Fransino Tirta celebrating his win in the co-main event of ONE: ERA OF CHAMPIONS in 2014. Photo: Cheryl Tay
On 27 September at ONE Championship’s Jakarta event, undefeated mixed martial artist Fransino Tirta was clad in a leather jacket and was seated cageside with some of Indonesia’s biggest celebrities and businessmen. The plan however, was supposed to be different.
Instead of sitting cageside and watching ONE: ODYSSEY OF CHAMPIONS outside the cage, he was initially scheduled to face former UFC champion Jens Pulver in the main event. With the backing of television conglomerate RCTI, his fight was set to be broadcast live to millions of households across Indonesia. The event was also set to become the first international mixed martial arts event held in Indonesia to be broadcast on free-to-air television after a landmark deal with RCTI, which has one of the largest network reach in the world.
Weeks before the event, Tirta unfortunately suffered an injury to his wrist. After consulting a doctor, he was forced to withdraw from the event and lost the chance to make history.
Indonesian youngsters Sunoto and Wirawan instead took his place in closing out the event, joining big names like Roger Huerta and Koji Ando on the 11-fight event. An interim featherweight world champion was also crowned when undefeated Russian Marat Gafurov defeated Martin Nguyen in less than a minute to claim the crown.
The fight card wowed the Indonesian fight fans, and after the event, Tirta remained as optimistic as ever that Indonesia’s passion for mixed martial arts will continue to grow.
In a post-event interview with Global MMA News, Tirta stated, “The show was spectacular, it reminded me of my last fight in Jakarta. the exposure with RCTI really blew up the popularity of the sport in Indonesia. ONE Championship has brought an international-level show to Indonesia. It was really unfortunate I can’t fight due to an injury. I love the fight card that ONE put up tonight, lots of KO and submissions.”
This event marked a key milestone for the sport of mixed martial arts in the country. RCTI and electronics company Haier mark two of many major corporations looking to get involved in the sport that is now being embraced by the majority of the 200 million population in Indonesia. For Tirta, that is a good thing.
He said, “The sport will definitely grow, the popularity of the show is exploding. I think more and more people in Indonesia recognize the event and the fighters. Which will help the fighters to get better sponsors.”
– Reuters
