Criticism in his home country drove Indonesia’s Jeka
Saragih to defy the odds in his Ultimate Fighting Championship
debut against Lucas
Alexander.
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Fighting on short notice, Saragih’s opponent missed weight by two
pounds, giving up 20% of his fight purse. A +350 underdog on some
sportsbooks, Saragih handed the Brazilian his first career knockout
loss in the first round of their bout at UFC
Fight Night 232 to score a huge upset.
Saragih got his UFC call despite coming up short against India’s
Anshul
Jubli on the debut season of “Road to UFC,” the promotion’s
venture to scout Asian talent. Although he scored two finishes en
route to the finals, Saragih’s people back home seemingly didn’t
have much faith in his skills.
The fact that no Indonesian fighters made the cut in the second
season of the show led some people to believe that the country
simply lacked Octagon-caliber fighters. Although his own family and
friends doubted him, Saragih used it as a source of motivation
going into his UFC debut. He also credited his coaches at the MMA
Fight Academy in California for his success.
“Of course all the obstacles in my life (became) a motivation for
me. Especially my last loss…I think I am the first Indonesian
fighter in the UFC, but I don’t know why they talk bad things about
me a lot until I cannot think again,” Saragih said in a post-fight
media scrum.
“I take all of that motivation for me to get (a) win. All of my
friends in the village and my family too, they (doubted) me. They
doubt if (an) Indonesian fighter can win inside (the) Octagon. But
I don’t care about that, I just make it motivation for me. If you
know, (the) last ‘Road to UFC,’ all of the Indonesian fighters,
they lost. That’s why most of the people think nobody from
Indonesia can win in the UFC. But I have a good coach here, coach
Mark, coach Jake.”