was a champion of Kun Khmer, a traditional Cambodian martial art with a record of over a hundred victories. Although his last fight in ONE ended in defeat, he is known as a kryptonite to Indonesian athletes.
Although Eko who is nicknamed "Dynamite" doesn't want to think of the match as a revenge mission, he understands the importance of winning. Moreover, he is currently recording five consecutive wins, all of which were won in the first round.
"Of course I have to win, but it's not that easy. In the game we don't know the result. There must be winners and losers, of course I want to win the match because if I lose I will go down and have to catch up again,” said Eko firmly.
If the opponent has terrible punches and kicks, Eko's strength lies in his expertise in ground fighting. As a former SEA Games and PON medal winner in wrestling, Eko is considered dangerous when the match is in the lower area.
A win over a strong rival like Rothana could further boost Eko's position in ONE's flyweight division. Moreover, if he manages to win convincingly, he has the opportunity to get a bonus of US $ 50 thousand (RP 720 million) from the CEO and Chairman of ONE Chatri Sityodtong.
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