Jeka Asparido Saragih (born ) is an Indonesian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC), where he became the first person from Indonesia to qualify for the final of

Road to UFC Season 1 Road to UFC Season 1 is the 2022 cycle of Road to UFC, a mixed martial arts event series in which top Asian MMA prospects compete to win contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It features four divisions—flyweight, bantamweig ...

, after defeating Ki Won Bin in the semifinal by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. He is the first Indonesian fighter to sign with the UFC.

Background

Jeka was born in Bah Pasunsang, Raya,

Simalungun Simalungun Regency is a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Its seat was formerly at Pematangsiantar, but this city was in recent years separated from the Regency and made into an independent city (''kota''), although it remains geographically ...

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

. He is a descendant of the Batak Simalungun. Jeka began his martial arts career by starting wushu in 2013 and won the national championship in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

and had the opportunity to represent

in the title of

National Sports Week The National Sports Week ( id, Pekan Olahraga Nasional, abbreviated as PON) is a multi-sport event held every four years in Indonesia. The participants of this event are the athletes from all provinces of Indonesia. It is organized by the National ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Despite his busy schedule at work, Jeka continued to hone his martial arts skills, until finally becoming an apprentice at Yakop Sutjipto's Batam Fighter Club (BFC) gym. Jeka received an offer from the owner of BFC to take part in the One Pride Championship , starting his career in the lightweight division. In April 2017, Jeka won the One Pride Lightweight championship, after successfully defeating the reigning champion, Ngapdi Mulidy, by TKO in the first round. He would go on to defend his title 4 times, before eventually losing it in February 2020, when he was submitted in the 4th round by Angga Hans via

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

. He would rebound with two straight victories, before winning the Interim Lightweight Championship against Hatoropan Simbolon via second round TKO stoppage.

Road to UFC

Saragih faced Pawan Maan Singh in the Quarter-Finals of the Lightweight tournament on June 9, 2022 in Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 2. He won the bout in the third round, knocking out Singh with a spinning back fist. Saragih faced Ki Won Bin in the Semi-Finals of the Lightweight tournament on October 23, 2022 at Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 5. He won the bout in the first round, knocking out Bin. In the finals of the tournament, Saragih faced

Anshul Jubli Anshul Jubli (born 13 January 1995), is an Indian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Jubli became the second person from India, to get a UFC contract, as ...

on February 4, 2023 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Saragih was scheduled to face Jesse Butler on November 18, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 232. However, Butler withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Charlie Campbell. With Campbell also out of the fight, Saragih was next booked against Lucas Alexander. At the weigh-ins, Alexander weighed in at 148 pounds, two pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight with Alexander being fined 20% of his purse which went to Saragih. Saragih won the fight by knockout in the first round. This fight earned him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award.

Personal life

In 2017, Jeka Saragih won the championship for the One Pride MMA competition for the 70 kg class in 2017. In 2018, he was also asked to carry the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

torch around North Sumatra.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(One time) vs. Lucas Alexander *One Pride MMA **OPMMA Lightweight Championship (One time) ***Four successful title defenses **Interim OPMMA Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Lucas Alexander , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Bin Ki-won , KO (punch) , Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

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Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Hatoropan Simbolon , TKO (punch) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 58 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Rama Sabturi , Decision (unanimous) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 56 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Agung Maulana , TKO (punches and elbows) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 40 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Angga Hans , Submission (rear-naked choke) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 36 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 4:23 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Mhar John Manahan , Submission (rear-naked choke) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 32 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Hendrik Tarigan , Submission (rear-naked choke) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:11 , Senayan, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Hatoropan Simbolon , TKO (submission to elbows) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 25 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:17 ,

Kelapa Gading Kelapa Gading or also known as KG, Gading, is a district ( Indonesian: ''kecamatan'') of North Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. Kelapa Gading neighborhood is known to the local population as a city within a city, due to the integrated residentia ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Mohammad Fuad , TKO (leg kicks) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:01 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Kevin Sulistio , Submission (rear-naked choke) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:07 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Ngabdi Mulyadi , TKO (punches) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:40 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Victor Johanis , TKO (elbows and punches) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:45 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Rizki Muyla , Submission (keylock) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Kevin Sulistio , Submission (kimura) , One Pride MMA Fight Night 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saragih, Jeka 1995 births Living people Indonesian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wushu Indonesian wushu practitioners Sportspeople from North Sumatra Indonesian Christians People of Batak descent