Rudy Agustian’s Evolution From ‘Bad Boy’ To ‘The Golden Boy’
Rudy Agustian’s Evolution From ‘Bad Boy’ To ‘The Golden Boy’
PHOTO: Rudy Agustian’s Evolution From ‘Bad Boy’ To ‘The Golden Boy’
PUBLISHED ONNovember 22, 2018 7:43 PM
Before he became a rising mixed martial arts superstar, Rudy “The Golden Boy” Agustian was an aggressive kid who threw his fists at the drop of a hat.
The 33-year-old Indonesian spent many of his teenage years duking it out on the streets in a rough area of Tangerang, a district on the outskirts of Jakarta.
He would fight rivals, classmates, or anyone else who wanted a go – and usually for no reason in particular.
“I was a bad boy who always fought with other students, and finally I got kicked out of my high school for fighting,” he says.
“We’d fight over anything — if there was a dispute while playing football, or over a girl. Stuff like that.”
Agustian cleaned up his act, found another high school to graduate from, and went on to attend university in his hometown.
However, he did this mostly to appease his parents, who wanted him to work a regular day job within the safety of an office building. Evidently, he had other plans.
The competitor within Agustian eventually found his own path at the age of 24 after finishing his studies.
“A friend asked me to join a kickboxing club,“ he recalls. “At that time, there was no fight club in Tangerang, so I joined.”
In 2010, “The Golden Boy” made the first of what would be several trips to Thailand to train in Muay Thai, and there he began a personal growing experience about his potential in the sport.
“I realized that it was my purpose in life,” he explains. “But I definitely had some doubts because I started pretty late. Most mixed martial arts athletes start from a young age.”
Nonetheless, Agustian competed in numerous kickboxing and mixed martial arts competitions in Indonesia before making an impactful ONE Championship debut in Yangon, Myanmar.
In October at ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS, he submitted the Philippines’ Kaji “Alpha” Ebin via Americana in the first round. Now, a month removed from that victory, he is preparing for his second promotional bout.
This Friday, 23 November, he will face Bangladesh’s Asraful “Warrior” Islam (2-1) at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS inside the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
Despite experiencing some butterflies, Agustian is ready to thrill the crowd once again.
“I’m both excited and nervous,” he says. “But I’m used to fighting in front of many people.”
