‘I came from nothing’: Meet the Indonesian Conor McGregor
The rise of undefeated mixed martial artist Stefer Rahardian, a former office boy turned ‘local hero’, mirrors the evolution of the sport in Indonesia
When he started out as a mixed martial artist, Stefer Rahardian, 30, had no prospect of turning professional.
Back in 2008, when he tagged along with a friend to his first ju-jitsu lesson – the grappling discipline that makes up much of the sport – there was no MMA league in Indonesia. Underground matches in front of 50 spectators at local gyms were it. No cages, no girls, no crowds ... and certainly no prize money.
“If you hurt yourself you had to take yourself to the doctor. My mother would ask ‘what happened to your face?’” Rahardian says, recalling returning to the family home in central Jakarta after one of his unsanctioned fights. “I came from nothing. Now I’m just so grateful.”
That’s because after two failed attempts at setting up professional leagues, and despite stingy sponsors, MMA, already a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States, is finally taking off in Indonesia.
Home-grown and overseas professional leagues are ramping up the frequency of tournaments. Local television network One is broadcasting its own branded fights, while Singapore-based One Championship will host its second tournament this year in Jakarta, after an aborted attempt in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second city.