“Little by little, all my sacrifices paid off” - Elipitua Siregar rose above adversity to reach the global stage

Elipitua Siregar had to give up a lot as a young boy in order to help his family, and now he’s in a good position to help them better.

The 26-year-old is the son of farmers, who only made enough to feed their family. Growing up, he dreamt of a better life for all of them. He left home in 2011 to follow his brother in Jakarta to apply for a wrestling scholarship.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Siregar shared the difficult decision he had to make early in life.

“I was sad to leave my parents, as I was their youngest child. I would always stick to my parents. And at first when I was in Jakarta, I didn’t think I’d make it. The first few months were tough, I wanted to go home almost every day,” he said. “I thought about quitting a lot. I wanted to go back but I didn’t have any money, and I had a responsibility because I became a member of the Jakarta wrestling team.”

After racking up multiple accolades in Indonesia’s wrestling scene, he transitioned to MMA and made his debut on the global stage of ONE Championship in 2018. He quickly collected three straight wins in the circle and became one of the fighters to watch out for in the deep strawweight division.

However, he is still driven by the same desire to help his family and is happy that he is slowly reaping the rewards of his sacrifices. He said:

“I’m doing all this for my family, especially my parents, because my mother can no longer work now, and my oldest brother stays to look after her... Little by little, all my sacrifices paid off. Now I get to meet a lot of good people in the wrestling world and in Bali MMA, and I get to compete in a big organization... My family’s condition is much better now, a lot better than before when I was a wrestler. The difference is huge.”

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Elipitua Siregar aims to return to winning ways against Robin Catalan

On May 20, Elipitua Siregar will face Robin Catalan, of the Philippines, in the opening match of ONE 157. The event will broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The pair were originally set to battle earlier this year, but Catalan was scratched off the card at the last minute due to Health and Safety Protocols.

As a result, the Filipino warrior could only watch from his hotel room as Siregar lost to Senzo Ikeda. However, he definitely would have taken notes on how to take down his Indonesian rival.

Both Robin Catalan and Elipitua Siregar are hungry for a win, but only one will get fed when they finally face each other in the circle.