'Papuan Badboy' Determined to Bounce Back as ONE Championship Returns to Jakarta
Jakarta. Indonesian mixed martial arts fighter Adrian "Papuan Badboy" Matheis is determined to bounce back after three consecutive defeats in this year's ONE Championship, which will return to Jakarta on Saturday (16/09).
Adrian will face Cambodian kickboxing fighter Phat Soda at Jakarta Convention Center in a bout dubbed 'Total Victory."
The twenty-four-year-old lost against Rene Catalan in January, Kritsada Kongsrichai in March and Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke in May.
"I've learned from my previous defeats, I will not repeat my mistakes," Adrian said during an open training session at the Celebrity Fitness gym in FX Sudirman in South Jakarta on Thursday (14/09). "I've had maximum preparation for this fight."
Adrian has been training hard under former champion Zuli "The Shark" Silawanto to face Soda in a three-round straw-weight class bout.
The fighter said he wants to make Indonesians proud, especially Papuans. "I want to win and inspire my fellow Papuans," he said.
Adrian, who has two wins and three losses so far in the ONE Championship, joined MMA five years ago and won the straw-weight tournament in August last year after knocking out Rustam Hutajulu and Roso Nugroho.
Soda, 28, is a three-time Kun Khmer champion in his home country who is going to make his debut in the ONE Championship on Saturday.
"I want to know how good I am this time. I want change. Fighting on the mat is very tiring and you need a lot of energy," Adrian explained.
Although confident of overcoming his Cambodian opponent, Adrian said he has plenty of respect for Soda.
"I want to dominate and finish the fight before three rounds. That will be the best way to tell the world that I have bounced back," the Papuan Badboy said.
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