Eko Roni Saputra teases next fight on Instagram

Eko Roni Saputra (Left) teases his next fight and gives a hint through his Instagram stories (Right). | Photos: ONE Championship/Saputra's Instagram]
Eko Roni Saputra (Left) teases his next fight and gives a hint through his Instagram stories (Right). | Photos: ONE Championship/Saputra's Instagram]

Eko Roni Saputra has been raring to get back in action and it seems he will be getting his wish soon.

In his latest Instagram post, the Indonesian warrior teased that he may have a fight coming up as he is in “Fight camp phase 1.” That's according to his coach, Coach Aqil of ASP performance.

In the caption, Coach Aqil wrote:

“I’ve been coaching him for 3 years now and been through multiple fight camps together. This guy is strong and explosive as hell!” We’ve built such a strong base that we can go straight in and spend more time in our advanced phase of our training where programming and exercises are strategically chosen for his fight.”

While Saputra did not specify a date or opponent, a quick look at his Instagram stories would reveal a clue as to when he might fight.

Eko Roni Saputra points to an advertisement of ONE X in his IG Story. | [Photo: Screengrab from Saputra's Instagram]
Eko Roni Saputra points to an advertisement of ONE X in his IG Story. | [Photo: Screengrab from Saputra's Instagram]

In the story, he points at an advertisement for ONE X, which is scheduled to take place in Singapore on March 26. The event will mark the 10-year anniversary of the promotion and will be held in front of a full-capacity crowd.

While the announced fights are already stacked, more matches are still to come as ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes that there may be 18-20 matches on the card when it’s all said and done.

The addition of Eko Roni Saputra could add another must-see bout. The multi-time Indonesian national wrestling champion is on an incredible five-fight win streak, including a 10-second knockout of Liu Peng Shuai in his last outing.


Who will face Eko Roni Saputra next?

Eko Roni Saputra lost his debut match in ONE Championship but has since rebounded with a string of five first-round finishes. Needless to say, he is ready for bigger challenges in the stacked ONE flyweight division.

The division’s world champion, Adriano Moraes, is already booked to fight No.2-ranked Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE X. Meanwhile, No.1-ranked Demetrious Johnson is also scheduled to compete in a first-of-its-kind special rules fight against ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang, which takes them out of the equation as possible opponents for Saputra.

However, the likes of No.5-ranked Reece McLaren, No.4-ranked Danny Kingad and No.3-ranked Kairat Akhmetov still don’t have a date to the dance. They very well may be candidates to test Eko Roni Saputra at the big show.

Meanwhile, Chinese striker Xie Wei is also rising in the ranks with three consecutive stoppages on the global stage. He also could provide an exciting matchup with Saputra.

A big show deserves a big name and another high-profile flyweight to consider could be former world champion Geje Eustaquio, who is also getting back in the winning track on his way to reclaiming his lost gold.

One thing’s for sure though – considering Eko Roni Saputra’s recent performances, he will definitely put on a show no matter who he ends up facing.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard